It is fiction. An interesting fiction by a great writer, but it is a fiction nevertheless. A good writer should research the topic of the story well. Then he should make the story BELIEVEABLE by bending a few truth etc.

Viz. Memoir of a Geisha, it was written by a MAN, a WHITE man who cannot and will not be a geisha. However, when you read it, it shows a very in depth feeling of a woman's point of view. So much so that while you read it, you forgot that it is actually written by a MAN. Great writer that guy.

Why do I get the feeling that we are discussing something that is unsolvable? its like the Mohammed cartoon published in Denmark. People feel insulted when other have different point of view than them. Be it christians, moslems, budhist, hindus, Cult of Doom, Darwinism, or Indozonism