First, I have to say, bravo Katie! You've chosen a wonderful novel. I'm on chapter 11 and I absolutely love it so far. I'm so very enthralled by everything Golden has done with Chiyo so far and the world he's showing us. I also think it's awesome that he was able to go into the mind of a young girl to tell her story. It's a brilliant move as a writer to put yourself into your characters like that, especially if they're the opposite sex. To me, it makes it more of a challenge, one which Golden is succeeding at magnificently.
The life of Geisha starts out in debt. It's hard to grasp that they would be in debt at so young an age. In our world, you don't usually (I stress usually) go into debt until you hit college where you acquire student loans and many students get their first credit cards, which is so easy to max out.
Chiyo's debt starts from the moment she's sold, even though she doesn't realize it. She doesn't even seem to find out about the debt until Hatsumomo forces her to destroy an extremely valuable kimono. Then comes the jewelry she's accused of stealing. This poor girl just can't win, especially with Hatsumomo out to keep her as far down as she can. I'm hoping to see Chiyo rise above her in the end and have the final triumph. As chapter 10 ends, I think Mameha will be the one to help her do so.
I can't imagine starting my life in debt the way Chiyo does, but Golden shows us so well how much she struggles and when meeting the Chairman gives her a new hope to become a Geisha. I'm looking forward to seeing her succeed!
I'm glad you're loving the book. I am too and I agree that Golden is doing a good job of telling Chiyo's story from her perspective.
ReplyDeleteI can't imagine having so much debt and imagine what happens if you're not a very good geisha. You would be paying it off for a long, long time. On the flip side, if you're in the "Mother" position, you're investing a lot of money in someone hoping they are a successful geisha.
Oh, I know! The intricacies of the oikaya is pretty fascinating. There so much financial aspect to the house and to being a geisha. I'm hoping to see Chiyo rise to success as a geisha and to pay off her debts by the time she's 20 the way Mameha mentioned to Mother!
Delete