Blog #1
Literary Merit of
Summer Reading
The book Memoirs of a Geisha written by Arthur Golden has become
one of my favorite books of all time. I had never even heard of it before
seeing it on the summer reading list at the end of last school year, and now I can’t
wait until I have time to read it again. Not only did this book have an
interesting background story behind it with the rich history of the geisha
world, but the way in which the author portrayed the life of little Sayuri made
the entire experience infinitely more interesting. Prior to reading this
novel, I had many preconceived notions about Japanese geisha during this time,
the majority of which related them to prostitutes. However, Golden makes it a
point to inform the reader about the true complexity of the lives that these
women lived during this time. This book follows the difficult life of a little
girl from a fishing village, and records her transformation from a literal
nobody into one of the most recognized geisha of all time. The reader takes a
journey with Sayuri through a little-known fishing village to a large geisha
city. The reader connects with the main character as she is put through the
many hardships that she has to face throughout of her life. From being sold as
child labor to being forced to live on a separate continent form her one true
love. Not only does the reader realize that the majority of Sayuri’s
difficulties are dictated by the society and times in which she lives, but the
reader sympathizes with the difficult hand that she is played. I believe the
true merit of this book comes from the eloquence that Golden uses when
describing everything from outhouses to extravagant tea ceremonies. The way in
which he describes each presents to the reader a sense of equal importance in
the development of the plot. Through this plot development the reader gains
knowledge about the world and customs of this time. To me this is very
important in a book. Although this is a fiction book, the fact that it is so
rich in true information gives it a sense of realism that it would not normally
have had Golden not done his extensive research. This book has impacted society
in such a way that readers are able to appreciate the hardships that many people
lived in World War two, not only the geishas but the business men and average
families as well. The fact that Arthur Golden did all of his research personally
and met with a number of geishas in order to get the information he needed to
write his book shows that this work is not only a good read but also reliable
information. A fiction novel that is in fact backed up by real information
makes a work that much more prominent and influential in society.
