42 of 43 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
The only book I've ever returned., August 4, 2008
Seriously. I did not enjoy this book. I kept reading hoping it would get better.
You know how sometimes you don't really like a book, or you're not that into it, but you continue to read it because it has a really interesting character, or the idea is great and you are just waiting for it to get better, or you just have to read it for school. Well this book has none of those qualities. All the characters are dull and boring, the idea lost it's charm on like page 4 and if any teacher assigned this book for class, I would drop the class.
The book is about this American girl who is growing up in Japan in the late 1800's. Her father gets in trouble and leaves her at a geisha house. All this girl wants to do is have sex. She is always causing trouble because the okasan won't let her become a geisha and have sex. So after 200 pages of her fantasizing about having sex with just about every guy in the book, a Baron comes along and wants to sleep with her. What does this girl do? SHE SAYS NO!!!!!! She says that she doesn't want sex without love. Well that would have been nice to know 200 pages ago! It's not as if the Baron is old or ugly. He's wicked hot and rich and buddies with the prince. (he also wants to kill her, but she doesn't know that yet)
And It's not as if she is pissed because she is being forced to sell her virginity, like 10 pages before she met the Baron she was all "Oh when will you find someone to buy my virginity? I can't wait to have sex." ~that's not a direct quote. It's actually better than the stuff that is in the book.
It all became too much for me when this handsome stranger is trying to tell her about her dying father and she tries to sleep with him. Enjoy my re-enactment:
"I have come to tell you news from your father."
"Do you have a mirror in your pocket? Cause I can see myself in your pants!"
"Oh you geisha and your coy ways. Seriously, I have news from your dad."
"My dad! Sweet! I haven't seen him since he abandoned me to work as a geisha. I have spent the last 4 years learning various sexual positions and and the 47 ways to pleasure a man. Want me to show you?"
"47!!! Well....I desperately want to have sex, but first I will tell you about you dying father."
"Oh no! My father is dying? Whoops! My kimono fell off!"
"Ah sweet geisha I promised your father I'd bring you to him with your virtue intact....are those real? Screw the old man! Let's get it on!"
This book has no redeeming qualities. I'm not even interested in all the facts about Japanese culture, which I am normally fascinated by. Why? Because there aren't any in here.
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22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
An Inaccurate and Damaging Book about Geisha -- and Not Erotica, May 1, 2009
I agree heartily with Mia Leigh who said she would drop the course if a professor assigned this book (ps, just read Mia's excellent rework of the story :-). I live in Tokyo and have an in-depth knowledge of Japanese history and especially the Geisha world. This book bears little accurate knowledge. The main thing is that the word Geisha (as is mentioned only once and incorrectly at best) means "woman of art". (Also, in Kyoto (Kioto), they are called Geiko, not Geisha.) Geisha are performers of classical Japanese dance (there are no pirouettes! I am a nihon buyo dancer), music (shamisen and koto), flower arranging (ikibana), and tea ceremony (chanoyu). Oirans, or concubines, are the lovers and traders in sex. This book contributes to a negative and incorrect stereotype that geisha have been trying to correct and explain to Westerners for years and it is a horrible set-back. Please do not in any way take this as a book about geisha...Now, on to the poor writing. As others have already said, the characters are one-dimensional. The lead, Kathlene, spends hundreds of pages saying the same words about having sex. Only at the end of the book is there a worthwhile discussion of her wanting to be a geisha and what she has learned about duty and sacrifice (sort of). I like good sensual and sexual reads, but I wanted to yell STOP when there was a glimmer of a storyline and they went back to "jade stalks" and "sweet slits". Good erotica happens by contrast, good sex happens by contrast. This book just constantly rubs you the wrong way. And I finished the book only because I am obsessive/compulsive. Please do not spend the money and propogate these thoughts of what a geisha is not. Free the geisha!
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42 of 52 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Sex, Lies, and Sushi, September 23, 2006
At the tender age of fifteen, Kathleen secretly dreams of entering the sensual world of the geisha where life is dedicated to beauty, grace, and eroticism. She longs for this exotic world where she believes her serendipitous dreams can be fulfilled and she can gracefully enter womanhood. Little does she suspect that her fantasies will be granted one rainy afternoon as she desperately flees from an unknown assailant with her father. In an attempt to shield Kathleen from this vengeful foe, her father hides her in a geisha house promising faithfully to return one day for his beloved daughter. As the days transform into years, Kathleen continues to await her father's return only to be continually disappointed by his absence. Concealing her bitterness and deep concern over her father's departure, Kathleen slowly discovers the enticing secrets of the geisha world and prepares to one day claim her place in that world; after all the tedious years of longing, she shall finally fulfill her ultimate desire to become a geisha. However, as she joyously approaches this event, ominous clouds loom overhead threatening to blot out her mirthful celebration and replace it with a mournful dirge.
I was originally interested in this novel due to the geisha theme. Having previously read many novels concentrating on geisha as well as indulging in factual books recounting the life of geisha, I was once again ready to embrace this bizarre world where everything is allowed except love and, therefore, happiness. However, despite the numerous interesting aspects inherent in this novel, I was disentranced by many crucial elements and overall was relieved to finally conclude the tale.
The first aspect that I deemed displeasing was the dialogue of the characters. In an attempt to sound oriental and exceptionally evocative of the erotic, the author often employed bizarre phrases causing the characters' dialogue to feel stiff and unrealistic. An example of this overdone phrasing can easily be located on page 273 where a character, describing her deep emotions stated, "If you leave the Teahouse of the Look-Back Tree, my heart will cry like the wail of my lute when a string breaks." Although it requires great talent to author such beautiful phrases, these phrases are not representative of the way in which actual people converse. Rather, the conversation often seemed strange and unrealistic thus detracting from the characters' dramatic emotions and the overall feel of the novel.
Another aspect that I found greatly displeasing was the lack of depth concerning the characters. The main focal point of the story was Kathleen's erotic desires and dreams, however, she did not appear to have any personality beyond this. Each character was afflicted with this same aliment and the author saw fit to leave them uncured. Although it was often stated that the characters' felt deeper more meaningful emotions, this was not displayed through their actions or statements; the characterization remained weak thus causing me to feel as though the characters were puppets, performing the actions the author dictated but not acquiring their own life. They remained static and uninteresting throughout the story.
Also, the main character of Kathleen often proved irritating as she pursued her rebellious teenage ways often becoming dramatically stuck between two worlds, the dutiful world of the geisha and the free spirited world she dreamed of where she was allowed to embrace love. Although this dilemma was intended to hold the readers' empathy and interest, I often found Kathleen's continual indecision annoying and inordinately selfish as her own foolish actions continually placed those around her in imminent peril.
Another heavily detrimental aspect perpetrated throughout this novel was the depth of Kathleen's love for the enigmatic Reed-san. Their love for each other defied the realistic world since they were mostly strangers to one another having only met briefly on occasions. However, they were both automatically spell bound by their supposedly earth shattering love and went through numerous difficult circumstances to reach one another despite the fact that they were still strangers. I did not feel that their love was genuine or deserved. I was unable to become interested in their developing relationship due to this heavily unrealistic quality.
I was also greatly disappointed to note the lack of action contained within this novel despite the dangerous situation concerning Kathleen's merciless pursuant seeking to gain vengeance upon her father via her death. The story barely moved for the first three hundred pages as Kathleen's erotic desires, foolish attempts at rebellion, and general daily activities were detailed in the fullest. After this exorbitantly lengthy presentation of unessential trivia was displayed, the last segment of the novel finally began to present a decipherable storyline as Kathleen and Reed-san's love places them and those they hold dear in dangerous circumstances due to Baron Tonda's demands to claim Kathleen's mizuage (virginity), an event that Reed-san is desperate to ensure will never transpire. Meanwhile, Baron Tonda is plotting Kathleen's death in order to appease Prince Kira. Although this development was interesting, and greatly helped to redeem the original rating I had intended to bestow on this novel, it did not capture my interest to a particularly great degree thus causing me to state quite generously that this novel was only average and contained none of the essential virtues displayed within a great literary piece.
As for the acclaimed eroticism that supposedly peppers this novel, I found that this aspect was greatly overshadowed by Kathleen's ever shifting desires between the world of the geisha and her own inner longings for love and the almost Shakespearian love story in which a young girl pines over her tragically forbidden love despite the unrealistic qualities pertaining to that love. Instead of the gratuitous erotic scenes expected in this voyeuristic genre, the novel was mostly filled with the somewhat detailed ponderings of a teenage girl longing for love and an erotic experience. Only once during the entire novel was there an actual encounter with her lover that was somewhat explicit. Mostly, however, this novel was only R rated and not particularly erotic. I would suggest this story for those whose interests pertain more toward romantic novels with an erotic tinge than toward those seeking a purely erotic novel.
In conclusion, although I perceive that this author has talent, I did not feel that this talent was displayed to the fullest. I found many of the essential elements inherent in the storyline to be severally lacking most notably the characterization and dialogue causing the overall feel of the novel to lack personality and depth. While the conclusion was fairly well executed and managed to draw me into the story for the first time during the novel, this element alone was not sufficient to redeem my overall opinion concerning the story. I feel that a two star rating is the most accurate description of the novel's worth.
Ravenova
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