book review of Autobiography of a Geisha
I went into this book with absolutely no expectations. In fact, I didn’t even seek the book out to read. I just saw it in the library and decided to check it out since there weren’t many books dealing with Japan to choose from. What a pleasant surprise this turned out to be!
Although the author is uneducated, she is able to tell a great story and couldn’t be called unintelligent. Unlike the very popular Memoirs of a Geisha
, which was also a great book (and pretty mediocre movie unfortunately done with many non-Japanese actors), this is a true story. I got the feeling that Arthur Golden borrowed some material from Autobiography of a Geisha to create his fictional account.
Autobiography of a Geisha is a rich story of the human predicament exploring what it means to be alive. The author’s life is actually very inspiring at times. She overcomes so much adversity along the way that if you are looking for a good “pick-me-up” type book that isn’t candy coated and sappy from cover to cover then you should find Autobiography of a Geisha and enjoy this page-turning, real adventure.
