viglime's Full Review: Arthur Golden - Memoirs of a Geisha: A Novel
I guess I'm just about the last person on earth to know that "Memoirs of a Geisha" was a work of fiction. Somehow I managed to avoid all the hype that surrounded this book when it was first launched, and as I was sleepily wandering through Glasgow airport a couple of years ago it caught my eye. "Hmm, heard of that one, not quite sure why...Ach well, I need something to stop my brain turning to glue on this flight".
I got rather more than I bargained for; the author takes you by the hand and leads you through time to another culture on the other side of the world. That's the only way I can describe it. It is a true testament to how at home Golden is with his subject matter that I believed the book to be a real biography; every detail of life in Gion was painted perfectly from the people who worked and played there to the rituals that structured their lives. Perhaps even more remarkable is the voice he gives to our heroine, Sayuri; she is dignity personified, beautiful in every way and a joy to observe. Unlike other works of historical fiction, Golden has resisted the temptation to instill Sayuri with western, politically correct beliefs and actions (if we were to believe 20th century film and literature, there were more independent, feminist, riotous tomboys running around prior to 1920 than we have today) and stayed true to the culture and ideals Sayuri would have grown up with, while still managing to make her a strong, positive woman.
Nitta Sayuri tells the story of her life as a geisha. In Memoirs of a Geisha, we enter a world where appearances are paramount; where a girl s virgini...More at Buy.com
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