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9th out of 82 books
—
13 voters
90-Day Geisha: My Time as a Tokyo Hostess
An introspective journey into the glamorous world—and temptations—of Japanese nightlife, by former model Chelsea Haywood. The hard-drinking, drug-taking, all-night culture that dominates Tokyo’s Roppongi district can be a surreal place. Overworked Japanese business men will pay handsomely for the services of a hostess—someone to talk to, someone to provide hot towels and d...more
Hardcover, 308 pages
Published
by Ebury Press
(first published December 31st 2007)
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there is no summary of this book so here is one until a librarian updates the listing:
"Millionaires, surgeons, serial killers, CEOs: 'What are your hobbies?' Step into the surreal world of a Tokyo hostess club and gain an exclusive, underground pass through the eyes of author Chelsea Brennan as she attempts to understand a way of life unique to the Japanese, all the while experiencing six-hundred dollar dinners, kabuki theatre, Harajuku shopping sprees, and first-class trips to 'Anywhere you wan...more
"Millionaires, surgeons, serial killers, CEOs: 'What are your hobbies?' Step into the surreal world of a Tokyo hostess club and gain an exclusive, underground pass through the eyes of author Chelsea Brennan as she attempts to understand a way of life unique to the Japanese, all the while experiencing six-hundred dollar dinners, kabuki theatre, Harajuku shopping sprees, and first-class trips to 'Anywhere you wan...more
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I first encountered the Japanese hostess bar on a visit to Hawaii decades ago. These are bars or clubs where men pay lots of money to have women sit and talk to them while they drink real drinks and the women sip drinks with little or no alcohol. The ones I visited were in working class neighborhoods, and they struck me as odd and somewhat sad. Odd because they were foreign to Western culture. And sad because most of the men seemed socially awkward and lonely.
Chelsea Haywood's book 90-day Geish...more
Chelsea Haywood's book 90-day Geish...more
I read this book about 2 years ago, so I don't remember all the details associated with it. What I do remember is that it provided some insightful answers to questions that I have been wondering about the hostess situation in Japan. I immediately identified with Chelsea's story as she was in Japan around the same time that I lived there. Although I've never had any association with the hostess bars, I was always curious about the lives of foreign women who worked in them. Unlike some of the wome...more
Chelsea Haywood is not exactly a good writer, but this also is her first book so I can forgive her that. Maybe it's also because I read the Dutch translation that I didn't think it was that bad.
I didn't like that the title mentioned 'geisha' but I don't know if she got any say in that. Obviously she wasn't a geisha, just a hostess.
I enjoyed reading this book, despite its flaws. Chelsea wrote at the end of the book that some people didn't make it because they weren't interesting enough (according...more
I didn't like that the title mentioned 'geisha' but I don't know if she got any say in that. Obviously she wasn't a geisha, just a hostess.
I enjoyed reading this book, despite its flaws. Chelsea wrote at the end of the book that some people didn't make it because they weren't interesting enough (according...more
It has interesting moments. Readable as a trite way to satisfy curiosity about a particular aspect of Japanese culture and lifestyles but not well written overall - lacked continuity in the story telling, with scattered, feeble attempts to be clever. I kept getting the impression that because the author is very physically attractive, being a model,that she is accustomed to people treating her as though she is more interesting than she really is. Without the aide of physical allure, a writer must...more
I'm not sure what to say about this book. It was definitely a fast read and entertaining and a bit titillating. That said the author could have benefited from a bit more self reflection (any 20 year old who says "I never thought I would get married, but then I did" could probably benefit from a bit more self reflection and that was in the first few chapters of the book). Also some bombs were dropped (maybe I was a hostess to a serial rapist and murderer!) that seemed ill researched when they cou...more
Haywood travels to Tokyo with her husband on a 90-day tourist visa and gets a job in a Roppongi hostess bar with the direct intention of writing a book about it. I’m usually tolerant of, and often enjoy, stunt books, but this one reads like a badly written teenager’s diary entries. There’s no story arc. Judging by the quality of the writing, I’m guessing that the scattered snippets on Japanese culture and history were researched via Wikipedia and/or a travel guide with words rearranged to avoid...more
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I usually don't read biographies or memoirs but the title caught my eye. Needless to say I wasn't disappointed. I was curious to learn more about the Japanese hostess culture, especially from the point of view of a westerner. From the very first chapter I was immediately drawn into her story. The way in which she paints Japanese culture invokes a world of entitlement and materialism. Yet it is apparent that the world in which many of her clients live is empty and lonely, punctuated only by brief...more
Jan 31, 2010
Liz
rated it
2 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
history lovers of geisha
Recommended to Liz by:
self
Shelves:
memoirs
Chelsea Haywood descends on the Roppongi district in Tokyo to work as a hostess at Greengrass. She is there to write on her 90 day adventured of the modern day geisha. She is also a young married woman, which is to never be known to the men she is entertaining. Chelsea learns that hostessing is more to do with the psychological aspect of the men she supposedly "loves" than the act of prostitution. She actually thinks she is falling for a guy named Yoshi, but realizes it is just his lifestyle not...more
I'm utterly fascinated by geisha, courtesans, saloon girls/soiled doves and the entire "women using their bodies, wits and guile for their own purposes" thing.
However, sadly, I found Haywood's personality (as expressed through her writing) to be difficult to empathize with. Her duplicity towards her husband was as great as that she apparently had difficulty coping with offering towards some of her customers, which made for an uncomfortable read.
If this was a work of fiction, rather than a memoi...more
However, sadly, I found Haywood's personality (as expressed through her writing) to be difficult to empathize with. Her duplicity towards her husband was as great as that she apparently had difficulty coping with offering towards some of her customers, which made for an uncomfortable read.
If this was a work of fiction, rather than a memoi...more
I read this because I thought it would be sort of useful in gleaning tidbits about day-to-day life in Japan, and it was, if to a lesser extent than I'd hoped. I think Haywood had a good idea that was rather poorly executed. The book didn't have a lot of continuity; there wasn't much attempt at theme or drawing conclusions about the culture of Hostessing in Japan. Mostly it read like a series of blog entries... a few paragraphs on this dinner, a page or two on a weekend trip, etc. She gives us sn...more
The writing was not particularly good and the stories seemed to follow in a chronological order. I do not feel the urge to turn the pages when I read this book, but it still a good book to read nevertheless. It is definitely an interesting read though. The stories with various little bits of Japanese culture is very intriguing, but it can certainly use some additional organization to make the writing more interesting.
Chelsea has a 3-month travel visa to Japan and she decided to become a hostess...more
Chelsea has a 3-month travel visa to Japan and she decided to become a hostess...more
What a shame Haywood can't write! Her experience working as a hostess in Tokyo must have been fascinating, but she has a pretentious 13-year-old's idea of what constitutes good prose, which results in more squinting modifiers and misused polysyllabic words than you can shake a stiletto heel at. If you can get through a whole book's worth of sentences like "Half-detonated popcorn kernels lay saturated in grease, and plumes of cigarette smoke hung stagnant while the ink of prestigious vineyard nam...more
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When I finished reading this book, I did spend a couple of instants asking myself why so many people gave it such a low rating. Personally, I didn't find it as bad as other people say it is.
90-Day Geisha is pretty much a diary. The title is self-explanatory: Chelsea Haywood, a young Canadian girl who has married not too long ago decides to go to Japan to work as a hostess. The first reaction was, of course, the cultural chock. After many conflicts, compliments and lessons for life, she slowly en...more
90-Day Geisha is pretty much a diary. The title is self-explanatory: Chelsea Haywood, a young Canadian girl who has married not too long ago decides to go to Japan to work as a hostess. The first reaction was, of course, the cultural chock. After many conflicts, compliments and lessons for life, she slowly en...more
The first half of this book was very intriguing and quickly sucked me in. Although I'm not specifically interested in Japanese culture, the concept of hostess bars and Tokyo nightlife in general is curious and I was really interested to see what a young Western woman (like myself) would make of it. At first, I enjoyed seeing that unfamiliar world through Chelsea's eyes and marveling at the strange (to me) aspects of Japanese culture.
About halfway through the book, though, it began to get unbeara...more
About halfway through the book, though, it began to get unbeara...more
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*sigh* I picked this book up against my better judgment. Just reading the title pissed me off since a bar hostess is to a geisha what a college dance production is to a performance of the national ballet. However, I pressed on as I know almost nothing of Hostess culture.
The book starts quite well, introducing the bewildering combination of neon lights and dark corners and a certain seediness cloaked in a thin veneer of respectability that is Tokyo nightlife. It starts going downhill when it beco...more
The book starts quite well, introducing the bewildering combination of neon lights and dark corners and a certain seediness cloaked in a thin veneer of respectability that is Tokyo nightlife. It starts going downhill when it beco...more
Picked it up in an airport and yeah, it's an airport read. Started and finished it on a flight from Perth to Seattle, and managed to watch several movies in between. Having lived in Japan for 3 years, it's *so* interesting reading about other people's 'cultural insights', especially when that person spends 90 days there and has enough 'cultural insight' to write a book like this. Read it if you're looking for something light and easy, but be warned about annoying assumptions about Japan and it's...more
I deserted this book after 100 pages. Although a highly fascinating subject and definitely a great potential read, 90-day Geisha just did not do it for me. I felt that Haywood was very disjointed in her writing and did very little expansion in her writing. I also thought that she gave a very 1-dimensional view of her peers and even with herself, Haywood develops very little. Overall I was disappointed that this book did not work out for me.
I came across Chelsea Haywood´s pompous self-aggrandising account of her time as a gaijin hostess purely by chance on the shelves of my local Poundstretcher. As if this wasn´t enough of an indication of its literary value, it was part of a 2 books for a pound offer. Dull, dreary book chock-a-full of wooden money-oriented characters totally bereft of psychological depth and like its main character, little to no chance of development.
This was interesting enough. There was something very unlikeable about the author that took something away from the story. She just seemed very selfish and mean spirited that I didn't have any sympathy for her issues.
For example, when she first arrived she was so grateful for the help and advice of the other hostesses, but as she became more senior in the club, she was very nasty to the newer girls.
It was interesting though and I got through it quite quickly.
For example, when she first arrived she was so grateful for the help and advice of the other hostesses, but as she became more senior in the club, she was very nasty to the newer girls.
It was interesting though and I got through it quite quickly.
Entertaining, though it got kind of slow through the middle as the constant drinking started getting old. Though in a way, that was kind of the point. What I found even more poignant though, was the fact that she so evidently continued to love her husband and at the end is a real tribute to him, but I found an online interview w/ her where she says that their experience in Japan ultimately led to their divorce.
The beginning was pretty exciting but it went downhill quickly. I was bored and annoyed with the narrator from 1/3 of the book - the end. Basically she was whining about everything. It felt like I was sneaking a peek at a 13 year old's diary. It was a pathetic attempt to enlighten readers about the enchanting and mysterious culture of 21st century Geishas.
True story about a Canadian woman who becomes a hostess in Japan in order to write a book about her experiences. Intriguing story, but she seems to have been a better hostess than a writer. Tells about a part of Japanese society we don't usually hear about and hopefully would never encounter on a journey to Japan!
Jul 25, 2011
Tori
added it
2010- First of all, the title is misleading. The author works as a hostess, not a Geisha, which is a major distinction. To be honest, this book felt like a juvenile newspaper article that ran on far too long to become a book. There were a few chapters that were funny or interesting, but mostly the author whined.
I found my self at times loathing the author for her actions in this story of her time as a hostess in Tokyo but despite that I enjoyed the book immensely. It really paints a vivid picture of many cultural aspects of Japan that are not widely known or understood to those of us uh the west.
I thought the premise of this book was going to be interesting, but the author shows a clear lack of understanding of both the Japanese language and Japanese culture.
To anyone who knows anything about Japanese it just gets annoying. At one point she said that "gaijin literally translates to foreign devil"
To anyone who knows anything about Japanese it just gets annoying. At one point she said that "gaijin literally translates to foreign devil"
Sad to have this book end. I looked forward to every chance I got to read it. Perhaps not the best literature of all time, but certainly modern and great entertainment. I especially liked that the stories were based on real experiences. What a relaxing, steady life I lead compared to other parts of the world!
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