Title: Memoirs of a Geisha
Author: Arthur Golden
Page Count: 448
I adore this book. It is one of my absolute favorites. Although it is a bit long, I felt like it was completely and totally worth every second of time I spent on it.
Memoirs of a Geisha is basically what the title indicates. It tells the story of a young girl named Chiyo who is sold to a geisha house by her father. She’s forced to work in the geisha house as a servant girl until she comes of age and has developed to the liking of the owner so that she may begin the duties of a geisha. These duties include visiting and conversing with men, and entertaining them in song and dance. She adopts a new name as she enters the service, giving readers a look into this secretive and traditional world.
(Trigger Warning: There is some mention of rape, though not explicit or detailed but more like hinted and briefly mentioned, and some emotionally heavy content.)
Honestly, I was a bit skeptical initially. When I saw that the author was a man I found myself a bit turned off. The world of geisha has always been secretive, most especially from men, and on top of that, men don’t really have the same viewpoints or struggles as women. The perspective is universally different, and I was unsure how a man could write a fictional memoir from the perspective of a woman.
But he managed. The book is phenomenal and leaves you wanting to know about this world very few get a glimpse of as you follow the story of this young girl. As most stories this also has a struggle of love. Can a woman whose life is meant to entertain men find true love? Meh you’d have to read and see.
“Every step I have taken has been to bring myself closer to you.”
Bonus: There is a movie. I personally have not seen it. There was some controversy around the movie’s release in Japan because the costume department used incorrect kimono, the main actress was not even Japanese, and the title was changed to the character’s geisha name but wasn’t even titled in Japanese kanji.
I hate to judge based on the opinions of others though, so the movie is on my list anyway. If anyone has seen it please feel free to leave a comment with your thoughts on it.
