I don't know about you guys, but I was not expecting Sayuri to end up with the Chairman. I thought as soon as she made those devious plans to upset Nobu (which i thought was terribly rude to begin with) that she would lose the respect of the Chairman. Surprisngly, he didn't think it was disrespectful at all that Sayuri set herself up to make Nobu jealous. I was happy for the two of them that they were able to be together, even if it was a little weird that the Chairman still had a wife. I think his intentions were good, and it was probably more acceptable at that time to have a wife while also being in love with someone else. It was also heartwarming to hear that the Chairman continued to be a good danna to Sayuri and helped her establish a teahouse in New York City.
What do you guys think about Sayuri's "relationship" with Nobu? I actually liked Nobu as a character. At times i thought he could be a little rash, but he treated Sayuri really well. I think Sayuri only judged Nobu based on his appearances. If the Chairman had treated Sayuri the way that Nobu had, she would only like him more. Nobu's "lizard skin" and one arm dettered Sayuri from making him her danna. At the end of the book, i felt bad for him.
I'm also a little disappointed that Mameha didn't play a bigger role in Sayuri's life after the Chairman became her danna. I feel like up until that point, Mameha was an integral part of her life. I don' think the author developed their relationship that well at the end of the book. What do you guys think?
What are you reading next? Feel free to change up groups. Eat, Pray, Love is reading Water for Elephants.
ReplyDeleteI agree. I definitely did not expect them to end up together, and the fact that they did actually irritated me. I didn't like that Sayuri spent so much time thinking about the Chairman and wishing he would notice her, so by the time she came up with that whole plan I was a bit sick of her obsession with the Chairman.
ReplyDeleteI definitely found it weird that the Chairman had a wife. I guess that just shows how different the culture was, because now, if a man had a wife that would be a bit of a turn-off (in theory). It's strange that Sayuri didn't think anything of it. As I was reading I didn't quite get the same feeling as the usual "romantic happy ending," so it's hard to tell if they really fell in love or if Sayuri was just happy that he was finally her danna and that was enough for her.
I also liked Nobu a lot. I thought he was sweet and he really cared for Sayuri. She just couldn't get over her obsession with the Chairman to even see any of that. It was sad that he never spoke to her again, and I didn't like that that didn't seem to bother her too much. She seemed to accept that it was a consequence for what she had done and she was okay with it. But I'm not :P
Even though I'm complaining a fair amount, I still really liked the book. I just had a few issues with the last 50 pages or so.