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Chargement... 90-Day Geisha: My Time as a Tokyo Hostesspar Chelsea Haywood
   Aucun Actuellement, il n'y a pas de discussions au sujet de ce livre.  aryadeschain | Aug 26, 2014 |   Verder toont het wel heel goed haar evolutie aan binnen dit beroep en hoe ze erop reageert. funga1975 (  ) funga1975 | Apr 26, 2010 | LeahJean | Jun 9, 2009 |
The high and low times of a temporary hostess in Japan. At age 20, former model Haywood decided to travel to Tokyo with her husband Matt to write a book about the curious profession of hostessing. She soon found herself in the city’s infamous Roppongi district, where sex and other vices of all varieties are available for a price. With her blond good looks, she easily found a job at a club. Hostessing in Japan, she writes, “has very little to do with sex, quite a lot to do with psychology and nothing to do with prostitution.” Haywood and the other hostesses—from Europe, America and several places in between—spent long nights in the club fulfilling the fantasy of an adoring girlfriend for an endless parade of lonely, overworked “salary men.” Haywood lit their cigarettes, poured their drinks and listened with feigned interest to their complaints and dreams. There might be dinner outside the club, but it was all fantasy. For a lot of money, the author was “available but unobtainable,” the hostess motto. Still, some customers became friends or more than friends, including Nori, a rich doctor who became obsessed with Haywood; Shin, who became like her big brother; Koji, who may or may not have been a serial rapist; and Yoshi, a handsome, dashing, cocaine-snorting multimillionaire with whom Haywood began to fall in love. The author’s story begins to falter as it becomes more about her unconsummated affair with Yoshi and her struggles to choose between him and Matt. Beyond a discourse on burusera, the Japanese male obsession with schoolgirls and their uniforms, and a hilarious adventure as a dancer on a Japanese pop-music TV show, Haywood fails to delve into her encounters with Japanese culture. Ultimately the narrative becomes part bodice ripper, part teenage diary: e.g., Yoshi was a “groomed, polished, virile specimen…egotistical to the point of narcissism, yet he oozed an invisible nectar that made him irresistibly attractive.” After three months, burnt out from booze, lies and endless partying, Haywood returned to Canada with Matt. An entertaining but shallow read that reveals more about the author than Japan.
An introspective journey into the glamorous world-and temptations-of Japanese nightlife, by former model Chelsea Haywood.The hard-drinking, drug-taking, all-night culture that dominates Tokyo's Roppongi district can be a surreal place. Overworked Japanese business men will pay handsomely for the services of a hostess-someone to talk to, someone to provide hot towels and drinks, and sometimes just a companion with whom to sing karaoke with all night. Intrigued by rumors of this strange subculture and armed with her 90-day work visa and Australian husband, Matt, Chelsea throws herself into the lion's den. Yet what she discovers about herself and about the inhabitants of this nocturnal life far exceeds her expectations.Hostessing, she comes to find, has "very little to do with sex, quite a lot to do with psychology, and nothing to do with prostitution." Her personality and conversation skills are her top commodity, and Chelsea quickly finds herself charmed by these billionaire men, many of whom are funny, intelligent, even kind, and often, very lonely. But as she becomes more and more attached to her clients, Chelsea soon finds herself getting burned at her own game, as the endless presents, compliments, and destructive atmosphere of alcohol and drugs threaten to take both her relationship, and her sanity, to the edge. Aucune description trouvée dans une bibliothèque |
Discussion en coursAucunCouvertures populaires
 Google Books — Chargement...GenresClassification décimale de Melvil (CDD)792.7028092The arts Recreational and performing arts Stage presentations, Theatre Variety shows and theatrical dancing Techniques, procedures, apparatus, materialsClassification de la Bibliothèque du CongrèsÉvaluationMoyenne: (3)
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90-Day Geisha is pretty much a diary. The title is self-explanatory: Chelsea Haywood, a young Canadian girl who has married not too long ago decides to go to Japan to work as a hostess. The first reaction was, of course, the cultural chock. After many conflicts, compliments and lessons for life, she slowly ends up making "bounds" with the people she meets in her work.
One aspect that I found interesting was Chelsea's point of view toward the Japanese and how she was gradually changing her own self as the narrative goes on. And also the fact that she includes several historical reports about Japan: why is there such a strong fascination for schoolgirls? Why do wealthy, relatively handsome married men paid to just talk to women? Why do Japanese have such shy behaviors compared to Westerners? Why do they take the blood compatibility into account?
Amidst detailed accounts of regular chatting and peculiar behaviors, the author inserts her own personal drama. The way her job seemed to affect her relationship. The psychological harassment her clients did to her.
What was missing in the book: a little bit more description about her impressions of the country. I feel like there was a lack of interest from the author towards the country's culture. This is easily noticed soon in the introduction, when she finishes it with a Japanese expression used right before the meals.
Overall, I actually liked this book. Not exactly what I'd call a "guide book for the Japanese culture", but it broaches several aspects of the "dark side" of Japan. (