Rating: 
Summary: Best book I read this year!
Review: I loved this book. I was so sad it was over. The charaters were multi-dimensional. I felt like I knew Sayuri. When I wasn't reading she was often on my mind. I have never read a book about the Japanese culture and this book gave me a new respect and awe for the culture. The author is a very intelligent, sensitive, and insightful man. I would love to read something else by him.
Rating:
Summary: Intreigueing, and appalingly stark and well-written.
Review: I took a Sunday and read Memoirs of a Geisha, I couldn't put it down. The way the Japanese society was so accepting of the lifestyle of a Geisha, and how the unvalued girls basically felt incredibly lucky to become a sexual servant was uphalling, but at the same time it was a comment on the values of the people in the Japanese society, and how something that seems unjust in the U.S. was so widely accepted in this foreign place. The geisha in the book was stripped from her childhood and made into the model geisha in her mid teens, and her virginity was auctioned off, a highly respected ceremony. (Being a teenager at 17, this made me feel violated for the character.) I enjoyed this book immensely, but was somewhat intreigued by the lack of discussion of death in the book. There was little talk of the feelings of people about the deaths of the characters, and there was little time spent talking about it, and the death was rarely ever referenced later in the book. I would name this book, Memoirs of a Geisha, among my top favorites.
Rating: 
Summary: Read the first two-thirds....
Review: I have to agree with one of the L.A. reviewers. This novel started out as a tight, intriguing, well-paced story that absolutely unraveled by the end. I was left feeling that Golden needed to wrap things up, almost as if he had become bored by his own characters and wanted to dispense with the story as quickly as possible. The novel's pace completely changed, characters became caricatures, and the whole subplot about the Chairman fulfilled itself in the most ridiculous way. After raving about this novel for two days while I read the first two-thirds, I had to admit to my friends that I couldn't ultimately recommend it. I'm glad I waited until it came out in paperback.
Rating:
Summary: Fascinating...
Review: You truly get swept away from your everyday into the little okiya of Sayuri-san and the rest of the beautiful geisha of Kyoto. You will get lost in the beautifully told history of a world beyond your wildest imagination - you will be the one wearing the ornate kimono and the dazzling ornaments... it truly is a bittersweet surrender into the life of an innocent girl turned into a geisha sophisticate...
Rating:
Summary: An incredible journey...
Review: I was unable to put this book down! This was an extraordinary work that brought you into the world of the geisha in Kyoto. The descriptions of the era were thought provoking and alive! Thank you for a delightful treat!
Rating: 
Summary: Soothing for the mind and soul.
Review: Mr Golden is a master of minutiae. His paragraphs drip with rich detail which are a delight to the senses. You can almost taste the Japanese tea and visualise the exquisite kimono designs.A possible weakness is that a good two thirds of the book deals with the truly epic 'bitch fight' between protagonist Sayuri and gorgon Hatsumono, complete with torn kimonos and frazzled hair buns. While this big sister/small sister thang is jolly good fun, Golden could have fleshed out other characters such as the shadowy Chairman or events such as those in the post War period. It is commendable that Golden has presented to us a little known aspect of an Asian culture in such an accessible format. He has undertaken a huge amount of research for this story and one hopes he uses his collected information as the impetus for another great story.
Rating:
Summary: I wonder how much of it is based in reality.
Review: If this book was a true picture of the life of a Japanese geisha, I was astounded...for many reasons. First and foremost, I was shocked at the lack of value placed on children. Secondly, I was dismayed to learn of the role of women in Japanese culture. Finally, I was saddened to realize that geisha life was probably the best choice Sayuri could have been given. Memoirs of a Geisha has made me want to read more about Japanese culture and history.
Rating:
Summary: Very Enjoyable
Review: The writing style was smooth and easy to follow. The story and characters kept my interest. If you are timid of reading a story about a different culture, don't be. This author guides you through without difficulty. I don't understand why some reviews here compare it to a "Romance Novel". That is really selling this book short.
Rating:
Summary: It was an excellent blending of fact and fiction
Review: I loved this book. It was the choice for a reading group that I'm in so I didn't discover it on my own. Golden did an excellent job of blending the true facts about becoming a geisha with the fictional story of one young girls' journey to that end. I couldn't put it down and didn't want it to end.
Rating:
Summary: Stunning!!
Review: This novel is unlike anything I have read before. It is unbelievable that this was written by a MAN from the US. I felt as though I had been immersed in this world. When I put the book down (which was hard to do) I felt that my perceptions had changed - the colors in the world seemed somehow brighter. Somehow the author turned the written word into a visual experience. It was an incredible novel that I would recommend to anyone.
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