Orinoco Womble (tidy bag and all) answers “How certain can we be that what Mineko...”

T Huong asked this question about Geisha, a Life:

How certain can we be that what Mineko wrote in the novel about herself is true? A. Golden’s Memoirs of a Geisha is subjected to such scrutiny even though it is historical fiction, not historical fact, but a former geisha’s claim to be the greatest of her time isn’t? Why’s that?

Orinoco Womble (tidy bag and all) Because it's not meant to be a novel, it's a memoir. Of course people's memories are often slanted, which is why different witnesses of the same event…moreBecause it's not meant to be a novel, it's a memoir. Of course people's memories are often slanted, which is why different witnesses of the same event tell their stories differently. She was there and she saw Gion as it was. Golden is an American university professor. I've never been to Japan and having struggled to read Golden's book, I began to wonder if he really had, either.(less)

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