Cameron Does NOT Recommend: Memoirs of a Geisha

Time to talk about a book that I absolutely hate, Memoirs of a Geisha. Now I am going to come right out and say that this review may be a bit biased, I'll go into why at the end. For now, I'll just tell you what I think of this book.

Memoirs of a Geisha is a book about a little Japanese girl whose father sells her to a geisha training house, essentially a training house for upper-class prostitutes. Now, many people will say that I am unfairly labeling geisha. Those people should go read the wikipedia article on geisha, yes the article mentions that there were many geisha who were simply entertainers, but many of them were still prostitutes. This is further illustrated by the fact that to become a geisha most women had to go through a mizuage, essentially a paid sex act, to become a geisha in first place. Enough with that tangent. Sayuri, the little girl, trains to become a geisha. Along the way she meets "The Councilman" who shows her some kindness. At this time she decides she wants to be his mistress. Later, she is freed by the geisha house's cruel ownership by manipulating a few men to bid very highly for her mizuage, the right to take away her virginity. She is then employed to be an entertainer to a high businessman, who has lost one of his arms. This man shows her much respect, and seems to care for her. During WWII, he is able to secure for her a job in a factory, so that she can keep from going to the streets. Afterwards he continues to show interest in her, but his friend is the Councilman. So Sayuri decides that in order to be with the Councilman she must disgust the businessman by being caught having sex with a man that everyone (including her) feels is a nasty pig. Somehow, this plan works, and she becomes the Councilman's mistress, even bearing him a son who she must take to the US to raise on her own so as not to bring the Councilman shame. The end.

Yep, that is the book. I really didn't like this book. For one, there are no good men in this story, they are all depicted as vile in one way or another. I know that some men are bad, but really all men? Even the love interest in the book, the Councilman, is a unfaithful man who sends his mistress away to raise his bastard son. Now many people will point out that in Japanese culture at the time this was the way of life. Be that as it may, I still don't think it's right. Just because another culture functioned that way doesn't make it right. I feel marriage is sacred, and I dislike it when it is portrayed as fleeting. Another thing is that our "hero" is a woman whose sole ambition is to be a mistress and she goes about accomplishing it in a terrible, terrible way. Now as to her getting out of her situation the way she did, I could sympathize with that a little, she was doing what she had to. But the plan of hers to get with the Councilman is terrible. How can I root for that?

Now for the bias explanation. To be fair I really didn't like this book and I would not suggest it. I read it because at the time I was dating Torrie, a girl I loved. She gave the book to me as a present. While I was reading it, she broke up with me claiming "Cameron, I know that I've told you I love you but I don't. And I don't think I ever did." It tore me to pieces. I finished the book, feeling that it was my penance. I could tell you all sorts of stories about how badly Torrie treated me and the painful things she did and said, but not here on this blog. Suffice it to say that I may be a little overly harsh on this book because of the person who gave it to me. It is well written, I'll give it that. It just has a morally negative story.

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