Memoirs of a Geisha (1 Viewer)

seremify007

Junior Member
Joined
Apr 29, 2004
Messages
10,061
Location
Sydney, Australia
Gender
Male
HSC
2005
Uni Grad
2009
I'm about to read the book as well... because the movie seems big, and it was on cover of Time. I prefer to read before watching- although, with P&P, I did it the wrong way round >_>
 

stazi

Nightman
Joined
Feb 23, 2003
Messages
14,093
Location
Sydney
Gender
Male
HSC
2004
pffft why would u read a book when it's out as a movie?
 

MoonlightSonata

Retired
Joined
Aug 17, 2002
Messages
3,645
Gender
Female
HSC
N/A
(This is perhaps why our literacy levels and language skills are deteriorating)
 

stazi

Nightman
Joined
Feb 23, 2003
Messages
14,093
Location
Sydney
Gender
Male
HSC
2004
MoonlightSonata said:
(This is perhaps why our literacy levels and language skills are deteriorating)
as is our ability to detect sarcasm ;)
 

MoonlightSonata

Retired
Joined
Aug 17, 2002
Messages
3,645
Gender
Female
HSC
N/A
Oh I see. Apologies, it's just that with some people on this forum you can't be too certain!

I suppose if in doubt there is this lovely icon :rolleyes:
 

stazi

Nightman
Joined
Feb 23, 2003
Messages
14,093
Location
Sydney
Gender
Male
HSC
2004
with me of all people, you should realise 40% of my posts = trolling
50% to sarcasm
and the last 20% to being a dick.
which leads to -10% for being normal.
 

seremify007

Junior Member
Joined
Apr 29, 2004
Messages
10,061
Location
Sydney, Australia
Gender
Male
HSC
2005
Uni Grad
2009
stazi said:
with me of all people, you should realise 40% of my posts = trolling
50% to sarcasm
and the last 20% to being a dick.
which leads to -10% for being normal.
Sigg'd.
 

kiteblood

Member
Joined
Oct 5, 2005
Messages
73
Location
l'australie
Gender
Female
HSC
2005
I disliked it. Mostly because of the overwhelming sense of claustrophobia and tedious pace. Chapters seemed to pass by without anything actually happening. The whole 'Chairman' fantasy was frankly ridiculous, making it painfully obvious that despite Golden's historical/cultural knowledge, he has no idea what it feels like to be a Geisha, or a young girl, for that matter.
 

MoonlightSonata

Retired
Joined
Aug 17, 2002
Messages
3,645
Gender
Female
HSC
N/A
I feel that a dynamic plot is not a prerequisite for a decent novel.

Character driven stories can be just as (if not more) compelling without too much actually going on.
 

kiteblood

Member
Joined
Oct 5, 2005
Messages
73
Location
l'australie
Gender
Female
HSC
2005
I'll agree with that, of course. There's a difference between a quiet pace and a tedious one. I didn't feel Golden's characterizations were strong enough to support the former.
 

erawamai

Retired. Gone fishing.
Joined
Sep 26, 2004
Messages
1,456
Location
-
Gender
Undisclosed
HSC
2002
MoonlightSonata said:
Character driven stories can be just as (if not more) compelling without too much actually going on.
Catch 22 is probably one of those books.
 

winterfall

New Member
Joined
Feb 20, 2006
Messages
17
Location
Beverly Hills
Gender
Female
HSC
2007
Oh I loved this book... realistically written, except for the ending where you get the impression Golden just wanted to kill of Nobu...
 

Lexie1001

Member
Joined
Nov 4, 2005
Messages
96
Location
nowhere
Gender
Female
HSC
2006
i didn't want to read this book cos it looked a bit boring, especially since its historical fiction so probably isnt that accurate of the time. but then my friend gave it to me for my birthday so i had to read it! it was good in some bits but got boring sometimes, it took ages for stuff to happen and i didnt see where the plot was going. i also agree with kiteblood about the chairman....her whole fantasy with him really got on my nerves and then the ending seemed a bit unrealistic when it turns out he's been in love with her all along.
 
Joined
Mar 8, 2006
Messages
34
Gender
Female
HSC
N/A
Yes, the entire motivation for Chiyo/Sayuri to become a Geisha was to meet the Chairman. The 'romantic' aspect of the plot just didn't cut it for me. It was weak and so unrealistic that I couldn't really empathise with her desire to be with some old guy :/

And I have to say that the ending ruined the book for me - too rushed.

The best part of the book was the whole Hatsumomo rivalry and bitchiness.
 

Just_a_Second

New Member
Joined
Jan 15, 2006
Messages
5
Location
Central Coast
Gender
Female
HSC
2006
It was an interesting read but the main character was too delusional to be all that likeable. I was really pleased for the most part of the book when I thought she wasn't going to end up with the Chairman, I thought it was realistic. When she did end up with him I was really hacked off.
It think it is stupid how the introduction leads you into thinking its a real story and the girl was a real person. What the hell?
 
Joined
Dec 18, 2005
Messages
137
Location
Sydney
Gender
Female
HSC
2008
I watched the movie before reading the book. And I found the that book was really good. So i suggest reading it =]
 

shyr

New Member
Joined
Apr 21, 2006
Messages
22
Gender
Female
HSC
2006
i truly enjoyed the book. i was captivated by the story but was totally disappointed by the movie. it was far from what i expected.... i especially hated the part when Sayuri does her so-called coming-out dance.
 
T

Testpilot

Guest
The book may have been good but there was been controversy over it, as the person it is based on claims that a lot of it has been made up.

But then again, who cares, its not a biography.
 

Users Who Are Viewing This Thread (Users: 0, Guests: 1)

Top