Review: The Life of a Geisha by Eleanor Underwood
The Life of a Geisha
by Eleanor Underwood
Amazon.com Book Description:
THE LIFE OF A GEISHA illustrates the fascinating world of Japan's powerful and seductive geishas, a fading yet beautiful world that has captured the imaginations of millions of readers. This striking book contains full-color woodblock prints made during Japan's famous Edo Period, historic and contemporary photographs of geisha life, and images of the "floating world," Japan's mysterious artistic subculture. The accompanying text includes evocative Japanese poems and haikus. All celebrate the beauty and creativity of the geisha, who with her exquisitely detailed costume, elaborate makeup and hairstyle, and artfully ritualized behavior, chastely beguiles and entertains Japan's most powerful men.
I bought this book for the pretty pictures. I wanted a visual reference for kimono and and geisha for my Asian Art class. But the text was there, and I HAD paid actual cash for the book (at a used bookstore), so I figured I'd better read up.
OK, bad idea. Eleanor Underwood's writing was like reading a bad term paper for an entry-level college English class. She had the bland recitation of geisha ritual, little new insight or understanding of the culture, and a HUGE over-dependence on Arthur Golden's Memoirs of a Geisha, which was referenced multiple times in every chapter. Honestly? The book seems pretty clearly written to cash in on the wave of interest in geisha generated by Golden's book, riding his coat-tails to easy money. In fact, because there are so many references to Sayuri and the characters of Memoirs, I don't think The Life of a Geisha is useful unless you've surely read Golden's novel. That was utterly disappointing.
The photographs are reproduced clearly and brightly, so for an art archive it's a decent, short book. But as a book meant to be read, it's pretty useless. In fact, I would just call it a bad book on that front.
To read more about The Life of a Geisha, buy a copy or add it to your wishlist, click here.
by Eleanor Underwood
Amazon.com Book Description:
THE LIFE OF A GEISHA illustrates the fascinating world of Japan's powerful and seductive geishas, a fading yet beautiful world that has captured the imaginations of millions of readers. This striking book contains full-color woodblock prints made during Japan's famous Edo Period, historic and contemporary photographs of geisha life, and images of the "floating world," Japan's mysterious artistic subculture. The accompanying text includes evocative Japanese poems and haikus. All celebrate the beauty and creativity of the geisha, who with her exquisitely detailed costume, elaborate makeup and hairstyle, and artfully ritualized behavior, chastely beguiles and entertains Japan's most powerful men.
I bought this book for the pretty pictures. I wanted a visual reference for kimono and and geisha for my Asian Art class. But the text was there, and I HAD paid actual cash for the book (at a used bookstore), so I figured I'd better read up.
OK, bad idea. Eleanor Underwood's writing was like reading a bad term paper for an entry-level college English class. She had the bland recitation of geisha ritual, little new insight or understanding of the culture, and a HUGE over-dependence on Arthur Golden's Memoirs of a Geisha, which was referenced multiple times in every chapter. Honestly? The book seems pretty clearly written to cash in on the wave of interest in geisha generated by Golden's book, riding his coat-tails to easy money. In fact, because there are so many references to Sayuri and the characters of Memoirs, I don't think The Life of a Geisha is useful unless you've surely read Golden's novel. That was utterly disappointing.
The photographs are reproduced clearly and brightly, so for an art archive it's a decent, short book. But as a book meant to be read, it's pretty useless. In fact, I would just call it a bad book on that front.
To read more about The Life of a Geisha, buy a copy or add it to your wishlist, click here.