Memoirs of a Geisha
Arthur Golden
This book was very highly recommended to me by a number of people, and I think this greatly positive reaction set me up for a bit of a disappointment, though the book was by no means bad. It definitely has its strength. I think that one of these is its format as the supposed memoirs of an actual geisha. This gives the novel a very authentic feel, and I'm amazed at the ease with which Golden portrays the feelings of a young Japanese girl decades removed from his own time. The narration is usually believable and is only overdone at a few points in the novel, when the narrator seems to be a bit too self-aware.
The greatest strength of this book lies in its metaphors. From the very first similie, I was amazed at how well Golden employs unusual (but always perfect) images. Even when there are too many metaphors, I could only get a little bit annoyed because the comparisons were so good and so accurate. I think this is what really distinguishes the novel in a literary sense, other than its unique setting and subject matter.
I did have a few qualms about the book, however, and most of them lie within the plot, for Golden's writing actually is quite good. I think that parts of it were kind of stretched beyond believability, given the fact that the world of the geishas was supposed to be so cutthroat. How was it that Chiyo/Sayuri actually did manage to succeed? Interestingly enough, the most exaggerated character, Hatsumomo, was the most believable. She is the embodiment of evil and plays her part quite well, even managing to disappear in a fit of madness. Well played.
I suppose that some of the miraculous saving graces that Chiyo/Sayuri encounters would be believable when viewed through a somewhat cynical lens, that random fortune just happens to favor some. But it is this that makes me frustrated with the novel. The main character just isn't very likeable for me. I think that the entire premise of being a geisha is stupid, and that she spends too much of the novel simply guided by the forces around her rather than acting. When she finally takes matters into her own hands, the decision is a bad one (backstabbing a good friend who saved her life because of a childhood whimsy), greatly frustrating me when I was just starting to think that she was not so bad. I would have much preferred the novel to stick to the story of thwarting Hatsumomo.
All told, this book was worth reading and I would like to see some of Golden's other work. He just has a few basic construction problems, I think, but his talent is obvious. It could, of course, be the subject matter as well. Given this I will be easy on him, granting that personal taste is a big factor in my enjoyment of the novel.
Arthur Golden
This book was very highly recommended to me by a number of people, and I think this greatly positive reaction set me up for a bit of a disappointment, though the book was by no means bad. It definitely has its strength. I think that one of these is its format as the supposed memoirs of an actual geisha. This gives the novel a very authentic feel, and I'm amazed at the ease with which Golden portrays the feelings of a young Japanese girl decades removed from his own time. The narration is usually believable and is only overdone at a few points in the novel, when the narrator seems to be a bit too self-aware.
The greatest strength of this book lies in its metaphors. From the very first similie, I was amazed at how well Golden employs unusual (but always perfect) images. Even when there are too many metaphors, I could only get a little bit annoyed because the comparisons were so good and so accurate. I think this is what really distinguishes the novel in a literary sense, other than its unique setting and subject matter.
I did have a few qualms about the book, however, and most of them lie within the plot, for Golden's writing actually is quite good. I think that parts of it were kind of stretched beyond believability, given the fact that the world of the geishas was supposed to be so cutthroat. How was it that Chiyo/Sayuri actually did manage to succeed? Interestingly enough, the most exaggerated character, Hatsumomo, was the most believable. She is the embodiment of evil and plays her part quite well, even managing to disappear in a fit of madness. Well played.
I suppose that some of the miraculous saving graces that Chiyo/Sayuri encounters would be believable when viewed through a somewhat cynical lens, that random fortune just happens to favor some. But it is this that makes me frustrated with the novel. The main character just isn't very likeable for me. I think that the entire premise of being a geisha is stupid, and that she spends too much of the novel simply guided by the forces around her rather than acting. When she finally takes matters into her own hands, the decision is a bad one (backstabbing a good friend who saved her life because of a childhood whimsy), greatly frustrating me when I was just starting to think that she was not so bad. I would have much preferred the novel to stick to the story of thwarting Hatsumomo.
All told, this book was worth reading and I would like to see some of Golden's other work. He just has a few basic construction problems, I think, but his talent is obvious. It could, of course, be the subject matter as well. Given this I will be easy on him, granting that personal taste is a big factor in my enjoyment of the novel.
Grade: B
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