Memoirs of a Geisha

Posted by Aashish on Monday November 06, @06:34PM

Chords of life and emotions..all strung..altogether

They say a picture speaks a thousand words. In this case, Golden's words paint a thousand pictures. So vivid is his imagery that you are easily drawn into the story. As you read this book you become a part of it. You see the lavish kimonos and the sideways glances, smell both the perfume and the fish, feel the steam rising from the tea and cramping of fingers, hear the cry of the shamisen strings inter-mingled with the sound of laughter and tears. I only wished that I could taste the sushi. We first enter the world of Sayuri in a small fishing village off the coast of Japan. Her mother is dying, leaving her father to care for their two daughters. As was common in Japan in the earlier part of our century, Sayuri's father chooses to sell his children in hopes that they will rise to be Geisha girls. After a tearful separation with her sister, Sayuri begins her life within an okiya to which she now owes her debt. She is but a feather in the breeze as the people that become interwoven into her life determine her destiny. Hatsumomo, the current Geisha in her okiya, immediately recognizes the beauty in Sayuri as a threat to her existence. Her every move is thereafter calculated to undercut any step of Sayuri's rise to becoming a Geisha. In the beginning, her efforts are well worth her while, until Sayuri meets a compassionate stranger whom she refers to as the "Chairman." After her encounter with the Chairman, Sayuri's luck changes. Mameha, a famous and accomplished Geisha, who also holds a special distaste for Hatsumomo, takes Sayuri under her wing and becomes her mentor and friend. With the help of Mameha and her own charms, Sayuri achieves fame as a Geisha in the famous Gion District of Japan only to re-encounter the single love she has ever know, the Chairman. Intermingled with Japan's imminent loss in the World War and a conflict between the man she loves and the man who wishes to be her sponsor, this point is symbolic of the fall of Sayuri and Gion as the Geisha know it. Golden makes it his mission to dispel the myths and Western misinterpretations of the life and objectives of a Geisha. He compassionately reveals the hardships, pains and relationships that develop throughout the life of the mysterious Geisha. The story is revealed in such a way that the reader does not realize he has been taught an invaluable history lesson, until one closes the cover to sit back and reflect. The author’s accuracy and expertise are immaculate and enjoyable. Not only does this book take you to a world that no longer exists, it takes the reader on a journey of love, deceit and betrayal. The reader meets characters that have depth and consistency, and develops compassion for the players in this mysterious game of life. Arthur Golden, a man (writing his debut novel no less), has gotten so easily inside the mind of his female protagonist and the other women he so adeptly portrays. His understanding of the female experience is remarkable. I have never visited Japan. I have never entered a teahouse. I have never experienced the early part of the last century. I have never spent painful hours on my hair, makeup, and layers of garments. (Oh, hush!) But, now I must question all that. I now feel like I have experienced it all. My world has suddenly become a bit larger, my experience a bit broader. Sayuri the Geisha and her world, through the imagination and scholarship of Arthur Golden, has become a part of my world.