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A review by cosymilko
Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
5.0
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It wasn't what I'd been expecting every time I'd read the blurb and put it back. It was more.
The story of how Chiyo, the fisherman's daughter became Sayuri, the great geisha is rich and filled with feeling. I didn't expect the voice of the book to draw me in the way it did. There are many metaphors throughout the book and I thought I'd be tired of reading them but really I understood Chiyo/Sayuri that much better.
I felt heartache when she was taken from her home; fear when Hatsumomo tormented her again and again; betrayal when she wasn't to be a geisha; every emotional upheaval she felt, I felt.
I enjoyed this book so much I've lost many hours of sleep reading into the night. I needed to find out what would happen between Sayuri, the Chairman, and Nobu.
I loved how detailed the book was regarding the training an day to day life of a geisha. I can understand how for some it would be boring but it is somewhat lost to Japan and so foreign to me that I drank it in. I have huge urges to try several drinks and foods and even to style my hair that way but we'll see.
I'm richer for having read this. I read it when I needed to. And while this is somewhat superficial regarding historical aspects and the nuances of Japanese culture as a whole it is still a peek at something we don't see.
The story of how Chiyo, the fisherman's daughter became Sayuri, the great geisha is rich and filled with feeling. I didn't expect the voice of the book to draw me in the way it did. There are many metaphors throughout the book and I thought I'd be tired of reading them but really I understood Chiyo/Sayuri that much better.
I felt heartache when she was taken from her home; fear when Hatsumomo tormented her again and again; betrayal when she wasn't to be a geisha; every emotional upheaval she felt, I felt.
I enjoyed this book so much I've lost many hours of sleep reading into the night. I needed to find out what would happen between Sayuri, the Chairman, and Nobu.
I loved how detailed the book was regarding the training an day to day life of a geisha. I can understand how for some it would be boring but it is somewhat lost to Japan and so foreign to me that I drank it in. I have huge urges to try several drinks and foods and even to style my hair that way but we'll see.
I'm richer for having read this. I read it when I needed to. And while this is somewhat superficial regarding historical aspects and the nuances of Japanese culture as a whole it is still a peek at something we don't see.