Reviews tagging 'Slavery'

Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden

12 reviews

perth_is's review against another edition

medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Abortion, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

mariahmmm's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad fast-paced

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

1.0

A Geisha looks back on her life and recounts the struggles she faces on her journey to becoming a renowned Geisha. 

Given the books apparent success, I was expecting a detailed journey on what being a Geisha involved. Instead, this poorly written historical fiction infantilizes the main character and breezes past mountains of abuse while trying to insert an uncomfortable romance subplot. The book felt half finished with unexplainable time jumps and large gaps in the story.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery and Trafficking

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Death of parent

Minor: War

rochelleisreading's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Slavery, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and War

Moderate: Alcoholism, Infidelity, Sexual assault, Abortion, and Alcohol

Minor: Grief, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

emmaeleone's review against another edition

I will edit when I get the book to see how far I read. I ended up not finishing this novel due to after conducting research on the author and the subject, discovered that the novel was based on a real life geisha who was to remain nameless. The author, supposedly, still revealed the name of the woman despite assuring that she would remain anonymous. I plan on reading her account on her life rather than this fictive one! That information ruined the book for me, but without knowing this it was an interesting read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Slavery, Trafficking, and Death of parent

literarysaara's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Misogyny, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Slavery, and Trafficking

Minor: War

tessazwaan's review against another edition

challenging informative sad medium-paced

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

4.0

I looooved to read this - even though I have some criticism about it too (the “all the rape stories by American soldiers turned out to be untrue and they are so kind instead” sentence for example) - it was so informative about something I had no idea of

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Rape, Slavery, Trafficking, and Death of parent

slushhhhy's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.0

Really interesting to read about this time in history, which I don't know much about. Even though nothing 'exciting' happens, it was written well and I found it easy to read. Didn't really know what to expect. I enjoyed most of the book apart from the ending chapters, although not sure what would've made for a better ending...

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Toxic relationship, and Sexual harassment

r3ader's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Sexual content, Slavery, Grief, Death of parent, and War

Minor: Ableism, Blood, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Stalking, Abortion, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

dannilmp's review against another edition

dark emotional informative sad medium-paced

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

2.5

I picked this book up hoping to learn something more about a culture's history and I wasn't dissapointed. Here we follow young Sayori through the trials of her life that lead to her becoming a Geisha. A heartfelt story with plenty of heartaching moments to follow.

Golden really did his research to be able to write such a detailed piece of historical fiction. I felt as though I learnt so much more about Geishas and Japan's history while also coming to understand more what the Geishas roles and functions in society were. 

I don't typically read historical fiction so this was a venture outside of my usual comfort zone, and while it was written very well (bar young Sayori's obsession with a certain character feeling icky) it is not something I would rush to read in a hurry again. But parts of the story have still stuck with me months later, so I have to give the book credit.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Sexual assault, and Sexual content

Moderate: Death, Slavery, Death of parent, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Infidelity and Abortion

thirdtimesacharm's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful informative reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Slavery, Kidnapping, Alcohol, and War

Moderate: Ableism, Addiction, Toxic relationship, Violence, Abortion, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail