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Summary: An insightful look into the Japanese culture.
Review: My friend recommended this book to me. At first I was sort of weary, but after the first chapter I was so glad I bought it!! I fell in love with all the characters. Mr. Golden did a great job in writting this book. I just couldn't put it down. The writting is so descriptive, it literally paints a picture in my head. Especially about how beatiful the kimonos are, bright and full of color. It also describes to us the time and effort the geisha women take in making themselves beautiful. This book also touched my heart. It's heartbreaking to read how these girls are yanked away from their family and forced to grow up so fast and all alone.
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Summary: This is my FAVORITE book!
Review: An incredible read that you will not be able to put down! This book was very descriptive and I loved the analogies throughout. It's hard to believe this is told 1st person in a woman's mind (Sayuri) and written by a man! Amazing...I am eager for Arthur Golden's next novel to come out....can not wait!!! THIS BOOK IS A DEFINATE KEEPER!!! I have recommended and lent it to several people who also fell in love....
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Summary: Breathtaking... a joy to read!
Review: I had two friends recommend this book to me, and I finally sat down to read it. What an amazing story! The author does a wonderful job of drawing you into this woman's life, learning about the world of the geisha as she herself does.My only complaint (and I'm sure it's one other people have)... I wanted more! I sat and read the last 200 pages in one sitting and I really wished there had been more to the story... I mean, it seems like we learn SO much about Chiyo/Sayuri's life, and when the book reaches a certain plot point (I won't spoil it for others who haven't read it), you are pretty much left with a quick summary for the rest of the book... I wanted the story to keep going! Having said that, I highly recommend this book... it's fascinating, celebratory, heartbreaking and a joy to read. I almost cried at the end.
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Summary: An enchanting look into a distant world
Review: I had been reading nonfiction books for such a long time that I decided it was time for me to pick out a fiction novel. A few of my friends had read Memoirs of a Geisha a couple of years ago and they all enjoyed it. I read the translator's note at the beginning and was so hooked I couldn't stop reading. I finished the 400+ page book in less than a week and everytime I had to put it down I couldn't wait to pick it back up. As I read the book I felt like I was listening to a woman talking to me about her life. I felt as if she were really sitting in my living room and remembering her stories. The detail and comparisons are wonderful and the characters are all well-developed. I had no previous knowledge of geisha and was really enchanted by the new world I was uncovering. I felt like page by page I was learning more about this culture, time period and place than I could have discovered in a text book on Japan. This easy to read book, though not short, is perfect for a light read. Definitely a great book to pick up if you're longing for a delightful story. After I had finished the book I caught myself sometimes imagining that I was a geisha in the Gion district, complete with my kimono and properly tied obi. Although not a most glorious life, this book shows how being a geisha became the life of these girls and women even if it wasn't their desire.
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Summary: Was sure I'd give it 5 stars...until I read the ending
Review: I was hooked on this book simply after reading the translator's note! I was not disappointed once I began the actual novel. While Golden did not accurately portray the world of geisha, his fictional version is nonetheless highly entertaining. His descriptions of young Chiyo and her life leading up to becoming a geisha are absolutely enchanting and I simply could not put the book down. The reader sympathizes with Chiyo and wants the best for her as well, so the reader eagerly awaits the moment in the novel in which she becomes a geisha. And yet, when that moment occurs, the Chiyo you have rooted for all along becomes the self-absorbed Sayuri that one quickly loses compassion for. What lessened the book's charm for me was that the chairman plot was too contrived and unbeleivable, that Nobu was the REAL Prince Charming, and that Sayuri's treatment of Pumpkin was despicable. Perhaps circumstances truly did hinder their friendship in the beginning, but after Sayuri was well-established in the okiya, there was no reason she could not have done more to salvage the friendship and contribute to Pumpkin's future. I could have easily gotten over my disappointment of not having Nobu's character triumph if Sayuri had atleast done right by Pumpkin. But to do so badly by them both... I could only give it 3 stars because of my own personal issues with the plot which are too hard to expound on without giving away too much of the novel, but I'm sure those who have read it know what I mean. I'm by no means upset, though, that I took the time to read this book. Overall, the writing was still exceptional, elegant and absorbing. The bottom line is don't expect literary greatness or an extremely accurate view of geisha life but do expect to be highly entertained. Well worth the read.
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Summary: very interesting
Review: Even though some say this book gives some misconceptions about geisha life, I thought it was a VERY interesting story. Well worth the money, thats for sure. Even if you don't know anything about a geisha, buy the book anyway. You'll be drawn into the story and you wont be able to put it down.
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Summary: Good read: well worth the fare to turn of the century Japan
Review: I'm sure that this book isn't quite accurate on any number of measures, but it sure makes a good yarn. You feel transported to another time and consciousness--a late-feudal, early-modern Japan, where tradition and dogma perservere even as Japan is radically changing. The characters offer intrigue and suspense, and the novel--like a tourist trip--offers a titiliating, if not-quite-real, view of an earlier Japan.
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Summary: Memoirs Of a Geisha - learning an unknown culture and life
Review: Memoirs of a Geisha is a beautiful story that I could not put down. The detail and the wonderful plot kept me interested and wanting more. I think that the ideal audience is women of any age and anyone who is misinformed about the life the geisha really lived. The story was great for me to relate to a girl because it was all about growing up in Kyoto, Japan. There were things that I had never known about geisha. All my perceptions of them being highly paid hookers was taken away when I read this great story about a real life, about a person that I could actually relate to. I found out that geisha were very interesting women. Sayuri was the main character. She was taken from her family, separated from her sister, and learned the ways of a geisha in a household where nothing was ever free. She was tormented by an older geisha and lived a very hard life until she officially became a geisha herself. The story of her hardships was great. The characters were so real and the story came to life easily for me. The detail of the story captured my imagination and I could always imagine being right there with Sayuri. I felt the pain of missing a sister and being all alone, I felt the anticipation of becoming a geisha, and the hatred she felt for the older geisha in her household. I wanted to reach out and help her and give her advice; I couldn't stop reading because I wanted to know what would happen to her next. I highly recommend this book because it tells a wonderful story and helps people to understand that people of different cultures aren't different at all because we all share the same emotions.
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Summary: Transports You
Review: I have now read this book twice. I can only do this with good stories. I re-read Rebecca and Little Women and Memoirs of a Geisha. The book transports you to another world. You find yourself forgetting that these men all have wives at home and taking the side of the geisha. As I read, I wish to wear a kimono and have my hair styled elaborately. If you are looking for a good story and to also learn much about Asian culture, then I suggest you buy this book now.
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Summary: Interesting
Review: When I first picked up this book and read it a few years ago, I was captivated. I simply could not put the book down. I was drawn into the life of the fictonal geisha Sayuri, and her life and trials. I thought the world of a geisha fascinating! I read it over and over again, and had to buy a second copy as the first got worn out. Then I read "Geisha: A Life" by Mineko Iwasaki, whom Arthur Golden had interviewed. I was shocked. I come to find out the inaccuracies in "Memoirs of a Geisha", and how it wasn't an accurate representation of a geisha's life. Mr. Golden obviously needed to do more research, or listen more closely to what Ms. Iwasaki told him. Bottom line, if you're looking for an interesting story, by all means. But if you're looking for something a little more accurate, please read the aforementioned book.
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