Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden

                                                            

 Title: Memoirs of a Geisha

Author: Arthur Golden

Genre: Historical Fiction

Synopsis: 9-year-old Chiyo lives in a poor fishing village with her parents and sister in Japan. Chiyo's mother is dying and when Mr. Tanaka, a wealthy man from town, encounters Chiyo in the street he makes an offer to her father, she and her sister are sold and taken to Gion. Chiyo is sold to an okiya as a maid and is offered the possibility to train as a geisha, but it is not as simple as it sounds. It is a difficult life, to begin with, but especially when the only geisha in the okiya has decided Chiyo is the enemy. When Chiyo meets the chairman of the major electric company in Japan her hope of becoming a geisha is renewed, but that brings its own unique set of challenges.

My Thoughts

I know I'm super late to the game on this book, it is already critically acclaimed and has been made into a movie, but when it was first published I was much too young to read it. (I was about nine.) A colleague of mine had recommended it several times as his favorite book so when I found it on the clearance rack at Barnes and Noble I had to pick it up.

I really enjoyed following Chiyo's journey to becoming Sayuri, a Gion geisha. I learned a lot about the life, training, and expectations of a geisha and the added historical context of being a geisha in Japan during WWII. I have read so much about the perspectives of the people in Allied countries during WWII but much less about those living in Axis countries, especially those who were not active military participants. There are so many layers to this novel driven by complex characters and I really loved reading it... even if I was late to the game. 

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The Kennedy Debutante by Kerri Maher

                                                            

Title: The Kennedy Debutante

Author: Kerri Maher

Genre: Historical Fiction


Synopsis: When Kathleen "Kick" Kennedy is living with her family in London while her father, Joe, is an ambassador from the United States, she finds a love of the city and of the ways of the English aristocracy. She also finds love for Billy Harington, the future Duke of Devonshire, but theirs is a forbidden love, Kick's family are well-known Catholics and Billy's staunch Protestants. WWII is beginning and Americans are being sent back home, can their love reach across the Atlantic? Being separated from Billy is bad enough, but struggles within Kick's own family are threatening to tear her apart.

My Thoughts

Before reading this, I had only learned about Kick Kennedy from an episode of Million Dollar American Princesses on the Smithsonian Channel. It discussed the difficulties in her relationship with Billy and the religious divide between the families. This novel gives more insight into Kick's life as a teen in London and her family life leading up to WWII. To get to understand Kick as a person and the relationship with her parents and siblings highlights why marrying someone from another faith would have been such a difficult choice for her. 

This novel also highlights many instances of the "Kennedy Curse" which makes it all the more tragic. I am not a Kennedy follower, so I learned a lot about the family that I never knew before. I loved reading this novel, even knowing how it would end, constantly hoping that maybe that ending wouldn't come. This is a real tear-jerker at some points, but it wouldn't be a good book if you don't become attached to the characters. 

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When the Astors Owned New York by Justin Kaplan

                                                            

 Title: When the Astors Owned New York

Author: Justin Kaplan

Genre: Nonfiction


Synopsis: The history of the rise and reign of the Astor family in New York.

My Thoughts

I was really looking forward to this book when I ordered it from Barnes and Noble. It is not a long book, less than 300 pages so I was excited to be pulled into the New York of the past and the opulent lives of the Astors. 

Sadly, this book left me feeling bored and confused. Instead of a story of a famously rich family and what life was like in the city during their lives, I got a list of facts that jump around in time. I don't usually mind moving between time periods in books, but when all the male members of the family have the same name it makes it incredibly hard to follow when there is very little narrative to provide context. I don't expect nonfiction to read like a fictional work, but honestly, this was really difficult to get through. I have read and reviewed some amazing nonfiction works, so I know it doesn't have to be like this. I read about 3/4 of the book and then put it down to move on to something enjoyable.

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To see more from the author, visit the website linked above