a memoir like fictional Nitta Sayuri's is one which i wish i could have the talent to pen... it is utterly captivating... lyrical and heartfelt. ...little wonder that Arthur Golden has been critically praised for rendering this remarkable voice of the legendary Geisha, a skilled courtesan who entertains the men that frequent the tea-houses of pre-war Gion, in his debut novel. i am most intrigued by the myriad of life-complexities and rivalries hidden behind the glorious facade, the perfect demure smiles, graceful movements and social banter that these artisans carry in the presence of their patrons which Golden delicately exposes to the reader.
training to become a top-grade courtesan can be what seems like an arduous and tormentous journey... one is expected to become skilled in music, dance, social etiquette as well as the art of enticing and yet not jeopardizing your worth... this is particularly challenging if you are sold to a household so devoid of appreciation, encouragement and trust... and if you have in addition a tyrannical Hatsumomo (the top geisha of the Nitta household who is a reincarnation of a devil camouflaged beneath her inconceivably divine beauty) bent on crushing you, life is the epitome of misery...
young Chiyo, nonetheless, emerges to become the legendary Sayuri under the tutelage of the renowed Mameha and the generosity bestowed (unbeknownst to her) by the Chairman... whose kindness to the young girl one afternoon lingered in her memory for years since and inspired her to work towards her dream...
yet, i will probably never be able to fully appreciate the life of a geisha for the world in which a geisha lives seems really quite bizarre to me... or perhaps i should say that the kind of sexual muse and fantasies of (some?) men in japan and many places elsewhere are quite... warped?! and i wonder if Golden had the intention of making a mockery of this aspect of humanity in his novel...
in any case, what rings through in the spell-binding story is that if adversaries (as predominantly portrayed by Hatsumomo and the Nitta household and possibly even the archaic practices) could be overcomed, our dreams (life, love, freedom and perhaps even happiness) may not be totally out of reach... no body ever said that life isn't a struggle and the reward as you will discover at the end of the memoir is bittersweet.
i am certainly looking forward to the movie, which should be out for x'mas... the trailers are simply mesmerising... what with a cast of shinning stars, such exquisite kimonos... and the promise of beautiful music (by John Williams) and dance (performed by dance-graduates Zhang Ziyi and Michelle Yeoh)!
... gosh... i do wish i owned a pair of luminous grey-blue eyes...
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