“Memoirs of a Geisha” is so authentic. The entire book is read with the feeling that Sayuri is telling you her whole story. The language speaks itself in between the lines of another culture. It is beautiful.
Written in the eyes of a young girl in Japan, all language, similes, and descriptions are true to their character. The story is seamless, the emotions are real. What I had thought was missing from the movie was found in abundance in the book.
The movie, to me, seemed to tell the story, but did not let Sayuri dictate it. Sayuri’s voice is evident in the book, her personality leaks on the pages and you love her.
In the movie, it is just a story, though a beautiful one, but is told without one important human characteristic: suffering.
The story is one of sadness; she is sold by her father into slavery at a Geisha house, and her sister separated and sold to a whorehouse, her father and mother die, she is taken far from home, and the place she is taken is cruel and compassionless. In the book, she struggles to accept these horrible things, and when she does, she, as a character, is valuable to you. She struggles, and you struggle. It was moving.
Her motivation is your hope that things will become easier. You love this book because it is raw, human, and heartbreaking. Though the movie was somewhat accurate, it tended to focus on the culture (which is important too), and not the subject that ties humans together, no matter what the race or culture is.
The book doesn’t end with her as a princess, in fact, the ending even surprises her. But you are satisfied, and you once again believe in the strength of the human spirit.
