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Summary: An interesting look at mysterious Japan
Review: What makes this book so special is how richly it reveals details of the characters lives. Subtle details which create a vivid sense of time and place create for the reader a rich tapestry of places, people and culture. The story is fascinating, at times cruel and tragic, but very readable. If you are interested in Japan, it is a must. For others, it is worthy of your time.
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Summary: Very touching, very sensual story
Review: This book was very well written, never boring. I read it quickly, and enjoyed it thoroughly. It seems to have been very well researched. The details lend a realism to the story that makes it difficult to believe it's not an autobiography. The characters are so real. The author does an excellent job of contrasting what seems on the surface to be a privileged life with the darker, sadder side of geisha life. It is as much the reality of Geisha that they are pampered, privileged, and respected, as it is that they are bought and sold, and lack ultimate control over their own lives. But throughout the story we learn, as Sayuri is learning, that there are means for gaining control over one's life and destiny. Such means require wit and cunning. Learning such means is the art of Geisha as much as tea ceremony, or any other craft.
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Summary: It will put you to sleep.
Review: "Memoirs of a Geisha," is one of the most dull books that I have ever read. It doesn't live up to the reviewers' promises of being erotic and intruiging. Most of the book revolves around the childhood shenanigans of the lead character, Chiyo/Sayuri. Like Anne of Green Gables, she manages to get into scrapes and amusing dilemmas one after the other. Some situations are so horribly contrived that they belong in a children's cartoon program. Our brave little heroine, Chiyo/Sayuri, is treated cruelly by the evil villains she encounters. Most of the secondary characters seem to exist only to make Chiyo's life difficult, and I found this hard to believe. Still, the book is written in a serious and dry manner, as if the reader is expected to believe such ridiculous one-dimensional characters and zany situations actually exist in real life. Yeah, right.I learned a lot about the role of a geisha in Japanese culture, but if I had known their work was so boring, I would never have been interested in geishas in the first place. As Chiyo/Sayuri explains, geishas aren't prostitutes or little tea servers, as we in the west believe. Instead, they go to exciting parties where they make small talk with guests, sing and play musical instruments, and drink Japanese beer with slovenly businessmen. Boring. If you're looking for an erotic, exciting book, look elsewhere. If you must read this book, please refrain from operating heavy machinery afterwards.
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Summary: A Remarkably Imagined Novel of a Geisha's Life
Review: Arthur Golden's "Memoirs of a Geisha" is a remarkable book in many respects. Written by a young, white American male in the late Twentieth century, it brilliantly depicts the life of a geisha in Japan during the 1930s and 1940s. The novel has been appropriately described by one reviewer as an act of ventriloquism because of the author's ability to get inside the mind of the book's female protagonist and write a novel of sustained versimilitude and historical and cultural accuracy. The achievement is even more notable when you realize that "Memoirs of a Geisha" is Golden's first published novel. "Memoirs of a Geisha" tells the story of Chiyo, the poor daughter of an elderly fisherman and his dying wife. When Chiyo is eight years old, she and her older sister, Satsu, are sold by their father, both designated to become geisha in Kyoto. While Satsu is unremarkable and she ends up as a common prostitute, Chiyo's striking eyes, diminutive beauty and resilient intelligence make her a suitable geisha in training. She soon finds herself in conflict, however, with the resident geisha in her house, Hatsumomo, a beautiful and mean-spirited woman whose antagonism runs through the novel like a thread. Hatsumomo makes life unbearable for Chiyo and seemingly destroys her future until she is taken under the wing of Mameha, a beautiful and accomplished geisha whose motives are uncertain. Through the efforts of Mameha, Chiyo becomes a succesful and avidly sought geisha, taking the name Suriya and becoming the favorite of a war-maimed, wealthy patron named Noru. All this time, however, Suriya's romantic obsession is a business partner and deeply-indebted friend of Noru, a man simply known as the "Chairman", a man who had once been kind to the young Chiyo when he found her crying by a stream. "Memoirs of a Geisha" is, thus, an historical romance set in Japan during the Depression and the years during and following World War II. As a romance, it is a somewhat lacking because of its fairy tale quality, its unbelievability, its departure from realism. However, while its romantic aspects fall short, it is remarkably successful in depicting the geisha culture of the period--the extensive training of the geisha, the incredible physical and mental demands of the geisha profession, the cultural milieu, trappings, beliefs, and superstitions of the geisha in day-to-day life, and the place of the geisha in Japanese society. "Memoirs of a Geisha" is also remarkable for the way its author succeeds in imagining, and expressing, the intimate life and thoughts of the young Chiyo and the mature geisha Suriya. While "Memoirs of a Geisha" does not rise to the level of classic status and can, at times, be somewhat tedious, it is a remarkably well written and imagined first novel, a stunning and sympathetic fictional portrayal of an aspect of Japanese culture that is often misunderstood in the West.
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Summary: Incredible look into another world...
Review: Probably one of the top 10 books I've read in my lifetime - took forever to pick it up once I bought it - but once I did, I couldn't put it down. The portrait of the world of the fisherman's daughter sold into servitude and her rise in the world of the Geisha was a look into a world so different - so sad and yet so enchanting. It is hard to adequately describe all of the buttons it pushes while it is read.
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Summary: Review
Review: This is a story about how a young girl from a poor town grows up to be a world renound Japanesse geisha. The novel traces her sturggles, hardships and the loss of her family at an early age. It is a book which accuarately describes how hard it is to become a geisha.
I recommend this book to any reader who is interested in looking into the distict life of a Japaneese geisha. I liked thos book because of the smooth writing style of Arthur Golden, and the colorful way he describes how hard it is to be a woman in Japan during the 1920's.
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Summary: A Joy to Read, absolutely beautiful!
Review: I don't know why it took me so long to finally get my hands on a copy of "Memoirs of a Geisha" but I am glad that I finally took the plunge and bought it. Once you open the book, you will find yourself absorbed in Sayuri's world; a world full of decadence where men shower geisha with expensive gifts and engage in betting wars over a geisha's virginity. Besides the expensive gifts, Golden does not completey glorify the geisha profession, but also shows the dark underside of it: the beatings, harsh training, sexual harassment, and the objectification of women. "Memoirs of a Geisha" is the 'memoir' of a peasant girl Chiyo who trains to become a geisha in Japan during the Depression. However, the book does not just detail Chiyo's training and schooling, but her struggles to find her sister who was sold into prostitution and her assimilation into the geisha culture. There are also some pitfalls along the way as Chiyo must deal with her rival Hatsumomo, who tries to ruin Chiyo's chances to become a successful geisha. I'll stop there with the plot because I do not want to give much of it away but I definitely think that this book is worth a read. I found it more engaging and beautiful than Amy Tan's "The Joy Luck Club," which is an excellent novel, but does not compare to the originality and brilliance of Golden's ability to write from the perspective of a nine year old girl as she matures into a woman. "Memoirs of a Geisha" is the type of novel that you wish would never end!
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Summary: Memoirs with a little History
Review: This story was a beautiful one. I bought the audio book and while it took some time to get used to the American accent trying to do an Asian accent...the story progressed beautifully. I almost did not listen to the book after hearing the narrator's horrible voice but I endured and it was great. If you know nothing about the life of a geisha this book educates you without banging you over the head with a lot of terms and useless information. Hard to believe it was written by a man, the woman's perspective was captured quite nicely by Mr. Golden.
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Summary: Oh, what a delightful stolen pleasure!
Review: Will make you want it to never end!! I was never interested in Asian culture before this book, but I felt as though I had actually been to Japan. The story of girl's journey into an unknown world, her sudden appreciation of her circumstances, her entrance into womanhood. This is a story that truly could have been a tear-jerker, depressing tale is transformed into one of hope, perserverance, and the human spirit. Excellent literature!
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Summary: Fascinating!
Review: I truly enjoyed this book! Yes, it's long and the print is tiny and the pages are thin, but the story is remarkable in its authenticity. Arthur Golden did a wonderful job of seeing the world as a Japanese geisha would in the early 1900s. The characters came alive in my mind. I actually find myself thinking of Sayuri (Chiyo), Hatsumomo and Pumpkin and wondering about their lives. I learned so much about Japanese culture as well.
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