Geisha by Liza Dalby Summary and Reviews
|
List Price: Our Price: $5.21 You Save: $17.74 (77%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $0.33 (click here) Category: Book See more book details and other editions |
|---|
Book Reviews of Geisha
Book Review: Outstanding and Riveting
Summary: 5 Stars
After seeing a special on television about geisha, and hearing Liza Dalby's book mentioned, I rushed to buy it. Once I started reading it, I couldn't put it down. I was fascinated by the detail and description of the geisha lifestyle, and was amazed that I knew so little about it. As soon as I finished it, I read Memoirs of a Geisha by John Golden, and enjoyed that as well as it took me into a fictitious account of the world.Book Review: Passe - a mix of scholarly and experience, no real feeling
Summary: 3 Stars
This book, written in the '70 is both scholar and testimonial. The problem is that ends up being none, the information is not easy to put in perspective, there is no logic to the order of the contents, it jumps from scholarly to anecdotic and none illuminates the other really. If you want to have a more thoroughly understanding and a "feel" for the geisha world, read about a real geisha, Geisha: A Life by Mineko Iwasaki, or about a literary one: Memoirs of a Geisha, by Arthur Golden. Both will teach you more than this book.Book Review: Read Memoirs of a Geisha & still want more
Summary: 5 Stars
What better way to finish Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden than by picking up this book. Unlike Memoirs this is a real story (although Liza Dalby, as an American anthropology student, isn't a 'real' geisha but a curiosity). She tell us in immaculate detail the trials, dilemmas and joys of geisha life. From the intricacies of the kimono to correct manners she straightens out those who believe that a geisha is merely a prostitute. One of the many fascinating elements in this book was her description (from her experience) of what geisha are like in different areas of Japan. The only thing I wanted was more photos. It would have been lovely to see some large colour photos of her time as a geisha.Regardless, by the end you are hoping that this small and beautiful 'water and willow' world never disappears.Book Review: Read this one before 'Memoirs of a Geisha'.
Summary: 5 Stars
Extraordinarily well written by a first-rate cultural anthropologist. No guesswork or fantasies here. The book itself is well designed and easy to read, with a wealth of detailed information. My only complaints: It's printed on very cheap paper that discolors easily. Not enough photos. Those used are poor quality and none of them are in color. Otherwise, 'Geisha' is highly recommended.Book Review: Recommended to anyone who wants to learn more about Geisha
Summary: 4 Stars
After I read "Memoirs of a Geisha" I became very interested in Geisha and Japanese culture, so I went straight out and bought this book. "Geisha", written by Liza Dalby, an American anthroplologist and the ONLY non-Japanese woman to ever become a Geisha, provides the real-life facts behind Arthur Golden's novel. The book is a combination of social history and entertaining personal anecdotes from her one year stint as a Geisha in Pontocho, Kyoto. I recommend it to anyone who's interested in learning more about Geisha.