Memoirs of a Geisha

I am currently reading Memoirs of a Geisha, by Arthur Golden. It’s a best selling  Novel, Which is now a Major Motion picture (2005 film), according to the information on the book cover. It’s a fast read and an engrossing book. I found it more like a CHetan Bhagat( add more of metaphorical or lyrical prose) kind of book than a serious literature.

Memoirs of a Geisha tells the story of a young girl, Chiyo, who is sold into the life of a geisha.Geisha are classical Japanese entertainers, who perform various dances or musicals. They are more Tawaifs in Indian term, more like Madhuri Dixit in Devdas, and not prostitutes in real sense.

Courtesy Wikipedia -Their purpose is to entertain their customer, be it by dancing, reciting verse, playing musical instruments, or engaging in light conversation. Geisha are regarded as prostitutes by many non-Japanese. However, legitimate geisha do not engage in paid sex with clients. Their purpose is to entertain their customer, be it by dancing, reciting verse, playing musical instruments, or engaging in light conversation.

Story starts with a young girl who is sold off by her father, owing to the reason that they are extremely poor and his wife( Her mother) is dying of bone cancer. She is taken away to a distant town Kyoto, which is a bustling city and how the girl copes with a new but harsh life of servitude, encircled by extreme difficulties in the form of jealous and offensive tenants, to finally become the most famous Geisha.

It’s an intense and interesting book, (though I have read only 80 pages) and highly advocate to read it if you haven’t already. Ciao.