Memoirs of a geisha : a novel af Arthur Golden (1957-) (Bog)

Forfatter: Arthur Golden (1957-)
Sprog: Engelsk
Antal sider: 434
Forlag: Vintage Books
Udgivelsesår: 1997
A literary sensation and runaway bestseller, this brilliant debut novel tells with seamless authenticity and exquisite lyricism the true confessions of one of Japan's most celebrated geisha. Nominated as one of America’s best-loved novels by PBS’s The Great American Read Speaking to us with the wisdom of age and in a voice at once haunting and startlingly immediate, Nitta Sayuri tells the story of her life as a geisha. It begins in a poor fishing village in 1929, when, as a nine-year-old girl with unusual blue-gray eyes, she is taken from her home and sold into slavery to a renowned geisha house. We witness her transformation as she learns the rigorous arts of the geisha: dance and music; wearing kimono, elaborate makeup, and hair; pouring sake to reveal just a touch of inner wrist; competing with a jealous rival for men's solicitude and the money that goes with it. In Memoirs of a Geisha, we enter a world where appearances are paramount; where a girl's virginity is auctioned to the highest bidder; where women are trained to beguile the most powerful men; and where love is scorned as illusion. It is a unique and triumphant work of fiction—at once romantic, erotic, suspenseful—and completely unforgettable.
Titel: Memoirs of a geisha : a novel
Udgave: Vintage Contemporaries-udgave, "National Bestseller"-forside

Sammendrag: Romanen følger den unge pige Chiyo, som tages fra sin familie og sælges til et okiya i Kyoto, hvor hun efter hård træning og intriger fra rivaler transformeres til geishaen Nitta Sayuri. Gennem hendes erindringer oplever læseren geisha-miljøets lukkede verden: strenge regler, kostbare kimonoer, dans og tehus-optræden, konkurrence om mæcener, auktion af mizuage og komplekse forhold til magtfulde mænd. Fortællingen spænder over 1930’erne og 1940’erne med krig, besættelse og efterkrigstid som bagtæppe og tematiserer identitet, skæbne, kærlighed og overlevelse i et stærkt reguleret, patriarkalsk samfund.
Type: Paperback