Geisha

Everything you ever wanted to know about Geisha.
I loved the book Memoirs of a Geisha as a fictional account and it was my first introduction to the Geisha lifestyle. I feel that Liza Dalby's "Geisha" is a book version of a FAQ on Geisha. Everything I ever wanted to know is in this book. I think the most interesting parts are when Ms. Dalby explains the differences between a prostitute and a geisha, although, with my westernized upbringing there are still some hazy areas. It was amazing that she, as a foreign woman, was allowed to train to become a Geisha for her research. I found the writing a bit disjointed at times and would have preferred the book to have been separated into two different books, the memoirs and the Geisha cultural study.

Spoiled by the author's conceit
The book's cover says that Liza Dalby is the only foreigner ever to have become an actual geisha', but she was never an actual geisha. Dalby didn't undergo the rigourous training necessary to become a fully qualified geisha, she wasn't ever a registered geisha, and claiming on the cover of the book that she was a geisha is blatant misrepresentation. It takes a lot more than a powdered face and following actual geisha about to become a geisha, and claiming otherwise is so unfair to the women who really do train hard and earn the name. In addition, Dalby is way too impressed with herself for the book to be enjoyable.

Wistful, Affectionate and Scholarly
Geisha is a lovely read. I finished it months ago but still think about it frequently. Dalby's love for Kyoto and her respect for the people she interviews and comes to know are evident throughout the book. Especially entertaining are the chapter on traveling to a hot-spring resort and the section detailing the separate evolution of the community of Tokyo geisha. I also like the structure of the book. In its first pages, events are described that tip the reader off to the fragility of the geishas' world, and warn of its likely demise. Reviewers who complain that Dalby wasn't a "real" practitioner of the art and that she lived among the geiko and maiko for only a year fail to understand how extraordinary it is that she was allowed into the geisha house. The world of geisha in Kyoto is gently but firmly closed, not just to foreigners but to the average Japanese person as well. To wander the tiny lanes of Gion at night is to really understand this. Everything is muted. Light from inside the small, demure wooden buildings leaks from under doorways and around window screens; the doings inside are protected from strangers' ears and eyes. Ever the slightly less-refined sister of Gion and already in transition when Geisha was published almost three decades ago, Pontocho is no longer the same as it was in Dalby's book. Teahouses have been replaced by bars and nightclubs. Thankfully Dalby was there in time to explain the lives of the people whose time on earth revolved around that little lane, and whose way of life doesn't exist any longer.

Introductory look by an American
This is a cultural look at the geisha world from the American viewpoint. I think she may not have been introduced into the real authentic world, but it was interesting reading. Since then, I've read other books by actual geishas to get a better look inside their world.

Very Interesting
This book not only holds your attention, but it opens the doors that have been closed so long to outsiders, even most japanese, for so long. I bought this about a year ago, and i didnt put it down for 3 days, which was the amount of time it took me to finish it. I read this after memoirs of a geisha and i really loved it. Liza Dalby got the experience of a lifetime, one that many of us wish we could have. All in all i have to say this is one of the best books about geisha...or any other book for that matter, i have ever read.