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haylis 's review for:
Memoirs of a Geisha
by Arthur Golden
I set out to read this book before I knew about the issues with it.
With that out of the way, I did overall enjoy the book. I agree with most that the writing was a little pretentious, and drawn out, but the storyline was decent, nonetheless. The book's purpose was to introduce westerners to Geisha culture, and for that purpose I recommend reading it (especially seeing how Geisha are being treated in 2024.)
BUT
If you're wanting the true story of this specific geisha, I recommend [b:Geisha, a Life|522534|Geisha, a Life|Mineko Iwasaki|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1359402937l/522534._SY75_.jpg|18133] as the author is who Golden based a majority of his story on (and who sued him for defamation for some parts of the story.) Iwasaki ended up writing an autobiography about her time as a geisha, and for ethical reasons, I'd recommend her book over Golden's any day. Golden's, however, is meant to be fiction, I just wish it was written with more respect for the culture of subject.
With that out of the way, I did overall enjoy the book. I agree with most that the writing was a little pretentious, and drawn out, but the storyline was decent, nonetheless. The book's purpose was to introduce westerners to Geisha culture, and for that purpose I recommend reading it (especially seeing how Geisha are being treated in 2024.)
BUT
If you're wanting the true story of this specific geisha, I recommend [b:Geisha, a Life|522534|Geisha, a Life|Mineko Iwasaki|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1359402937l/522534._SY75_.jpg|18133] as the author is who Golden based a majority of his story on (and who sued him for defamation for some parts of the story.) Iwasaki ended up writing an autobiography about her time as a geisha, and for ethical reasons, I'd recommend her book over Golden's any day. Golden's, however, is meant to be fiction, I just wish it was written with more respect for the culture of subject.