Geeko Book Club

Disclaimer: The writer is not writing this to correct or compete with Su Chuen's post.

You know how disclaimers are usually written at the bottom of something. well, i decided to write it at the top.

This is the first time in a long time i have read a book. I can't say this is the first time i have read a book because it is not true and i wouldn't want to give nadia or now ai li as it seems a run for their money.

i have only in my whole life however read 6 books from beginning to end:
1) Bridget Jones diary 1 and 2
2) The curious incident of the dog in the nightime
3) Swiss Family Robinson
4) Harry Potter- all the episodes
5) some Enid Blyton books i read as a kid
6) Memoirs of a Geisha.....and this is where my story begins.

haha...cheh...drama-nya. ya well, that's how the book kinda goes as well.

i guess all the synopsis was already mentioned by chuen.

sadly, the story is completly fictional. aarrrgghhh...i was conned!! how stupid was i. i thought that when a book said "memoirs of a geisha" it meant- this book that you are now going to read contains memoirs of a geisha. just the same way one would expect "Baking Cherry Pies by Betty Bot" to mean -this book that you are now going to read contains cherry pie recipes by Betty Bot. well of course i overlooked the fact that if the book is written by ARTHUR GOLDEN it means that Memoirs of a Geisha is in fact not to be viewed in the same way as Baking Cherry Pies by Betty Bot is. i only discovered this truth when i was already 1/4 way through the book, and i glanced to the back of the book and to my horror there was the acknowledgements written by ARTHUR GOLDEN (who is not a geisha) saying "bla bla bla....completly fictional....bla bla bla"....GASP!!! the horror!!!!!!!

so i went through the rest of the book thinking.....aiyah....ya lor..where got this kind of thing happen in real life one.

anyway....the book is good. the grammar is sometimes very ununderstandable and the author uses alot of alliterations and similies.

the story is very touching. it is the kind of book that a true romantic would love.

in fact, if everyone in the world had read this book, then as i always say, there would be 2 kinds of people in this world- one who thinks Sayuri should end up with Nobu as her danna and the other kind who thinks that Sayuri should be with the Chairman.

i am the latter.

everyone takes with them a pair of glasses with which to see the world. these glasses have our past experiences, or values and dreams. when we read books or do anything else for that matter, we use these pair of glasses to do it. (and no i don't just mean those who don't have perfect vision). i guess this is why we all predict the content of books to mean different things.

to me this book was ironic. the main gist of the book was about destiny. it spoke about nothing but destiny and the paths in life from the beginning to the end. Japanese people especially geisha believed firmly that one couldn't avoid their destiny if it is already written for them. and yet the brave girl who is the star of the book, turned her destiny around. she refused to give into her destiny because she didn't like her destiny at all. if she gave into her destiny it would mark the end of her life( though not physically). She never let go of hope. Because a life without hope wouldn't be a life at all i guess.

This book reminded me that hope is one of the most important things in life.

The Girl with the Grey Iris

Sayuri lived the life of a fisherman's daughter, poor and yearning for a better life. It was as if fate had dealt her a bad hand. If it wasn't bad enough that they were barely making ends meet at home, her mother fell ill with a mysterious illness confining her to the bed. Her father, a stoic, silent man spent his day out in the open sea, and during the stormy seasons, mending his net in their home. He was a quiet man. Sayuri's sister held the fort, taking over household chores and the like. Sayuri was a young girl. Her mother had been her only true friend and companion and now even that had been taken away from her. Looking at the terrible misfortune that had beheld Sayuri all her life, one would think that her life was finally taking a turn towards the bright side the day a man (whose name I've forgotten and am too lazy to check seeing as I would have to heave my ass off my computer chair and drag myself up the stairs, into my room from which I may never return seeing as I may just decide to go back to sleep which is something I am avoiding seeing as I have to leave for uni in an hour and a half. It's 8 am and I haven't slept a wink the whole night and I blame it on the impending doom of my results which I will know in exactly 3 hours. But nevermind that.) appeared on their doorstep, beckoning for Sayuri's father to release his 2 daughters into his care, with the knowledge that neither he nor his wife would ever see either of them again.

And this is where the story begins for Sayuri. Her sister was just a side character thrown in by the author but the last I heard, she was thrown into a brothel if you must know. Memoirs of a geisha is a story of Sayuri and her life as a geisha under the tutelage of one Mameha, a geisha of renowned beauty and style. It is a story that intricately weaves the fine webs of deceit, hatred, jealousy, desire and most of all undying love. Many other characters spice up the storyline and makes it a very enjoyable read indeed for example Nobu, the cynical yet intellectual individual who unfortunately was scarred on his face, earning him the nickname of Lobster (I may be wrong, but it was definitely something to the effect of Lobster. But it doesn't really matter la.)and a Dr Crab, yet another of Sayuri's suitors. Like the title says, what set Sayuri apart from all the other geishas was the fact that she had grey eyes. This was apparently a sight to behold although it gives me the heebee jeebies just thinking about it.

Sayuri goes through much disappointment and discouragement at the beginning of her stay in the house of geisha. (there was a special name for this 'house of geisha' but I forget. I'll check later and correct it ok.) She is mistreated by Hatsumomo, a nasty bitch if you ask me, who makes her life a living hell in the beginning. However, Sayuri's life takes a turn for the better somewhere in the middle of the book. I shall leave you to read that for yourself.

Memoirs of a geisha to me, has a central theme, and it is that of pure, unadulterated love as it is her love for a certain person whose real name I have also forgotten but is also known as The Chairman which I believe provides the drive for her character and is in essence her very reason for living. An awesome read. Go read the book before you catch it in the cinemas.

Please bear in mind that I'm writing this off the top of my head without any references whatsoever (due to reasons I have provided in the first paragraph) or sleep so forgive me if I make the occassional grammatical error and for the many memory lapses I have had in regards to names of characters.

I give this book 5 lizard tails or claws, whatever. Sorry,I don't know how to load them tails. If somebody who knows would kindly do it for me (read: We-Ki) I would very much appreciate it.

Demise of the Geeko Book Club?

This blog is like sooo dead!
anyways...to revive this blog a little....i have decided to play a game.
can anyone guess who wrote this post that you are now reading...yeah that's the game. simple right

the rules are- you can ask the person whom you think it is real life (face-to-face)/ you can ask other people/ you can just guess randomly . if the person chooses the person can lie to you.

well, basically the fun is just to see whether you all can guess who i am la

happy guessing

*btw....i know this has nothing to do with books but neither does the beer post!!!!!!!!!!