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A review by icedpinecones
A Woman of Pleasure by Kiyoko Murata
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
As a huge fan of translated fiction (namely Meiko Kawakami) and finding a recent favourite book (Pachinko by Min Jin Lee) to also be a historical fiction book I decided I'd allow myself to read more of this genre if it interests me! I got an ad for this book on Instagram and after that I couldn't escape it! Book stores, more ads, other people reading it, and I'm so glad I picked it up because I LOVED this book!
CHARACTERS
We follow Ichi for the majority of this book, a child sold into prostitution, and I find her perspective enjoyable and easy to read. There's some other recurring characters such as the Orian she works under (Shinonome) and her teacher (Tetsuko) are all great characters to follow too, I'd love books from their perspectives as well because they were all such well thought through characters!
ATMOSPHERE
This book is both enjoyable and foreboding, Ichi is such a kind and gentle girl so you really feel it when she gets hit down by something. You know what's happening is deeply wrong, and you feel terribly for the girls, but it isn't a hard read either in the sense that you're scared to know what happens next.
WRITING STYLE
I found the writing style deeply enjoyable, easy to follow & I really enjoyed having Ichis diary entries & poetry throughout the book as it really helped me learn more about her character (and in scenes where other characters write poetry it's an event better insight into their character)
PLOT
So we follow Ichi who is sold into the pleasure district, namely the Shinonome pleasure house, as she learns the ways of prostitution and battles her own complex feelings about it as she grows up and begins her work in the brothel. It then shifts into focusing on strikes, changing law & differing perspectives on prostitution from the prostitutes themselves, lawmakers, religious organisations etc.
INTRIGUE
I don't know what to put here most of the time! It was really intriguing to me as I'd wanted to read about this, but can't say 'Memoirs of a Geisha' (I'm pretty sure Geisha and Orian are different things too) seemed it'd give an accurate presentation of the time period given it was written by a white man who plagiarised and dramatised the actual life of Mineko Iwasaki.
LOGIC
Book made sense for the most part, there was one scene (smallest and lightest spoiler) in which Shinonome teaches Ichi to clench her period in? With her vaginal muscles? I'm not sure if that's a thing you can do for several hours and then 'release' it I'm gonna be so for real. But maybe? Who knows, I use a cup lol.
ENJOYMENT
I!! LOVED THIS BOOK!!
Jessie (she/her)
[email protected]
www.instagram.com/icedpinecones
www.goodreads.com/icedpinecones
https://app.thestorygraph.com/profile/icedpinecones
CHARACTERS
We follow Ichi for the majority of this book, a child sold into prostitution, and I find her perspective enjoyable and easy to read. There's some other recurring characters such as the Orian she works under (Shinonome) and her teacher (Tetsuko) are all great characters to follow too, I'd love books from their perspectives as well because they were all such well thought through characters!
ATMOSPHERE
This book is both enjoyable and foreboding, Ichi is such a kind and gentle girl so you really feel it when she gets hit down by something. You know what's happening is deeply wrong, and you feel terribly for the girls, but it isn't a hard read either in the sense that you're scared to know what happens next.
WRITING STYLE
I found the writing style deeply enjoyable, easy to follow & I really enjoyed having Ichis diary entries & poetry throughout the book as it really helped me learn more about her character (and in scenes where other characters write poetry it's an event better insight into their character)
PLOT
So we follow Ichi who is sold into the pleasure district, namely the Shinonome pleasure house, as she learns the ways of prostitution and battles her own complex feelings about it as she grows up and begins her work in the brothel. It then shifts into focusing on strikes, changing law & differing perspectives on prostitution from the prostitutes themselves, lawmakers, religious organisations etc.
INTRIGUE
I don't know what to put here most of the time! It was really intriguing to me as I'd wanted to read about this, but can't say 'Memoirs of a Geisha' (I'm pretty sure Geisha and Orian are different things too) seemed it'd give an accurate presentation of the time period given it was written by a white man who plagiarised and dramatised the actual life of Mineko Iwasaki.
LOGIC
Book made sense for the most part, there was one scene (smallest and lightest spoiler) in which Shinonome teaches Ichi to clench her period in? With her vaginal muscles? I'm not sure if that's a thing you can do for several hours and then 'release' it I'm gonna be so for real. But maybe? Who knows, I use a cup lol.
ENJOYMENT
I!! LOVED THIS BOOK!!
Jessie (she/her)
[email protected]
www.instagram.com/icedpinecones
www.goodreads.com/icedpinecones
https://app.thestorygraph.com/profile/icedpinecones