Temporal Reviews: Memoirs of a Geisha

I can't comment on whether or not Arthur Golden's Memoirs of a Geisha accurately reflects a geisha's life and customs in Kyoto in the years prior to WWII, but it is an engrossing book. Poor Chiyo's life was horrible - but she also seemed to make wrong turns at every decision point.

As kind to her as Mameha was, Hatsumomo was evil. The depth of evil in Hatsumomo's character is a little reminiscent of a silent film villain. Also, the relationship between Chiyo and the Chairman is vaguely pedophiliac, or else I've watched too many reruns of SVU.

In all, an engaging novel.