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Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden


Kell

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  • 4 months later...
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  • 2 months later...

Read this one whilst bouncing around the English Channel yesterday, we were stuck on the ferry for over 4 hours waiting to dock :blush: .

 

Absolutley loved it, very easy to read and very informative of that way of life.

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Jue - if you loved this one, you must read Geisha of Gion by Mineko Iwasaki. She was the Geisha with whom Golden collaborated on Memoirs & then she turned her back on it because she was so furious at the way he'd twisted things. Her own autobiography is wonderful & even more moving that Memoirs - I think you'll love it!

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Jue - if you loved this one, you must read Geisha of Gion by Mineko Iwasaki. She was the Geisha with whom Golden collaborated on Memoirs & then she turned her back on it because she was so furious at the way he'd twisted things. Her own autobiography is wonderful & even more moving that Memoirs - I think you'll love it!

 

 

Thanks Kell, i've added it to the 'TBR' mountain! It sounds really good, can't wait to get hold of a copy now :blush:

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  • 4 weeks later...

i really enjoyed this book and it also made me want to learn about their world. Although its non- fiction geisha by lisa dalby is another good book as she was the first non-japanese woman to become a geisha. She also goes into more detail about the history of them. I think she was a consultant on the movie as well.

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You might be surprised, Mau - I believe the hardness of life is true-to-form, but if you read various Geisha autobiographies, they have varying tales. Mineko Iwasaki denies that mizuage is the auctioning off of a Geisha's virginity or that Geisha are basically prostitutes, whereas from some other accounts of Geisha working at the lower end of the scale who are in reality working in the equivalent of brothels. Memoirs is a good book though - I really enjoyed it.

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To tell you the truth I was thinking that I should pick up another Geisha book, to see if the story holds. BTW a particular description (having to do with saliva);) towards the end of the book is going to be terribly difficult to erase from my mind unfortunately.:roll:

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I read this book quite some time ago and enjoyed it thoroughly. The Geisha lifestyle was so interesting. A real eye opener.

Let me recommend Autobiography of a Geisha by Sayo Masuda translated by G.G. Rowley. Talk about an eye opener. :roll:

Well written, heart wrenching story that is from what I've heard much grittier than Memoirs was, I have Memoirs in my stack too, unread so far.

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I denjoyed Autobiography of a Geisha, but I preferred Geisha of Gion by Mineko Iwasaki. Autobiography felt more stilted (as you'd expect, as the author was almost illiterate when she wrote it), although still beautiful for its simplicity, but Geisha of Gion made a much stronger impact on me - I really felt I'd been introduced to Mineko's world.

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I denjoyed Autobiography of a Geisha, but I preferred Geisha of Gion by Mineko Iwasaki. Autobiography felt more stilted (as you'd expect, as the author was almost illiterate when she wrote it), although still beautiful for its simplicity, but Geisha of Gion made a much stronger impact on me - I really felt I'd been introduced to Mineko's world.

I'll look for it. Thanks. :D

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  • 2 weeks later...

I loved Memoirs of a Geisha, really, really loved it! I couldn't read anything for weeks after I read it as I didn't want to spoil the memory of it; I kept flicking back through it and re-reading parts. I found it amazing how the book dealt with some heartbreaking issues, some awful situations and really unappealing environments; and yet I still walk away from the book feeling it's beautiful essence. Such a moving story of hope and determination! I've actually bought a second copy to lend out to people!!

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Its on my TBR list, but I haven't been that enthusiastic thus far, basically for the reasons you cite, Prinpont...oops! Princessponti. The content is possibly a bit too harrowing for me. But maybe, if it left such a mark on you, and the

beautiful essence
, I should not be so afraid of trying it.

 

PP

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