Thursday 5 January, 2006

Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden

The fictional "autobiography" Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden has been much debated - praised by some for it's authenticity and tact, and hated by some because of it's inaccuracies. I have to say I really enjoyed it, as a beautiful love story - and I was inspired to check Amazon for actual geisha biographies which I'll probably order once I get though the pile of books I got as a Christmas present. Before that, I don't really know which parts of the story are fact and which are fiction - the dramatic love story quite obviously with it's slightly anti-climatic ending was... well, unrealistic, but there are times when it doesn't matter. The story is about a young girl who gets sold into slavery, into an okiya where she trains as a geisha. There is, of course, a man Sayuri falls in love with and, of course, love is forbidden in this world and she struggles through thick and thin to achieve her goal.

I though the book was beautifully and sensitively written, and it sure does sound authentic - there was a lot of detail that was clearly well researched. The story was gripping with some epic sense of good versus evil with good triumphing and some unrequited love - and I was just in a mood for a story like this. For someone looking for some relatively light well written fiction this book comes highly recommended.

Posted by kolibri at 5 January 14:55, 2006
Comments
# 1 - yoe (on January 5, 2006 06:44 PM):

I'd really recommend "Geisha of Gion" by Mineko Iwasaki, the "actual" geisha upon whose life Golden's book is supposed (or not) to be based on. Not only it tells you clearly which parts of Golden't story were most inaccurate (mainly relating to the world of geishas in general) as well as shows hints of the real events from where Golden got his great narrative ideas, but is also a pleasure to read; the lack of heart-ripping drama is well balanced by detailed description of the dance school system, Correct Way of Opening a Sliding Door and so forth.


# 2 - kolibri [TypeKey Profile Page] (on January 5, 2006 07:06 PM):

Thanks for the recommendation, I'll put that into the pile of books I need to read :)


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