beaneater

The mystery of Rama was steadily growing; the more they discovered about it, the less they understood.

And that is exactly how this sci-fi classic left me.

Ziyi Zhang portrayed the role of Chiyo/Sayuri so convincingly and beautifully that I decided to read the book years later to see how it really was.
The author's writing is so engaging that after reading it, I feel as if I lived the life of the little girl with the grey-blue eyes myself. For us lay people, the author was able to describe in vivid detail the life of the mysterious geishas and what they had to go through to become the best artists they could be. The deeper I got into the plot, the more respect I had for the geishas.
Although Chiyo's story is pure fiction inspired by a real geisha, it's almost surreal that somewhere in the land of the rising sun, this actually happened and how many of those women could then say they were as lucky as the protagonist.

Let me add an interjection so that the author is not believed every word on the page, because geisha is not a courtesan, but happens to be a very respected artist, even in today's Japan.

This was a very slow burn read. It was as slow as it could get, and you might think it would bore you to death! Well, what luck that Ishiguro wrote it. He could literally write a thousand pages about one unimportant event, and I would still read it because of how grippingly he writes.
You might think that all the details seemed unnecessary for the plot or character development, but after the big secret is revealed at the end, you'll understand what it was really about, and those unimportant events will suddenly feel very important.
I loved how the author teased you about the secret, like ‘you'll know it in the right time,' and always revealed just enough to keep you reading.

As a sci-fi fan, I found the sci-fi elements in this book to be very subtle—really just a dash of it. It could also be a good starting point for readers who want to get more into this genre.

To tell you the truth, I was never a big fan of the film adaptation and it may have distorted my perception of the book a bit. But I'll try to be objective and see this first installment of the trilogy in all its glory, which everyone is rightfully praising.
The story is definitely out of its time, for which the author deserves a bow and a standing ovation. The first volume is so enriched with the history of a non-existent world that it feels almost real in places. History described in such depth that it may bore some readers to death, but extremely important to understanding the storyline.
I'm not rushing into the second volume, but it would be a shame to walk away from such a fantasy at the outset.

I'm not into short story collections in general, but this was a good read. One can take a break from more challenging reading with books like this, or by "killing time" when you're waiting for the fifth one in the office.

Of the collection, I liked Quitters, Inc. and The Ledge the best, they seemed the closest to reality of all the stories. I'd have to say the Battlefield was the most boring. So far so good for a first King story, next time I'll tackle the author's more familiar work.