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Geisha, A Life

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Geisha, A Life

Written by: Mineko Iwasaki, Rande Brown
Narrated by: Cindy Kay
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Celebrated as the most successful geisha of her generation, Mineko Iwasaki was only 5 years old when she left her parents' home for the world of the geisha. For the next 25 years, she would live a life filled with extraordinary professional demands and rich rewards. Through great pride and determination, she would be hailed as one of the most prized geishas in Japan's history, and one of the last great practitioners of this now fading art form.

In Geisha, a Life, Mineko Iwasaki tells her story, from her warm early childhood, to her intense yet privileged upbringing in the Iwasaki okiya (household), to her years as a renowned geisha, and finally, to her decision at the age of 29 to retire and marry, a move that would mirror the demise of geisha culture. Mineko brings to life the beauty and wonder of Gion Kobu, a place that "existed in a world apart, a special realm whose mission and identity depended on preserving the time-honored traditions of the past."

Geisha, a Life is the first of its kind, as it delicately unfolds the fabric of a geisha's development. Told with great wisdom and sensitivity, it is a true story of beauty and heroism, and of a time and culture rarely revealed to the Western world.

©2002 Mineko Iwasaki (P)2020 Tantor Entertainment & Celebrities Women Celebrity

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I’ve been enjoying the story through chapter 5. Chapter 6 was a lot to take in without feeling the need to draw a diagram. I was hoping I could simply continue listening and be reminded of who was who.

But when I reach chapter 7, the tone changed even more so. The author is telling stories of how other people reacted in their behalf. I want to know how _the author_ knew this to be: How these stories were told to her. Not tell their story.

I’ll keep listening, but I might have to remember she is an unreliable narrator in the meantime.

Chapter 7 feels like fiction

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If you're like me and ended up reading "Memories of a Geisha" and looking online for more details and upset with what you found; this is what you should be reading instead. Compelling and emotional. I love how there are moments where Mineko will point out a common misconception (like those propelled in books like MoaG) without outright calling someone out.

compelling read

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I was hooked on her story. I listened to it when I had some free time, and was so excited to find out what came next. I felt as though I was there to witness her rise as Japan's most famous geiko and everything that came with it.

I'll be listening to it again!

Intriguing read!

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Very interesting overview of an other world. I loved how the author narrated her story true to life without embilisi

Fascinating

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I read this before my trip to Japan and learned a lot from her story of Japanese life and Japanese culture. It's a shame that Memoirs of a Geisha convoluted her description of her culture but I'm happy she got her chance to tell her story and the story of the geiko herself.

Beautiful story of the life of a formidable woman

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