Rating: 
Summary: YES YES YES
Review: An all around must read. Go to the library or book store and get this book. This tale is out of this world. My book club is still talking about this one 2 months later.
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Summary: Exudes the simplicity of Japanese art...only in written form
Review: If you want to be transported into a lovely historical fiction novel then you will want to listen to this audio. Davis adapts a Japanese accent with a perfect theatrical presentation. This story is about a young peasant girl who became a popular geisha and the journey there (pre and post WWII). The book is filled with hints of petty jeolousies, plots to influence, and a cast of characters who leave you eager to hear the next events. The story seduces you through Chiyo's maturity into the popular geisha Sayuri--and I found myself rooting for her during her quest for her heart's desire. This was an interesting glimpse into the world of the geisha.
Rating: 
Summary: absolutely lovely
Review: I often only read fantasy, but this book transported me to such another land that I could have swore I was still reading fantasy and not historical fiction! I loved the way the author vividly described Gion, Kyoto, the okiya and especially the kimono. It was a beautiful, but sad, world. The character of Chiyo/Sayuri was wonderfully developed. Definitely read it! A great look into a completely different world! I now really want to go to Japan ;)
Rating: 
Summary: Absolutely nothing imaginative, bad writing
Review: Yes, I did finish this book. I am a 27 year old female, conservative, college educated, and I have read a few good books. This was certainly not one of them. Characters are so simplified, either "GOOD" or "BAD." I felt as if I were reading an essay of some nonimaginative woman who was trying to make everyone feel sorry for her. Just because it made it to a bestseller list, does not mean it is worth reading. Jerry Springer's show was popular too but we all know how 'good' that was. This book is in the same category. Do not waste your time on this book, I felt sorry I did.
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Summary: Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
Review: Finding a good book is sometimes incredibly hard to do. Walking around the bookstore or library for hours can sometimes yield little more than one or two books that look promising, but you are never really quiet sure if it will turn out to be a good book until you get home and start reading. I got incredibly lucky when I sat down to read "Memoirs of a Geisha" by Arthur Golden, a book I had vaguely heard about from teachers and friends. "Memoirs of a Geisha" was different than most books I had read previously because it took place in Japan and dealt mainly with the upper class of Japan and the Geisha. Immediately upon starting to read this book I was drawn into a world like none I had known before, the world of early 1990's Japan . "Memoirs of a Geisha" was incredibly informative and educational for me. Before I started to read it I thought that a Geisha was a kind of glorified prostitute in Japan who also happened to entertain men, but after reading I learned that a Geisha is more of a paid hostess and rarely if ever sleeps with her customers. She is paid more for her company and hints of sexuality. From the moment you begin reading you are drawn into a world of secrecy, jealousy, sensuality, and heartache that completely grips you and makes this book a page-turner. Another thing that makes this book incredibly entertaining is the fact that Arthur Golden is male and writes from the perspective of a female. He writes so convincibly from the perception of a female that you forget that the author is male. I really enjoyed reading this book and I strongly recommend that anyone who is a fan of historical fiction, or just a good book, to read it.
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Summary: ABSOLUTELY EXCELLENT
Review: This book was so well written, I couldn't put it down. You follow a girl growing up in the orient through all of her experiences, however large or small. It's a somewhat sad story, but a story of hope at the same time. I'm sorry I couldn't write a better and more descriptive review. I just want to let everyone out there know that this book is well worth the time and effort.
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Summary: Geishas are not Prostitutes
Review: Im Japanese, I was born in Japan, and still am very familiar with the language. So throughout the years I have come across the word Geisha, and I took high interest in this book. I have been told that Geisha were prostitutes but my Japanese mother begged a differ and recommended this book for me. It takes place in a little fishing village on the sea of Japan called "Yoroido" Chiyo-san is the youngest of a fisherman's daughter, she was very unique for she had these breath-taking gray-blue eyes. Her older sister Satsu wasnt anything to look at. Their mother was dying and there father was in no condition to raise children alone. So a wealthy man by the name of Ichiro Tanaka, persuaded their father to sell the girls. Chiyo was sold to an Okiya where geisha were trained and lived and Satsu was sold to a whore house. The girls loose contact with eachother, and lived on their lives as they were bought for. Chiyo went to school for she was in training to be a Geisha. Satsu ran away from the whore house and is never seen or heard of ever again. As the years pass, Chiyo turns into this beautiful young apprentice geisha and she even falls in love with the wealthy chairman of Iwamura electric company, but geisha are not allowed to have husbands or boyfriends, unless they buy that geisha. This whole story is told through her eyes, and all the hardships she goes through in order to become a geisha. She didnt have a choice whether or not she could or could not be a geisha, she was forced. Geisha are "artisan" they entertain a crowd of men through dancing and playing their shamisen which is a japanese guitar. She has an older sister geisha who looks after her and teaches her more about entertaining men, that was Mameha. She makes Chiyo into a Geisha whos name turns into Sayuri. Sayuri's virginity is sold to the highest bidder and then a man buys her for solo personal night time hours in exchange that he pays for all of her expenses. These are just a few experiences that she has to face in order to become a success. Throughout her years of becoming a geisha Sayuri grows old and is known as one of the best Geisha known in Japan. Japan was not doing so well economically where abouts in the US they were rising. So Sayuri decides to move to the US and own her own teahouse. Every chapter of this book is suspensful, it was intense, i felt terrible for her having her viriginty sold and when her whole family was taken away from her before her eyes. But im very hopeful that she does get to know what love feels like and that she finds happiness in the end. Thats just a fast easy to follow summary on "Memoirs of a geisha." And please do not think Geisha's are prostitutes for they are graceful entertainers, that are trained to dance and sing, they set the meaning of beauty in Japanese history.
Rating:
Summary: purely delightful
Review: I must say the only reason i read this book is because all of my friends raved about it. I can honestly say this book, in no way, disappointed me. Memoirs of a Geisha is an excellent book that has a way of building each moment in your head. Golden provided exquisite detail about every aspect in Sayuri's life. Whenever Sayuri was stressed, i felt stressed. Whenever Sayuri was sad, i felt sad. The way he gave the kimonos so much detail, allowed me to paint a picture in my head and at time it seems as if you can feel the silk fabric brushing against your own skin. Arthur Golden is an amazing author who clear puts much effort into his writing. I highly recommend this book for anyone to read
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Summary: Breathtaking journey through Geisha's own eyes
Review: You will read this book with the feeling that it is true although it is fiction. This is a unique book in the style of writing, because Arthur Golden wins you over with simple language that flows like a river, and the river will take you by surprise and float you through the memories, sufferings, accomplishments, desires, and pains of the narrator, Chiyo, who later is named Sayuri when she becomes a geisha. Golden uses such precise, simple language and such vivid descriptions that you feel like you are there in Japan, watching everything happen. The river of beautiful language swallows you up as you feel the pain of Chiyo as she is torn from her tipsy house as her mother lays dying and brought to a geisha house by the man she once admired, Mr. Tanaka. She is immediately frightened of Hatsumomo, who is a famous geisha who degrades Chiyo because she is secretly jealous of her. You will go through an emotional journey with Chiyo that involves passion, lost and then regained hope, pain, fear, lust, betrayal, and much more. This book is vivid and beautiful. You will never forget the journey that this book brings to you. It takes you back to WWII and shows the pain and suffering caused by war, along with the loss of hope and the struggle to obtain forgiveness. This is a book that you won't want to put down!
Rating:
Summary: Great
Review: I learned a lot about the Geisha lifestyle. Something that has always been a mystery to me.
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