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Summary: Interesting...never would have gotten it on my own
Review: This book was required reading in my eleventh grade English class. I thought that Mr. Golden did a wonderful job.
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Summary: I really loved this book
Review: this is one of the most beautiful books i have ever read. i love it. i recommend it to everyone i come in contact with.
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Summary: interesting geisha make-up lessons but ultimately trite
Review: The world of the geisha-- children are sold into geisha bondage and forced into labour in a vain attempt to pay off their debts (including the cost of buying them, feeding & clothing them etc. at inflated prices). A few chapters about geisha make-up secrets (or how to get skin lead poisoning) and kimonos (they cost a mint, you need a special dresser to get into one, and they weigh a ton). The desperate business of making money and finding a rich patron to get out of bondage is couched in the silliest romance. Can a geisha really not know what sex is when her deflowering is up for bids, after witnessing sex couplings a few feet from her tatami sleep mat? Even respectable Japanese housewives use "pillow books" illustrating sex positions! This is just titillation for the American market. Can we really believe a geisha will give up her son's chance to inherit the business of his father who is her rich patron and who has no other male heirs? The end is a cop-out.
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Summary: Fasinating!
Review: I had no idea what to expect from this book so it was a great surprise to find that I could not put the book down. And when I did have to put it down, I couldn't wait to find a few spare minutes to pick it back up. I learned about a way of life that I never even thought about and it was written in such an interesting way. The story of this geisha captivated my interest in a way that few books have ever done. I don't want to give any of the story away or tell you what it's about because you probably already know that. I just want to tell you that for me to read a 400+ book in a few days is highly unusual. I have picked up 4 books since this one and just cannot get into them because they don't even began to compare with memoirs. The author wrote in such a beautiful style. Just read it and you will know what I am talking about.
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Summary: Great Book!
Review: This is a great book. I had never really heard about it before, but I had to read it for a sociology class. It is a very interesting and well written piece of historical fiction. I learned alot about the geisha lifestyle. It is overall just a wonderful book, I could hardly put it down. I highly recommend it. I have to say that it is one of my most favorite books. I only regret that I will never beable to read it again for the first time; it is very enjoyable!
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Summary: A must read worth every penny
Review: I resided in Japan a total of four years -- sometimes living in areas where I was the only (obvious) foreigner and wondering if astonished glances and stares meant I had unknowingly sprouted a second head."Memoirs of a Geisha" is a memorable, well-written, and utterly convincing novel. I could not put this book down and did not mind some sleep deprivation in order to finish it as soon as possible. Sure, this wonderful effort will not win a Nobel Prize for literature, but Mr. Golden's novel is a close second to Tanazaki's "The Makioka Sisters" (another must read). Enjoy!
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Summary: It's okay.....
Review: I guess I've just heard so many people rave about this book that I just expected something more. For the first half of the book, I could harldy put it down in the beginning, but somewhere in the middle, I lost interest and had to struggle to finish. I can't exactly put my finger on the reason. I think it may have been a combination of things. One, after Sayuri is no longer an apprentice, I think her character loses something. You see her transform from a humble woman with a good work ethic into a pampered brat who in my opinion, lives a very shelterd life with no regard for others. I have to give away more of the book in order to go on, and I don't want o ruin it for anyone who hasn't read it yet, but I think those of you who have read it know exactly what I'm talking about.
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Summary: An enchanting story
Review: For anyone who has the slighest interest in Japan, the history of it or Geisha's, this book is fabulous. From the first page you are caught in a sad, endearing story of two sisters and their struggle to make it as a Geisha. The book follows one sister in particular and the troubles she has as she learns the tools of the trade, along with trying to cope with the head Geisha who despises her and causes all sorts of problems. A great novel to curl up with.
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Summary: What a novel!
Review: One day the novel Memoirs of a Geisha was recommended to me and after beginning to read this novel I could not stop. Every page was filled with beautiful detail and language. Chapter after chapter continues this journey of a young girl becoming a woman. It's possible to read 4 or more chapters in just one sitting; I know I did. Don't be surprised if an hour or so goes by and you're still reading, because the plot just captivates you. The life of this geisha is a remarkable one and made for an amazing novel!
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Summary: Deserves to become a modern classic!
Review: With more than a thousand reader reviews already written about this remarkable novel, I'm sure there's nothing much more that I can add to it. But I'd still like to comment that this has got to be one of the best works of fiction that I have ever read. Being a Westerner, the author is highly commended for seeking out painstaking details on one aspect of Japanese culture that is sadly often misunderstood, and injecting so much life into his characters that you feel for each one of them tremendously. Although I was never one of those people who thought of geishas as "prostitutes" nor mere paid escorts, this book still managed to teach me a lot of things about their lives that I never knew before. While reading this book, it was quite hard to believe that it wasn't actually written by a real-life former geisha herself. I had to keep flipping to the author's acknowledgements at the end of the book to keep reminding myself of that fact! If you're in the mood for a novel that would take you on a breathtaking ride to another place and time, try this one.
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