Reviews with content warning for Trafficking - Memoirs of a Geisha

Reviews tagging 'Trafficking'

Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden

19 reviews

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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tomnoor's review against another edition

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3.5

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tessazwaan's review against another edition

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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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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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r3ader's review against another edition

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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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junothan's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

Content Warnings

ceeemvee's review against another edition

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challenging dark informative reflective 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? Yes

3.0

This is the first time I participated in a Goodreads Readalong Discussion, and I would definitely do it again. We read at the rate of one chapter per day (until the very end), and I decided not to read ahead. This gave me time to turn things over in my mind and discuss different perspectives with others. It also gave me time to research geisha customs, and there are a lot. There are different hair styles, collars, obi lengths, make-up, and so on, and it was interesting.

Chiyo (later to become Sayuri) begins her memoir as the best and worst afternoon of her entire life. It’s 1929, and nine-year-old Chiyo and her older sister are sold by their father, taken from their remote fishing village to Gion, Kyoto's most famous geisha district. Chiyo ends up at a geisha house, and searches for her sister. Unfortunately, Chiyo finds her at a brothel in Gion. They make plans to run away together, but Chiyo is caught. That is the last independent decision she will make for a long, long time. Chiyo acquiesces to those who now own her, and her geisha apprenticeship begins. She soon falls in love with a much older man who will dominate her thoughts and dreams for many years to come.

The storyline follows the dynamics of the geisha home (okiya) and Chiyo’s power struggle with the devious and jealous geisha that is the top breadwinner. When things are sorted out, World War II begins and Chiyo’s life is again in upheaval. Once life is back on an even keel, the story continues through about 1970-ish.

While I liked the writing, I didn’t like the writing! The memoir is assumed to be Chiyo narrating her life story, and while the author certainly does give us insight into her feelings, there are sooooo many similes:

“The heart dies a slow death, shedding each hope like leaves until one day there are none.”

“This is why dreams can be such dangerous things: they smolder on like a fire does, and sometimes they consume us completely.”

“Adversity is like a strong wind.”

“He was like a song I'd heard once in fragments but had been singing in my mind ever since.”

“Grief is a most peculiar thing; we’re so helpless in the face of it. It’s like a window that will simply open of its own accord.”

“We lead our lives like water flowing down a hill, going more or less in one direction until we splash into something that forces us to find a new course.”

I found the book interesting and it sent me off in many directions to find more information about a different time and culture, but it was tedious at the same time. A lot of time is spent on the beginning of Chiyo’s life, a little time on the middle of her life, and even less at the end of her story. I’m not sure what my expectation was, but it felt rushed and abrupt.

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bri_lliantlybookishef669's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.0

Content Warnings

0l1v1a's review against another edition

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dark emotional inspiring reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

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