Reviews with content warning for Suicide attempt - Autobiography of a Geisha

Buf, no és un llibre fàcil, però està molt ben escrit i les notes de la traductora a l'anglès (G.G. Rowley) són magnífiques.

És l'autobiografia d'una geisha de muntanya, de banys termals, de baixa categoria. Forçades a mantenir relacions sexuals amb clients. També hi ha prostitució, fora del món de les geishas. I misèria. I intents de suïcidi. I suïcidis reals. No és un llibre amable. Però hi ha un punt d'esperança, suposo.

Pot ajudar molt a entendre el paper de la Komako, la geisha de País de neu de Yasunari Kawabata, un personatge de qui pràcticament no en sabem res però que gràcies a aquest llibre potser podem imaginar-nos millor quina vida ha tingut.

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caribbeangirlreading's review against another edition

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challenging emotional informative reflective medium-paced

4.0

Masudo’s autobiography is not only the anti-“Memoirs of a Geisha,” it feels like it was written in response to “Snow Country,” the Japanese novel that helped Yasunari Kawabata secure a Nobel Prize in Literature. There is nothing romantic or glamourous about the life of a hot springs-resort geisha in pre-WWII Japan. Death from untreated STDs, suicide and sexual assault were common. And once they paid off their contracts, the very townspeople that profited from their sex work would treat them like pariahs and deny them employment. Masuda does not sugar coat her lifetime of pain and struggle, but this is also a story of resilience and grit. The translator did an amazing job of capturing her humor and spirited personality. I highly recommend this short but powerful book.

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sonik_junk's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad medium-paced

3.25

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