Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden

Summary:

Photo provided by geishainjapan.blogspot.com, all photo credit goes to them.

The story is told in the point of view of an older woman recalling her childhood through a series of memoirs, which fits the title of the book rather well.

This 428-page book takes place in Japan before World War II. It starts in the little fishing village of Yoroido, Japan, where you meet Chiyo, Satsu and their parents. Chiyo is the narrator of the book. The story makes sure it is well know that Chiyo’s eyes are blue, and that is uncommon among Japanese people.

Her mother is sick and dying from cancer, and her dad is a devout fisherman, often described to smell fishy and look older than he really is. Yoroido is a small town that depends on fish to bring its income. It’s a poor village nonetheless because as you can imagine, even if they bring in a bounty of fish, fish alone will not be enough to support all of the people.

Chiyo’s dad sells Chiyo and Satsu to a man who takes them into the more popular city areas. This wasn’t for cruel reasons; her dad was probably just keeping the girls from seeing their mother die (and extra income is also good for getting medicines).

After being examined thoroughly, Chiyo is sent to the Nitta okiya in the Gion District, otherwise known as one of the most prestigious houses for geisha to live in. Satsu gets sent to a different district commonly known for its prostitutes.

At first, Chiyo is not well accepted into the family. There are several people living in the house, the owners being Granny, Auntie and Mother. However, there is a girl there around Chiyo’s age that she affectionately refers to as Pumpkin, being as her face was big and round. There’s also another person there who’s younger than the three owners of the house, and her name is Hatsumomo. She’s the top-earning geisha in the Gion District.

After Hatsumomo tortures Chiyo and causes her to owe much debt to the okiya (framing and destruction of property), it is decided that Chiyo is not to be a geisha, but instead a maid so she can pay said debts off.

Does Chiyo end up being a maid full-time? What will become of Hatsumomo and Pumpkin? What exactly does being a geisha entail? Check out the book to find out these things and more.

Review:

I absolutely love this book. I decided that I wanted to give it a chance after seeing the movie, but I waited until the right time to buy it considering how thrifty I am when it comes to book shopping.

Luckily I found it at a flea market for $.50. It’s hardback and actually in really nice condition. Moral of the story: Sometimes waiting will get you really cool deals.

Anyways, I have to say that this book is fantastic. Although, I suggest if you’re going to read it, you see the movie first. Trust me, it’ll make a lot more sense if you do. It’s a book that’s very descriptive, but the movie just makes everything seem so real. It’s like reliving a better version of the movie; they’re really close.

Before this book, I knew little of geisha’s lives. I just knew that they were elegant creatures that put on performances and danced. This book completely takes you into the life of a geisha. It covers the wonderful parts and the… less glamorous parts (such as smearing bird defecation on their face to get really white skin) of being a geisha.

While their culture is completely different from American culture, you can definitely find yourself in Chiyo’s (often uncomfortable) shoes. The relationships are believable as well as the conversations. Many times you’ll just feel as though you’re with the characters while they’re having their conversations. Not many authors can do that as effectively.

This book definitely isn’t for people that don’t have a lot of time on their hands. It’s a long book with small text, however, when the book ended, I almost went through a sort of depression because I won’t know anything else about Chiyo and the rest of the little details about her. If you’ve ever felt like that, you’ll know that it’s one of the emptiest feelings a reader can experience.

While I know most of her life is covered in this book, I just wish it would have explained her adult years a little better. It crammed a lot into the last ten pages, and I think they could have done more with it. And if you’ve seen the movie, don’t worry, the last parts of the book aren’t even in it.

Overall:

This book is worth every penny and every moment spent on it. It won’t disappoint you, and at the end you’ll want more Chiyo. I know I did. Watch the movie first, however, and then read the book. If you’re willing to read this, you must be able to set a lot of time beside for it. It’s not a book you’re going to want to put down. Not even when you’re finished.

What I liked: Correlation to the movie, development of Chiyo and the romance aspect.
What I didn’t like: The ending was too quick.

Rating: A

 

Places to buy them for cheaper than your bookstore:

Betterworldbooks $4
Amazon $6
Thriftbooks $3.69