the tent of orange mist- paul west

Scald Ibis is a 15 yr old teenager in Nanking, China, when China is taken over by the Japanese hundreds of years ago. Her own house is taken over by the Japanese, and she raped, along with the rest of the females all over China. Her mother used such then killed, her brother killed too. Of that she does not learn, merely that her family has disappeared ( her father, a learned calligrapher, put to the front ) and that now she is alone with other girls in a similar fate, to be "used" such by japanese troops till one commanding officer takes a liking to her and she is freed of her 'obligations'... only to learn to become a 'geisha', or rather, an imitation of the famous japanese geishas, those ladies who sing, dance, mime, recite poetry, pour tea, and organise events. In the course of her survival in the 'tent of orange mist', the new place her house has become, she actually meets her father... who is but the new houseboy in disguise; forced to turn a blind eye in order to stay alive and be close to his daughter. this takes a turn on him, as it does any father, and he is killed towards the end of the story, though, after he has his revenge on the japanese officer whose 'protection' his daughter is under.
this is a sombre read at times. half way through i watched this dvd, memoirs of a geisha- heard its book was better from a friend. hmm. might have preferred that!