Reviews with content warning for Misogyny - Memoirs of a Geisha

Quotations that were meaningful for me as I read through this book....

"I never seek to defeat the man I am fighting," he (The Admiral) explained. "I seek to defeat his confidence. A mind troubled by doubt cannot focus on the course to victory. Two men are equals - true equals - only when they both have equal confidence."

More Quotations that stood out to me...

I fell into a sound sleep and dreamed that I was at a banquet back in Gion, talking with an elderly man who was explaining to me that his wife, whom he'd cared for deeply, wasn't really dead because the pleasure of their time together lived on inside him. While he spoke these words, I drank from a bowl of the most extraordinary soup I'd ever tasted; every briny sip was a kind of ecstacy. I began to feel that all the people I'd ever known who had died or left me had not in fact gone away, but continued to live on inside me just as this man's wife lived on inside him. I felt as though I were drinking them all in - my sister, Satsu, who had run away and left me so young; my father and mother; Mr Tanaka, with his perverse view of kindness; Nobu, who could never forgive me; even the Chairman. The soup was filled with all that I'd ever cared for in my life; and while I drank it, this man spoke his words right into my heart.

But now I know that our world is no more permanent than a wave rising on the ocean. Whatever our struggles and triumphs, however we may suffer them, all too soon they bleed into a wash, just like watery ink on paper.

Before anyone begins to read this book, you should know two things. First of all, this is a fictional memoir based on multiple interviews that the author, Arthur Golden, had with real Geisha. Secondly, following the publication of this memoir, Arthur Golden faced a lawsuit from one of the Geisha that he interviewed for breaching the confidentiality agreement held between them. At the time of publication, her name was included in the list of contributors to the book, which resulted in her reputation as a Geisha being severely damaged. She even received death threats as a result of this breach in confidentiality. Later on, she went on to write her own memoir of her life as a Geisha, titled Geisha in Gion.

Now that this context has been covered, onto the review! Overall, this is a beautifully written book that sheds light on a less-understood aspect of Japanese culture - the Geisha. The story is told from a first-person perspective of Sayuri (birth name, Chiyo), who is sold by her father to an Okiya (a Geisha House in Japan) in Gion, Kyoto. The pace is not too slow nor too drab - the story flows beautifully and holds your fascination well. The descriptions and explanations are detailed, and overall the book is a wonderful tapestry of intricate, rich, interesting story-telling. It's just a shame that the context behind the writing of this book is poor ethically, which does spoil it a bit for me. Nevertheless, reading this book has only made me want to read Geisha of Gion even more, and I'm looking forward to seeing the similarities and differences between these two books.

Content Warnings

mandyrose's review against another edition

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dark reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

Positive: There are some beautiful metaphors in this novel making use of water & nature.
Negative: It was painful reading a novel centred around a woman being tossed around by men. And I didn’t love the ending.

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tomnoor's review against another edition

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3.5

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liv_txt's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

2.5

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rossandhissandwich's review against another edition

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3.0

Love historical books, but this was not my type

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