Friday, June 1, 2007

5. Memoirs of A Geisha by Arthur Golden

This novel is set in Japan in the 1930s and 40s. Chiyo is sold to a geisha house by her parents and eventually is trained and debuts as a successful geisha. Along the way, she describes, in a first person narrative, the lessons she learns about the art and also of the cruelty and jealousy involved in this exacting tradition.

I rather liked this book. Didn't get so involved that I started buying kimonos on the net and developing a Japanese obsession like a few people I know did, but it really was a very insightful view into a culture that I knew very little about. I was very surprised to realise halfway through that it was written by a man though. I know he worked in consultation with a true geisha but the narrative is very well written, describing the confusion and emotion that Chiyo, later Sayuri, experiences.

3 comments:

Renee K said...

I enjoyed this too... but really it's not the 5th best book ever is it?!

LinkyLou said...

Yeah, I'm not sure that I really agree with many in the top 10.

Number 4 - definitely.

Number 2 - okay, I can see this even though it doesn't appeal to me.

Numbers 3, 5 and 9 - great books sure, but best books ever???

aquarian said...

I really liked this but wouldn't have thought it would have rated so high on the list.

The movie was quite good. My husband disliked the movie, which is always a good measuring stick for how good a movie is!