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Graphic: Alcoholism, Bullying, Alcohol
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Cursing, Rape, Slavery, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, War, Classism
Minor: Body horror, Abortion, Colonisation
Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, Trafficking, Death of parent, Classism
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Sexual content, Slavery, Torture, Sexual harassment
Minor: Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Medical content, Abortion, War
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Slavery, Violence, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief
I've always been interested in Japanese culture, and I watched the movie many years ago - and it certainly left a sad impression on me. That said, I was still curious to read the book to see the details the movie missed.
While the book has been billed as a sort of fairy tale - and in some respects, it is - I view it predominantly as a tragedy, which is not my kind of read at all. Sayuri describes her life as being like a river that runs off a cliff over a series of sharp rocks before reaching the ocean below. It was a literal ache in my chest to read about this poor girl being sold into sexual slavery (despite the fact that geisha are elevated as "artisans" rather than prostitutes - though the fact stands that they learn the "art" of entertaining men). It was difficult to watch Sayuri go through life with no agency - but that is what makes the very end so tense and exciting: because she finally determines to act on her own to change her future in the only way she sees fit (as sad a plan as it is, it's all she's been raised to know).
Sayuri's love for the Chairman was both understandable, given her fairly loveless upbringing and dire circumstances, and yet did not sit well with me. In fact, their whole love story left me feeling conflicted. In a different setting, where women were not raised to be men's objects of pleasure and where Sayuri could never amount to anything more than his mistress in her wildest dreams, perhaps I could have set aside my May/December reservations (I have done so for fantasy books many times where the man is often hundreds of years older than the woman, though the mechanics of aging in that case are usually different).
As for whether or not to call the Chairman a groomer, well...one the one hand, he did not encourage her affections for him in any way and did not intend her for himself, so points for him there, but he also did not work to get her out of the geisha way of life either, despite having enough influence to change part of her upbringing. And perhaps that was just the perception back in the day that it was the best life a woman could lead on her own (although it certainly didn't read that way). So all that to say, it's one of the reasons I find myself very conflicted about their relationship, despite the fact that they both loved each other until the Chairman died.
Overall, the story was very poetic and well-written, despite being rather slow-paced. I was invested in learning about the characters, their lives, and Japan at that time. While some might call it problematic that a Western man was trying to write an Eastern woman, I appreciated that Golden did appear to be well-rooted in that mindset. Were there a couple areas that didn't ring as true? Sure, but not enough to detract from the story.
Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Sexual content, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Trafficking
Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Grief, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, War
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Bullying, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Suicide, Trafficking, Abortion, Gaslighting, Classism
Minor: Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Sexual content, Slavery, Cultural appropriation
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Abortion, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, War
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Abortion, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Given the books apparent success, I was expecting a detailed journey on what being a Geisha involved. Instead, this poorly written historical fiction infantilizes the main character and breezes past mountains of abuse while trying to insert an uncomfortable romance subplot. The book felt half finished with unexplainable time jumps and large gaps in the story.
Graphic: Slavery, Trafficking
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Death of parent
Minor: War
Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Slavery, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, War
Moderate: Alcoholism, Infidelity, Sexual assault, Abortion, Alcohol
Minor: Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail