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katiescho741 's review for:
Geisha: The Secret History of a Vanishing World
by Lesley Downer
This was a very interesting book about the secretive world of the geisha in Japan. The author covers a lot, from the history of the profession up to how they'd adapted to the modern world.
My main criticism of this book was the way the author described some of the women she met. She would often use words like "frumpy" and give a breakdown of their facial features, often with some form of negative comment. I know the world of geisha is all about beauty but I found these descriptions to be jarring and unnecessary. After all, the reader doesn't have to know the person being interviews has a slightly chubby face in order to learn or empathise with them, do they? It was just something I noticed and that I liked less and less as I read the book.
There was also a bit of repetition of certain ideas and statements.
However, this was a good book to learn a bit about the history of Japan as a whole, especially the period where it was an isolated country. The traditional Japanese values were the most intriguing things to learn about, especially their views on husbands having affairs and to "work hard, play hard" mentality.
The interviews with the modern geisha were interesting, and I enjoyed learning about how the world of geisha are adapting (or not) to modern Japan and it's new values and ideas.
A Good book to read for a quick history of geisha, as well as a look at the modern ones.
My main criticism of this book was the way the author described some of the women she met. She would often use words like "frumpy" and give a breakdown of their facial features, often with some form of negative comment. I know the world of geisha is all about beauty but I found these descriptions to be jarring and unnecessary. After all, the reader doesn't have to know the person being interviews has a slightly chubby face in order to learn or empathise with them, do they? It was just something I noticed and that I liked less and less as I read the book.
There was also a bit of repetition of certain ideas and statements.
However, this was a good book to learn a bit about the history of Japan as a whole, especially the period where it was an isolated country. The traditional Japanese values were the most intriguing things to learn about, especially their views on husbands having affairs and to "work hard, play hard" mentality.
The interviews with the modern geisha were interesting, and I enjoyed learning about how the world of geisha are adapting (or not) to modern Japan and it's new values and ideas.
A Good book to read for a quick history of geisha, as well as a look at the modern ones.