Memoirs of a Geisha

Rating:
Summary: Very disappointing book
Review: Memoirs of a Geisha is a page-turner, and it has a lot of interesting information about Japan and geishas, but I could have gotten the same information and the same level of insight from a half decent magazine article on the subject. I expect more from a novel. An understanding of the human heart (no sign of it here, just a lot of cliches). Writing that goes beyond the pedestrian (I know the author spent many years writing this book, but the prose is barely competent). If I had read this book without reading any of the reviews beforehand, I probably would have said it was pretty good. An interesting, though unchallenging, novel. Entertaining, as long as you're willing to put up with it's superficiality. But the reviews made me expect this to be one of the best books I would read this year. Not even close. I guess I learned a lesson: when you hear too many superlatives, be wary. It's probably hype.

Rating:
Summary: Obviously written by a man
Review: My first thought, when I first heard of this book, was how could a white, American man write from the perspective of a Japanese geisha? The book's rave reviews, plus Spielberg's purchase of the story rights, convinced me to read it. It turns out that my original thought was correct. The prose is filled with cliches, and the story is quite inaccurate from the female perspective (particularly the scene where the heroine loses her virginity.) Why must every commercially hot property turn out to be like the script for "Pretty Woman" (i.e. an unrealistic, male fantasy)? How degrading

Rating:
Summary: Beautiful, but dragged in the end
Review: After reading this book, I gained a much better understanding about the way the middle eastern countries were run before the modern ages had dawned on it. I must admit, I lost interest in what was going to happen to the geisha in about 7/9 of this book, it was dragging on and on and on. But after wandering aimlessly around chapter by chapter, the ending was fantastic. I was sitting there wiping my eyes and blowing my nose (I was sick). This is a great story to read when you're sick or feeling a bit down, I even forgot about my nasty headache! Really brightened up my day.

Rating:
Summary: Insight into a Forbidden World
Review: I simply couldn't put it down! It has made me reevaluate my life and position in society -- am I, are we, as women, so different from the geisha just because their behaviors are more frowned upon, more illicit? Haven't we also groomed ourselves and educated ourselves so that we could excel in our careers (just as the geisha) or land the man (just as the geisha)?

Rating:
Summary: Most remarkable book about the floating world
Review: Golden's novel is the best work ever to appear about the most unusual and enigmatic world of the Japanese Geisha. He has penetrated not only the mind of the Geisha but has opened to the western imagination much that is enigmatic of the Japanese character. I have never read a workd so dramatic and psychologically suspenseful yet crammed with factual details of the greatest complexity. His historical and cultural details are one hundred percent accurate. No one has ever explained so well the art of the kimono, which in Japan is a genre frequently overlooked because of its utilitarian nature. Add to all these virtures a literary style of the highest order, a style clearly in the tradition of a Nabokov. This is a novel that may be appreciated by the Japonicaphile as well as the ordinary western (i.e., American) reader having no knowledge of Japanese culture or history. His description of Japanese life, especially the life of Kyoto, before and between the wars is a treasure in itself. No student of modern Japanese history and culture should fail to read this marvelous work.

Rating:
Summary: A Western- and Phallocentric Japanese Woman's Voice?
Review: I wonder why a white male author invented an Asian female voice to tell a eurocentric and phallocentric story ... S/he tells us that no rape occured following the war, as a matter of fact, American soldiers handed out candy to the children of Japan. S/he tells us that the dream of a little girl from a fishing village is to catch the right (read: wealthy) "eel." S/he tells us that marble floors in train stations signify cultural/national greatness. Unfortunately too many people are reading him and listening to her.

Rating:
Summary: Too fabulous for words!
Review: I could not stop reading "Memoirs of a Geisha"..I cannot believe that Sayuri and the Chairman did not really exist..I live in Manhattan and I wanted to go to the Waldorf Towers and ask the Doormen about her...One also learns so much about Japan and now we can understand their culture in an easier fashion...Is there any other book out there that could be as lovely???

Rating:
Summary: I was so surprised to love this book as much as I did...
Review: If "Memoirs of A Geisha" hadn't been recommended to me, I never would have bought it. The bottom line is that it was wonderful... I have been to Japan many times, but never took any interest in the Geisha culture. But after reading the book, I feel like I have truly come to better understand and appreciate another culture in a way I never thought I would have. I truly cared for his characters and the life they experienced. I can't recommend this book enough...

Rating:
Summary: A lyrical journey through a world rarely seen by outsiders.
Review: The beauty and astonishing detail of this book left me breathless and wishing that it was much, much longer. In format, it is a memoir, and the author's use of this mechanism is nothing but masterly. Mr. Golden's attention to detail and fluid, almost lyrical writing style, has me waiting for his next work. His descriptive style gives the reader entre to world that certainly is unknown in the west. The book takes the reader from an impoverished family with daughters to a highly regarded geisha that holds court in New York City. This is her story and is completed in stunning style. This is a beautiful book and I congratulate the author on his success. I look forward to more work from Mr. Golden. I recommend this book to others without reserve. Please note: I am not related to Mr. Golden!

Rating:
Summary: amazing how a man can write about a woman so well
Review: This book really gets you to feel the way the geisha-world used to work. It is amazing how the author can decribe a woman's feelings so well, without sticking to the clichés men seem to share about women. Even if you're not interested in the Japanese way of life, this book is an absolute must.