Most disappointing: For all the talk of how geisha can hold a conversation, good conversation is hard to find in this book. This would be a tiny quibble if the plot weren’t built around Sayuri holding the attention (and affection) of a line of men, each more successful than the last. Sure, most exchanges occur after the men enter a tea-house in expectation of titillation and entertainment, but still. This kind of turnaround is interesting on its face, but it’s poorly executed in Memoirs. As a woman, Sayuri has few available opportunities, but as a prominent geisha, she has influence over those who would deem her powerless. I still like the subtlety, but it’s dull to watch Sayuri wind men around her fingers when the men are single-minded drips. I liked the classiness inherent in this kind of sexuality and was fascinated by how much power could be exercised by flashing a sliver of flesh or through a delicate gesture.

Her chalk-white make-up is painted on like a mask with visible skin around her hairline the more it resembles a mask, the more it draws attention to her bare skin beneath. I loved the subtle ways Sayuri learns to charm men. There’s plenty of backbiting and competition with a rival geisha, Hatsumomo, but as the book begins with a fictional “Translator’s Note” that places Sayuri in a posh NYC loft with well-heeled guests, there’s little suspense that she’ll rise to the top. Her rise is aided by her unique, grey eyes and Mameha, a successful geisha who helps complete her training. Not even close.Īrthur Golden’s Memoirs of a Geisha follows Chiyo’s transformation from a poor fishmonger’s daughter into Sayuri, one of the most sought-after geisha in Japan in the years before WWII. I assumed I’d feel similarly about Memoirs of a Geisha.

I threw a re-read into my list of books for the summer reading challenge hosted by Cathy746books. Most everything I’ve re-read from my high school days has been better now (see TGG, TKAM, and ASP).

Geisha books