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What Members Thought
I remember being sad that this book had to end. Delicious.
Only skimmed some parts of the book because at times it felt like Golden was underestimating the reader by repeating the same images all over again. The scenes with descriptions of surroundings and emotions seemed pretty on top but empty inside. Nothing seemed sincere. Maybe it was the gap between the author and the character, I don't know. The whole idea of writing with a geisha's voice didn't come across as authentic or interesting.
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Mar 12, 2007
superawesomekt
rated it
did not like it
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review of another edition
Shelves:
historical-fiction
This book is, in my opinion, extremely overrated. Some of my friends love it (and I still love them). There were glimpses of good writing, but the characters weren't likeable, and the pacing was uneven. It's an exotic setting/premise, but that's wasn't enough for me.
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This book lives up to the acclaim. On of the best books I've read, if only for it's ability to transport you into the story within the first two lines of the book. Which happens again each time you pick it up to start a new chapter. A truly fastinating story with interesting parts of history woven in. Highly recommended.
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i have mixed feelings about this book. on one had, it is a beautifully written work that displays geishas as more than one-sided pleasure producers and keepers of traditional japanese culture. On the other hand, it also contributes to the very exoticism of Japanese culture (being written by a white man about Japanese women). Now I am not saying that is it not possible to be of a different gender, culture, ethnicity and write about another. But I just wonder why this book gets so much acclaim. It
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I couldn't believe it was written by a man.
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but I don't like the movie...that's for sure!
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An amazing book!
Aug 18, 2009
Erin (NY)
rated it
it was amazing
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review of another edition
Shelves:
favorites,
books-i-own
Jan 08, 2011
Cortney
marked it as to-read
Jun 09, 2011
M
marked it as to-read
