Memoirs of a Geisha.: Amazon.de: Arthur Golden: Englische Bücher

From Amazon.co.uk

According to Arthur Golden's absorbing first novel, the word "geisha" does not mean "prostitute," as Westerners ignorantly assume--it means "artisan" or "artist." To capture the geisha experience in the art of fiction, Golden trained as long and hard as any geisha who must master the arts of music, dance, clever conversation, crafty battle with rival beauties and cunning seduction of wealthy patrons. After earning degrees in Japanese art and history from Harvard and Columbia--and an M.A. in English--he met a man in Tokyo who was the illegitimate offspring of a renowned businessman and a geisha. This meeting inspired Golden to spend 10 years researching every detail of geisha culture, chiefly relying on the geisha Mineko Iwasaki, who spent years charming the very rich and famous.

The result is a novel with the broad social canvas (and love of coincidence) of Charles Dickens and Jane Austen's intense attention to the nuances of erotic maneuvering. Readers experience the entire life of a geisha, from her origins as an orphaned fishing-village girl in 1929 to her triumphant auction of her mizuage (virginity) for a record price as a teenager to her reminiscent old age as the distinguished mistress of the powerful patron of her dreams. We discover that a geisha is more analogous to a Western "trophy wife" than to a prostitute--and, as in Austen, flat-out prostitution and early death is a woman's alternative to the repressive, arcane system of courtship. In simple, elegant prose, Golden puts us right in the tearoom with the geisha; we are there as she gracefully fights for her life in a social situation where careers are made or destroyed by a witticism, a too-revealing (or not revealing enough) glimpse of flesh under the kimono, or a vicious rumour spread by a rival "as cruel as a spider."

Golden's web is finely woven, but his book has a serious flaw: the geisha's true romance rings hollow--the love of her life is a symbol, not a character. Her villainous geisha nemesis is sharply drawn, but she would be more so if we got a deeper peek into the cause of her motiveless malignity--the plight all geisha share. Still, Golden has won the triple crown of fiction: he has created a plausible female protagonist in a vivid, now-vanished world and he gloriously captures Japanese culture by expressing his thoughts in authentic Eastern metaphors. -- Dieser Text bezieht sich auf eine andere Ausgabe: Taschenbuch .

Amazon.co.uk

The first thing you notice about the audio version of Memoirs of a Geisha is that Arthur Golden's 428-page novel has been reduced to a scant two cassettes. But dismay quickly gives way to mounting pleasure as Elaina Erika Davis (Contact, As the World Turns) begins her delicate rendering of geisha culture in the years before the second world war. Davis reads the abbreviated story of Sayuri with an authentic-sounding Japanese accent--one mixed with a magical combination of Asian reserve and theatrical energy. As Sayuri ages from a 9-year-old peasant girl to a popular geisha in her late 20s, Davis directs her voice gently away from curious youth to a tone that reflects Sayuri's uphill life.

From start to finish, the listener is absorbed in the elegant spirit of Davis's performance, eager to hear the next chapter of Sayuri's transformation into one of the most famous geishas of the century. How unfortunate, then, to learn that book readers not only get the basic story, but a fascinating look at the intricate rules and rituals of geisha culture. Here, for example, is one of the many revelations omitted from the cassette: "Japanese men, as a rule, feel about a woman's neck and throat the same way that men in the West might feel about a woman's legs .... In fact, a geisha leaves a tiny margin of skin bare all around the hairline, causing her makeup to look even more artificial .... When a man sits beside her, he becomes that much more aware of the bare skin beneath."

We're also denied several subplots--the aborted friendship between Sayuri and a geisha named Pumpkin, for example, or much of the story involving the man Sayuri is secretly in love with. But what remains is as precious as a traditional Japanese kimono--at once artistic, suggestive and moving. --Ann Senechal -- Dieser Text bezieht sich auf eine vergriffene oder nicht verf�gbare Ausgabe dieses Titels.

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Memoirs of a geisha review 25. Februar 2006

Von Ein Kunde

Format:Taschenbuch

I enjoyed Memoirs of a Geisha because of the very catchy and likable story it told. As Sayuri grew up and lived in the Geisha house, I felt as if I was following her around and living her life with her. The beginning of the novel made me want to read on because of the sadness it shared. It's a very good novel, touching your heart, and makes you appreciate your family. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes entertainment, and enjoys his or her family. It's a very fast read, and once you get into the story, it's very difficult to put it down. Any readers ages 14 and up could enjoy this because it has a little something for everyone. During the story, you feel as if there is always something to relate to. Thanks----Harriet
I also recommend " The Quest " by Giorgio Kostantinos

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9 von 10 Kunden fanden die folgende Rezension hilfreich

Memoirs of a Geisha - Ein Blick hinter die weiße Maske 27. Mai 2001

Arthur Goldens Roman "Memoirs of a Geisha" (Die Geisha) nimmt den Leser sofort gefangen: Seine ruhige und doch packende Erzählweise führt uns in die Welt der zu Beginn des Romans 9jährigen Sayuri und erzählt uns ihren Weg von dem mutterlosen Mädchen eines armen Fischerdorfs zur angesehendsten Geisha. Ein Weg, der nicht nur ein Viertel Jahrhundert umfaßt, von 1929 bis in die Nachkriegszeit, sondern der uns auch in die von westlichen Lesern oft mißverstande Welt der Geishas einführt. So wird dem Leser manches Mal die Augen geöffnet und er erkennt, welche harte und unbarmherzige Schule die Geishas in ihrer Ausbildung durchlaufen, daß ihr Leben nicht nur von Parties, Teezeremonien und Tänzen erfüllt ist, sondern auch von Ausbeutung und Entbehrungen.

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Seit Jahren... 11. Februar 2006

Von N. M�ller

... eins meiner Lieblingsbücher.

Chiyo wird mit neun Jahren aufgrund der schweren Krankheit ihrer Mutter und der Mittellosigkeit ihres Vaters nach Kyoto gebracht, um dort zu lernen, eine Geisha zu sein, wie eine zu denken und in der harten Konkurrenz unter Geishas zu bestehen. Viel mehr wohl, zu überleben. In Gion (dem Geisha-Distrikt von Kyoto) setzt sie sich gegen weitaus erfahrenere Geishas durch, um eine der populärsten Gesellschafterinnen Japans zu werden.

Arthur Golden mag sich nicht zu 100% an das Original Mineko Iwasaki gehalten haben, trotzdem fasziniert die Geschichte der kleinen Chiyo-san von Anfang an. Lebhafter kann man diese fremde Kultur den westlichen Lesern wohl kaum nahe bringen.

Ein geniales Buch, gefühlvoll und schlüssig geschrieben. Lässt keine Wünsche offen.