Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
T h e b a s i c s
Title: Memoirs of a Geisha
Author: Arthur Golden
Date Published: 1997
Genre: Historical fiction
Rating: 3/5
Firstly, I want to say that I did actually enjoy this book. I found it quite slow and I wasn't emotionally invested in it at all...however I did find it interesting.
Memoirs of a Geisha is a novel disguised as a memoir that follows a Japanese girl who is sold from her family to become a geisha pre WWII. The novel takes us through WWII and demonstrates the drastic effect that the war had on the Japanese culture. In Memoirs of a Geisha we are taken on a journey where a girl's virginity is auctioned to the highest bidder; where women are trained to charm the most powerful men; and where love is detrimental to ones success.
Before I read this book, I had actually never heard of geisha and I didn't know anything about Japanese culture. When I mentioned this to Chris, my partner, he said 'Oh geisha...That is a prostitute'. However, from reading this novel I have learnt that that is far from the truth. Geisha are artists and the original word means: artists. "Gei" means "art." They specialise in one of the performing arts: music, traditional dancing, reciting poetry or singing. This makes them very bright, clever and creative beings. They are paid for their service but Golden does stress that sex is not part of the service they provide.
Here lies my problem with the novel...Golden is a Western man writing in the perspective of an Eastern woman. Yes, he has given geisha, namely his main character, Sayuri, a voice and yes he has studied Japanese culture but I do not believe that this should give him the rightful platform or experience to write as a Japanese geisha. In order to write effectively in the perspective of a Japanese woman you must completely and utterly place yourself in her shoes. Perhaps it is because he is just too Western, but I feel like he tries too hard to be Japanese and this makes it clunky. It doesn't come naturally, doesn't read naturally and thus I think the sincerity of the novel is lost slightly.
However... I did really enjoy this novel and I always believe that every book that you read should encourage you to think, learn and/or change your perception of something and Memoirs definitely has taught me about a culture I knew nothing about. So if you want to learn about the fascinating life of geisha then pick up a copy of Memoirs...just remember to take it with a pinch of salt. After all it is still written from an American man's perspective.
Have you read Memoirs? What did you think about it?
Memoirs of a Geisha is a novel disguised as a memoir that follows a Japanese girl who is sold from her family to become a geisha pre WWII. The novel takes us through WWII and demonstrates the drastic effect that the war had on the Japanese culture. In Memoirs of a Geisha we are taken on a journey where a girl's virginity is auctioned to the highest bidder; where women are trained to charm the most powerful men; and where love is detrimental to ones success.
Before I read this book, I had actually never heard of geisha and I didn't know anything about Japanese culture. When I mentioned this to Chris, my partner, he said 'Oh geisha...That is a prostitute'. However, from reading this novel I have learnt that that is far from the truth. Geisha are artists and the original word means: artists. "Gei" means "art." They specialise in one of the performing arts: music, traditional dancing, reciting poetry or singing. This makes them very bright, clever and creative beings. They are paid for their service but Golden does stress that sex is not part of the service they provide.
Here lies my problem with the novel...Golden is a Western man writing in the perspective of an Eastern woman. Yes, he has given geisha, namely his main character, Sayuri, a voice and yes he has studied Japanese culture but I do not believe that this should give him the rightful platform or experience to write as a Japanese geisha. In order to write effectively in the perspective of a Japanese woman you must completely and utterly place yourself in her shoes. Perhaps it is because he is just too Western, but I feel like he tries too hard to be Japanese and this makes it clunky. It doesn't come naturally, doesn't read naturally and thus I think the sincerity of the novel is lost slightly.
However... I did really enjoy this novel and I always believe that every book that you read should encourage you to think, learn and/or change your perception of something and Memoirs definitely has taught me about a culture I knew nothing about. So if you want to learn about the fascinating life of geisha then pick up a copy of Memoirs...just remember to take it with a pinch of salt. After all it is still written from an American man's perspective.
Have you read Memoirs? What did you think about it?
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