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Name of the eBook you are reviewing: Memoirs of a Geisha
“At the temple, there is a poem called "Loss" carved into the stone. It has three words, but the poet has scratched them out. You cannot read loss, only feel it.” This is an excerpt from Arthur Golden’s American novel, Memoirs of a geisha, this quote is one of many examples of symbolism in the book, which is accented by Japanese imagery. Memoirs of a geisha are layered with this description that has powerful contextual meaning, for example: ”Whatever our struggles and triumphs, however, we may suffer them, all too soon they bleed into a wash, just like watery ink on paper.“. This beautiful quote describes a point in the book when Chiyo, the main protagonist, despite her mother being on the verge of death, leaves her family behind for the opportunity of a better life. In this story, hardship and misery is a recurring theme, that all readers, regardless of the challenges they’ve faced, can connect with in some way.
Review:
This novel really allowed me to explore the concept of beauty in different cultures and allowed me to appreciate other aspects, particularly their art even more. For example, I learned a lot about Japanese tradition: they take pride in their hair; long, dark and silky is ideal. You can see this aspect when looking at traditional Japanese art, they put meticulous effort into the precision of the strands of hair. The sacrifices to get the look geisha look were painful at the time, they had to have a hot red special comb that is quite sharp pushed through their wet hair in hopes of straightening it. Some other differences between the ideals of beauty in Asian and Western culture are having tan or pale skin. In Japanese culture, having pale skin is a sign of nobility, as upper-class citizens wouldn't need to work in labour, for this means farming and doing errands outside, whereas, in Western culture, a tan means you can a afford a nice holiday in someplace hot. The historical background of different cultures is so influential on their standards and values, and this book really sheds light on that.
Would you recommend this to other users? Whether I would continue to read more of Golden's book would depend on the genre, and at that a glance, it seems that there are mostly books about traditional Japanese culture, which, personally, I don’t find very compelling. However, if you’re someone who likes learning about the inner workings of an ancient civilization I would highly recommend this author. A note I would give to the author is to be more clear when explaining the plotline. Although there is merit in subtlety, I felt that it went so far that I found myself frustrated by all the plot holes I could not find answers to. My expectations in this book were met, and I was engaged throughout, up until the ending which was very unsatisfying because it was so predictable due to excessive foreshadowing.
Rating(1-5):
“At the temple, there is a poem called "Loss" carved into the stone. It has three words, but the poet has scratched them out. You cannot read loss, only feel it.” This is an excerpt from Arthur Golden’s American novel, Memoirs of a geisha, this quote is one of many examples of symbolism in the book, which is accented by Japanese imagery. Memoirs of a geisha are layered with this description that has powerful contextual meaning, for example: ”Whatever our struggles and triumphs, however, we may suffer them, all too soon they bleed into a wash, just like watery ink on paper.“. This beautiful quote describes a point in the book when Chiyo, the main protagonist, despite her mother being on the verge of death, leaves her family behind for the opportunity of a better life. In this story, hardship and misery is a recurring theme, that all readers, regardless of the challenges they’ve faced, can connect with in some way.
Review:
This novel really allowed me to explore the concept of beauty in different cultures and allowed me to appreciate other aspects, particularly their art even more. For example, I learned a lot about Japanese tradition: they take pride in their hair; long, dark and silky is ideal. You can see this aspect when looking at traditional Japanese art, they put meticulous effort into the precision of the strands of hair. The sacrifices to get the look geisha look were painful at the time, they had to have a hot red special comb that is quite sharp pushed through their wet hair in hopes of straightening it. Some other differences between the ideals of beauty in Asian and Western culture are having tan or pale skin. In Japanese culture, having pale skin is a sign of nobility, as upper-class citizens wouldn't need to work in labour, for this means farming and doing errands outside, whereas, in Western culture, a tan means you can a afford a nice holiday in someplace hot. The historical background of different cultures is so influential on their standards and values, and this book really sheds light on that.
Would you recommend this to other users? Whether I would continue to read more of Golden's book would depend on the genre, and at that a glance, it seems that there are mostly books about traditional Japanese culture, which, personally, I don’t find very compelling. However, if you’re someone who likes learning about the inner workings of an ancient civilization I would highly recommend this author. A note I would give to the author is to be more clear when explaining the plotline. Although there is merit in subtlety, I felt that it went so far that I found myself frustrated by all the plot holes I could not find answers to. My expectations in this book were met, and I was engaged throughout, up until the ending which was very unsatisfying because it was so predictable due to excessive foreshadowing.
Rating(1-5):
