geiko

[lauralh]

I finished the Geisha book and can understand everyone's annoyance at Arthur Golden now. I am still going to see the film, b/c it looks lush and gorgeous.

Basically the main problem is the sex stuff is totally wrong. High priced prostitutes did sell their virginity to the highest bidders, but actual geisha did not. And they typically were not expected to sleep with their patrons, although of course sometimes there was racy shit going down. But the basic plot - the chairman's ugly friend wanting to be the main girl's "patron", and her refusing b/c she was in love with the chairman - is completely implausible. Geisha make money basically by having appointments at tea house parties, and they have to spend at least 3 minutes at each party. The tea house pays them amply, and a popular geisha can make up to $500K a year. So, yeah, there's no sex necessary in Kyoto.

Comments

[llarian.livejournal.com]

The Geisha: A Life book is sooo much more engrossing than Memoirs in my opinion as well. I wish they had patterned the movie after the true account rather than the fictionalized one.

I've been disappointed in Memoirs (the book) since I finished Geisha, and I really don't have much expectation in the way of the movie either because of it.

[altamira16.livejournal.com]

Wow, I didn't know that much stuff was wrong with the book. I thought the author was saying he was some sort of expert in eastern studies, so I was expecting him to keep some level of basis in reality. This is disappointing.

[llarian.livejournal.com]

I didn't either until I read Geisha. I highly highly reccomend it as a must read. Especially if you liked Memoirs.

[peroxidestings.livejournal.com]

Did the similes make you want to vomit by the end of the book? Upon reaching the last page did you feel like a pet cricket that had at last escaped its wicker cage?

[herbaliser.livejournal.com]

well, no. But it's been a while.