St Florence > Home > Clubs & Societies > Book Club > Previously Discussed > Memoirs of a Geisha
| October
2005 |
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Memoirs
of a Geisha
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| by Arthur Golden | ||
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According to Arthur Golden's absorbing first novel, the word "geisha" does not mean "prostitute," as Westerners ignorantly assume--it means "artisan" or "artist." To capture the geisha experience in the art of fiction, Golden trained as long and hard as any geisha who must master the arts of music, dance, clever conversation, crafty battle with rival beauties and cunning seduction of wealthy patrons. After earning degrees in Japanese art and history from Harvard and Columbia--and an M.A. in English--he met a man in Tokyo who was the illegitimate offspring of a renowned businessman and a geisha. This meeting inspired Golden to spend 10 years researching every detail of geisha culture, chiefly relying on the geisha Mineko Iwasaki, who spent years charming the very rich and famous. |
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Find
an extract from this book in the FILES section of SFBC
ONLINE |
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| Discussed
at Rock House on 20 October 2005 |
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As
the opinion of the Club fell into two distinct groups – the ayes and the
nays – it was easier for two people to write the review. |
| Angela
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| On the whole the majority of the reading group thought the 'Memoirs of a Geisha' a very interesting read. Japanese culture, of the time the novel was set in, came over as a strange, cruel and mysterious world. Some of us were surprised to discover it was in fact a work of fiction; a tribute to Arthur Golden's writing. I had always thought Geisha was a sort of high class prostitute. From the western perspective that is probably what it is. However, Geisha train for years in order to master the art of music, dancing and the art of conversation - and all this is to please rich men! |
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