Memoirs of a Geisha

What is most amazing about this book by Arthur Golden is that throughout the book you hardly notice that it was written by a man. With an exquisite talent to narrate a story (that was allegedly told to him by a real Geisha)the novel is both interesting and captivating. After reading the novel, the movie is not a very good adaptation. In the novel, however, there are certain points that are pure fiction. The novel is beautiful, worth reading, just for the entertainment. I cannot avoid the temptation of comparing the written piece to the Hollywood movie, that in the first place has a Chinese actress in the role of a Japanese artist. This is the kind of thing that we can expect from Hollywood, to change and distortion the novel, as if there were no Japanese actresses to play the role. The basic purpose of the fact that a Geisha is an artist and not a prostitute as most people believe, is not very well explained in the movie. The novel is much better, with precise clarifications regarding the exhausting hours of practice, the solitude of being "a lady of the floating world" geisha's cannot fall in love, they must keep their harts to themselves and become real experts in the art of captivating men´s attention and knowing how to entertain them using the ancient Japanese traditions, dance, playing some traditional instruments, even serving the tea properly. The hours suffering to be dressed-up, to have their hair done, and to learn to sleep with their necks on a solid "pillow" not to destroy their beautiful hair style! An amazing, interesting novel, magnificently written by Golden, with a story that keeps us reading from the first page, non stop.