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Summary: This is not a story about prostitutes!
Review: I want to tell non-Japanese people who think that geishas are prostitutes that Japanese geishas are NOT prostitutes. Compared to western prostitutes, for example, geishas are completely different. The Japanese geisha world is a closed, mysterious one even for the ordinary Japanese people. This, probably, makes many people including foreign people wonder about geishas' real-lives and imagine that they are prostitutes. In a way, I feel it is a shame that I, a Japanese woman, don't know anything about the geisha world, therefore, I'd like to say thank you to the author for his hard work to reveal this hidden world. I still, however, feel sorry that some of the comments here show that even after reading this book, people still misunderstand the geishas and their culture. Reading people's comments here reminds me of how very difficult it is to understand different cultures without having enough background knowledge. A. Golden has described the daily life and culture of the Japanese geisha in great detail and reading his book has greatly increased my basic knowledge of them. I know, however, this is probably because I am Japanese, or because I live in Japan and know Japan from my soul. Actual geisha history is a history of a special group of Japanese women who lived in that time in a very unique environment, which was hard, sad, miserable, and sometimes ambition-filled. I always want to remember these points, to cherish their culture, and have a true understanding of their lives. As a result, I can never accept their being called prostitutes by anyone.
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Summary: Haunting
Review: One of the best books I have ever read. -I'll never forget these characters.
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Summary: go for the real thing instead
Review: Would you accept a novel written from (say) a Wild West brothel madam's point of view if it had been written by a Japanese man? I think not! For the real thing get Fumiko Enchi's The Waiting Years instead, or Naoya Shiga's Dark Night's Passage.
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Summary: Spectacular and yearning for more
Review: Golden took a topic which in a million years thought I would never become interested. His ability to engross this reader so as to put down the newspaper for a couple days startled me. Being a complete neophyte concerning Japenese culture, past and present, I found Golden's prose to move me beyond description. Real or fiction, this book makes me realize how trivial my life problems are. The way these women swallow there emotions and learn to live a life unaccustom to them is amazing. This book is a definite read. I'm hungy for more knowledge of this amazing culture.
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Summary: Well-written, imaginative but not substantive
Review: This book engrossed me while I was reading it. I was amazed (as everyone was) that an American male could write so convincingly in a Japanese woman's voice. However beautifully written it was, it didn't make a lasting, memorable impression with me the way truly great literature does. There were some real flaws with it that I couldn't overlook. For example, the characterization of Sayuri's nemesis was so one-dimensional she was not believable. In my opinion, the best book to transport you to a time long ago in Japan is The Tale of Genji. Some nights while reading it, I forgot I was in 20th century America.
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Summary: Wonderful, charming, reads like you were there
Review: I bought this book knowing it was fiction. I read this book believing it was nonfiction. Arthur Golden tells Sayuri's story like her best friend, capturing all the emotions that only a best friend would know. I was completely captivated by her story and read the entire novel in 2 days. Buy this book!
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Summary: Beautiful language conceals an ugly story
Review: Arthur Golden's wonderful command of the language dresses up the male fantasy called "Memoirs of a Geisha." The prostitute who falls in love with her customer is a myth which is probably very appealing to some men, but offensive to feminists.
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Summary: This book gives a candid glimpse into a geisha's world.
Review: "We don't become geisha so our lives will be satisfying. We become geisha because we have no other choice." These are the words of an experienced geisha, Mameha, to her apprentice, Sayuri. They expose the truth behind the seeming glamour of a geisha's life in early 20th century Japan. Arthur Golden's, Memoirs of a Geisha, is a candid view into the private life, thoughts, and dreams of a successful geisha based on his interviews with former geisha, Nitta Sayuri. Memoirs of a Geisha is a fictional account of Sayuri's life told in the first person. Golden allows Sayuri to tell her own story using an intricate blend of her thoughts and feelings and what happens to and around her. She describes in great detail how she was sold and forced into the closed world of a geisha. The irony of her success is fully developed and ends with her eventual escape from it. In many instances, in lieu of using the names of those she was involved with, she gives them names that describe their most striking physical traits. Such designations include Dr. Crab and Mr. Snowshowers. Golden does justice to the exclusive sect be meticulously defining, through the eyes of a girl, exactly what being a geisha means and entails. He brings clarity to an occupation clouded with misgivings. Through the story of Sayuri, readers come to understand that the terms geisha and prostitute are not interchangeable. Even the designation of "courtesan" is not entirely accurate. True, a geisha's "virginity is auctioned to the highest bidder" and it is common for them to become a man's mistress for fees similar to a salary, but these aside, geisha society and responsibilities are far more involved. A geisha can best be described as a peculiar type of artist. They painstakingly perfect their skills in music and dance while forever taking on their famous "china doll" exteriors to entertain at parties with little more than conversation. Image and presentation are critical and captivating the men they entertain is crucial. Yet, these are still the outward traits of geisha that have been apparent all along. Golden truly shines as an author in his portrayal of the secret desires and aspirations of geisha that are so human, and yet, within their circumstances, so unattainable. Golden paints his eduring portrait of a geisha's life through the eyes and thoughts of innocent, naive Sayuri. Through her words and Golden's vivid descriptions, the reader is immersed in a society where a girl, a potential geisha, is owned and exploited in a manner which is comparable to slavery. Young girls are chosen and sold to okiyas, female households supported by geisha, and are trained to become geisha. They are expected to obey, succeed, and even one day support their okiya through the sale of their appearances at social events and, in specific instances, their bodies. They are taught to entice and seduce even the most distinguished men, all for little more than financial gain. Love is considered a fantasy, something to shirk. For geisha, falling in love is an impossible dream whose pursuit leads to self-destruction. Geisha are the property of their okiya, their duty being to obey their "mother." For all but the most fortunate, this means that they must entertain the most affluent men possible, and become the mistress of whomever would benefit the okiya most. Simply put, a geisha is compelled to set aside her personal feelings unless she is foolish enough to follow them an risk certain discovery, embarrassment, and all too often, expulsion from her okiya to a cruel life on the streets. During World War II, geisha districts were shut down, and most inhabitants were forced to join the futile war efforts of a desperate Japan. After the was, geisha slowly filtered back to their okiyas and reestablished their connections, but geisha as a whole had diminished in number and had lost some of their former grandeur. It was in this time of uncertainty that some geisha left this way of life and ventured into the world, but Sayuri did not. She, like so many others, were bound by their senses of duty, loyalty, and honor, which made them feel obligated to return to their okiyas and continue their lives as geisha. Golden shows his mastery as a writer in his ability to display how desire brings unrest to the human spirit. He unveils the turmoil behind the makeup of a geisha who must choose between what is expected of her, however undesirable yet certain and a desperate plan meant to free herself from one man because of a passion for another. Such is the tale of all geisha. Obedience leads to security in a financial and social sense, but requires ambitions and dreams to be forsaken. Pursuing one's emotions and desires has but one guarantee; there are none. These are the reasons that geisha behave the way they do, like docile lambs following their shepherd without question. They submit to decisions made for them, thereby assuring their safety rather than risking the even less desirable existence of a common prostitute on the streets for attempting to follow their heart. This novel is especially gripping because of its incomprehensible nature. Few people in this country, or the industrialized world for that matter, can begin to fathom a life where someone has such complete control of your life. A life in which not only is your profession is forced upon you, but so is your lover. This was the tragic, hopeless realm of the geisha, a realm that has thankfully. for all intents and purposes, faded with the sunset of Japan's past.
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Summary: One of the best books in years
Review: I have been to Kyoto and was lucky enough to be entertained by a geisha in the very district the book takes place in. Being the only gaijin (foreigner), I was equally amazed by the other Japanese in attendence and their fascination of the geisha. Arthur Golden came as close as anyone could to creating a story on a subject so little know about, even most Japanese. While much of the dialog was a little too precise, a Japanese writer wouldn't have been so flowery, it hit on so many cylinders to be one of the best books written in years. It's a rather simple story that rarely, if at all, goes over the top.
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Summary: Loved it!
Review: I understand that there are many mixed opinions about this book and frankly I have to say that I love the book for its educational value and it's entertainment value. I lovd the characters and the way that they evolved. I can see that alot of research was done for this novel and I loved every detail of the book that just makes it so enriching. Although I truly enjoyed the novel and would recommanded to anyone, I thought the ending was too abrupt, and I really wanted to see more details about Sayrui's son and her life in the US. Read the book and decide for yourself whether or not it's worth the read because it doesn't matter if you like the book on a personal level, the pictures that are depicted through the pages of the chapters will stay with you.
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