My goodness this is a strange one to review. My current read is coloured by the first time I discovered this novel at the age of fifteen and found myself transported to a world and introduced to characters strange and fantastic.

At fifteen, this novel was wildly romantic, hopelessly sad, with a

very happy ending. I remember cheering along with Sayuri as she finally achieves her heart’s desire.

 

Today, fifteen years later, I found a story much changed. This tale was now a chronicle of an abused little girl let down by everyone in her life, clutching desperately at her girlhood dream only because it had kept her from losing all hope. It is as far from romantic as possible.

At the end, I could only be happy that Sayuri had found her own version of happiness, and who was I to say otherwise?

I was happy to find the writing still beautiful, the character’s voice still strong, and the worldbuilding still transporting. Though my emotional reaction to the story between then and now changed, I am happy to have read it again, if only to shock myself into realising how much I have changed.