さゆり 下 [Sayuri 2]

さゆり [Sayuri] #2

by Arthur Golden, アーサー・ゴールデン, 小川高義 (翻訳)

9歳で売られ、芸を磨き、史上最高値で水揚げされた芸妓さゆりの生涯。祇園の美と真実をかつてなく精緻に描いた話題作の文庫化

Genres: Fiction

434 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1999

About the author

Arthur Sulzberger Golden is an American writer. He is the author of the bestselling novel Memoirs of a Geisha (1997).

Reviews

[Dakota · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was captivating. From the moment Arthur Golden describes Sayuri's tipsy little house on the coast of Japan to her apartment complex in New York I was enthralled. Golden has a gift when it comes to describing the scene, painting an exquisite picture in the mind of the reader.

Sayuri's life is filled with beautiful tragedies. Taken from her home and thrown into the life of a Geisha, where her only role was to serve and please, she had to learn to lock her desires deep in her heart. Throughout the novel she is in a constant battle with her heart and the social protocol demanded upon Geisha. Along the way she makes life long friends and mortal enemies, and acquires the elegant skill of a Geisha. By the end of the novel she goes against the odds and creates her own destiny, which leads her to the arms of her true love.

If you have not read Arthur Golden's Memoirs of a Geisha, you have denied yourself to one of the most beautifully crafted novels, which depicts the lovely and heart wrenching life of Sayuri. While reading this novel all you want to do is see Sayuri succeed in her journey to true happiness.

[Jennifer Dulin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an enrapturing, moving story that reminds me so much in spirit of One Hundred Years of Solitude, because of how the novel draws you in to the world it creates. I consumed this book in record time. We watch the tragic and exciting life of the protagonist, Chiyo, unfold as narrated by her future, elder self. Chiyo was born in the early 20th century to a very poor fishing family in a rural town in Japan. Her mother suffered from a terminal illness and her father could only stand by as an old, tired fisherman. Chiyo is bought by a Mr. Tanaka and sold to an okiya, a geisha house, in a Kyoto neighborhood. Here begins the story.

Chiyo navigates mourning for her lost family, growing up in the okiya with a bitter, cunning adversary of a roommate, falling in love with a man of great stature who is out of her grasp, and rising to prominence as a distinguished Kyoto geisha, all against the background of escalating conflict in WWII. The great majority of the story focuses on Chiyo’s life from age 9 to age 30. There is a compelling cast of characters, from strict okiya matriarchs to eccentric kabuki artists to drunken military officers. A central conflict throughout the novel is Chiyo’s infatuation with the Chairman, a handsome businessman who gives her hope of having a happy life but remains out of reach, while she is constantly being groomed for other men.

This story is at once heartbreaking and inspiring, full of funny and heart-wrenching moments. I would recommend it to anyone looking to be immersed completely in a strange new world.

[Eva · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the book that got me back into reading. The writing style is simple and straightforward. Settings are described in a succinct way without too much fluff. It was a page-turner for me and gave me some insight into geisha culture. It would have been 5-stars for me if I did not learn after about the controversiality of Arthur Golden. After reading into him and the allegations of this book, I began having mixed feelings.