Memoirs of a Geisha -Arthur Golden


Genre: Period romance/cultural
Unputdownable Quotient: Very High
Overall Rating: 5/5


You know you have picked the right book when you feel as if you have been transported to a new world through it. And just when you thought you got lucky, you stumble upon the movie based on the book and get to actually see the various scenes that were described oh so beautifully in the book. That is when you know you have hit the jackpot. Memoirs of a Geisha is one such book. So eloquent and so poignant, you will be swept away by this beautiful love story.

The book is about a little girl called Chiyo, who comes from a small fishing village. The book is narrated by her and she recounts her journey from a simple vil
lage girl to a popular geisha. The transformation of Chiyo to the geisha Nitta Sayuri is so fraught with intrigue and hardship and some serious plotting by the various characters. The way the protagonist conveys her emotions to us are so poignant and moving that you cant help but be amazed by the author's talent to so beautifully write about the human heart. The book has very well deifned characters who will stay with you long after you have finished reading it.

When you read the book, you get so caught up in the world of Sayuri that many a times you forget that this is not a real narrative, but a work of fiction. And when this happens, we can say for sure that the author has succeeded. It is said that this novel was written over a 6-year period during which Golden rewrote the entire novel three times, changing the point of view before finally settling on the first person viewpoint of Sayuri. No wonder that this book has turned out to be a masterpiece, and also the only book written by Golden. Be it the way he describes the Gion district of Kyoto, or the tea houses or the kimonos worn by the geishas, Arthur has done such a brilliant work that you can visualise them effortlessly as you read it.

When I read this book, I so wished that we had something like this written about our very own Devadasis. Memoirs of a Geisha is a well researched novel that documents the lifestyle of these elite beauties. I strongly recommend the readers to follow up the book with the movie. It is such a visual delight and also will make you fall in love with the book even more.


 

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