Book Tamers| book reviews

Before anything, I have to confess I dislike popular books. I consider them, in a very discriminating manner, as commercial and I have no interest in reading them. The same thing happened with Memoirs of a Geisha. I mean, how important can be what an Occidental man has to say when he talks from the perspective of a Japanese woman?

The novel tells the story of little Chiyo, the youngest daughter of a poor fishermen family, who was sold as a slave. Her beauty helps her in the famous Gion of the thirties and she will be bought by an okiya, a geisha house. Here, against all odds, she is educated to become a geisha. To the individual vision of Gion, we also have the bigger picture, involving Japan before and after the second World.

The positive aspects of the novel remain in the geisha descriptions. The most fascinating pages are those who speak about the transformation procedures, when a simple woman becomes a geisha; also, the education the apprentices received and the rules in their strict life. A special place is taken by geisha’s clothes and Golden is very persistent about it. The detailed description of those many accessories geishas wear and the complex ritual of dressing, together with the full description of kimonos help visualizing the fascinating oriental culture.

The negative aspects are more varied.

First of all, the characters seem to be forgotten by the pen which seems more interested in revealing the details of a kimono. Even the hero of this novel, Sayuri (her name as a geisha) lacks in depth and she is widowed of important character traits. She seems as an oriental Cinderella- the most beautiful, the best and the kindest. Childhood and teenage miseries don’t seem to influence or to model her character.

Then, even though the novel is famous for describing geisha life, it actually leaves a great question mark about these women’s real life. Although the author apparently has done massive research (see attention for dressing and make-up), he doesn’t seem to have truly break into the geishas’ mysteries. The novel seems more of an answer to occidental fantasies about geishas.

More than that, Arthur Golden was sued by famous geisha Mineko Iwasaki, the model for the novel. It seems that Arthur Golden didn’t keep to the information she provided during interviews, nor did he protect her privacy. Mineko Awasaki published herself a novel (Geisha, A Life), in order to reveal in a more authentic manner her experience as a geisha.

However, Memoirs of a Geisha is an interesting novel, even though it is easy and superficial. It is a good reading, but don’t expect too much from it.

Written by Ama