Rating: 
Summary: a disappointment
Review: I loved most of this book. But I found deeply disturbing the one dimensional characters of the "good" people and the "bad" people. I would have liked to have seen Golden develop his characters more. It was a great book to learn about geishas, but if you know anything at all, the lack of character development is sorely missed.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent and unusual historical fiction
Review: This book tells the story of a woman who was sold as a girl to an okiya in pre-WWII Japan to be raised as a geisha. It is told from the perspective of the geisha as an old woman as she looks back on her life. It describes in fascinating detail the life of a geisha, from student to novice to full geisha, including such details as makeup application, styles of kimono, and, more intriguing, the politics of establishing status and position.This book is an excellent example of what I look for in historical fiction. Until reading this book, I had little knowledge of or interest in the life of geisha during this period, and yet the book made the topic compelling. Sayuri is a complex, sympathetic character, and through her adventures, we learn about the culture, the values, and the social rules of her time, as well as the details of daily living. The characters seem believable even though they operate by different social conventions. Even the style of writing rang true to me as the syntax of someone who doesn't speak English as a first language. As a bonus, I also felt I learned something about the art of triumphing over an enemy without fighting them head on.
Rating: 
Summary: A Winner!!!
Review: This was one of the best books I've read in a long time. It really captured what life must have been like for Geishas back in the 1940's. Fascinating characters. I couldn't put it down!!!
Rating:
Summary: A wonderful, well drawn story
Review: I recently read, and also re-read this novel. I thought that Sayuri's story was compelling. Golden's story line was well drawn. His characters are well thought out and portrayed, keeping themselves steady without wavering and turning the bad guy good as so many books are wont to do. Mameha, as the rescuer, Hatsumomo as the one who makes her life a living hell make this book have so many twists and turns you can't put it down. With so much detail about Sayuri's feelings as a woman, it's hard to beleive that this book was actually written by a man!
Rating: 
Summary: Scarlett O'Hara meets Mme. Butterfly
Review: I hated this book, partly because I found the writing style pedestrian, but mainly because I thought it had already had a successful life as Margaret Mitchell's Gone With the Wind. There is, of course, the long-standing question of whether male authors can and do depict female characters accurately. (I've not seen the obverse of that situation. Has anyone been part of a debate as to whether female writers succeed in getting under the skins of their male creations?) Did I think the American male author gave us an authentic Japanese female voice? No. She had about as much life as a fifth-grade math problem: if one train starts in San Francisco, travelling at 50 mph... I realize that the Geisha of the title begins as a child but she remains a child throughout. There is no maturation and no charm in her character. Furthermore, I detested the use of coincidense in this book and the interesting thing for me personally about my own rejection of this novel is that I have spent long hours puzzling over the coincidences in my own life and yet I hated the melodramatic coincidence found here. The whole thing was silly.
Rating:
Summary: A Touching Story That Deserved a Better Ending
Review: This book begins with Sayuri, a former geisha, recounting the story of her life beginning with her humble beginnings in a small Japanese fishing village. Sold to a geisha "family," Sayuri is at first sad and lost in this strange new environment. However, her will to survive and persevere is stronger than her grief and she accepts the cards that fate has dealt her, vowing to become successful geisha. Her obstacles and triumphs are chronicled, as well as her various adventures as a geisha. However, the annoying and irritating thread running throughout most of the book is Sayuri's irrational and unbelievable infatuation with the Chairman. This is a character that is never developed, indeed, readers are never even privy to his real name. Sayuri's attempts at establishing a romance with the Chairman eventually become pathetic and detract from what could be a courageous and memorable character. The ending is so abrupt and innocently simple it seems that the author finally got tired of writing and decided to wrap everything up in a neat, little package. Despite these criticisms, this is still an entertaining and worthwhile read. Because it does have merit, I believe readers and the story itself simply deserved better.
Rating:
Summary: A Different World
Review: "Memoirs of a Geisha" is a captivating novel about a lifestyle that is foreign to many of us who are not involved in nor familiar with the Japanese culture. What is not foreign are the human emotions that are eloquently given to the reader in the narrative. The beauty of this book, for me, are three things: 1.) Elaborate descriptions of Geisha and their way of life. 2.) The effect of WW-II and economic depression on Japan. 3.) Demonstrations of the strength of the human spirit, good and bad. I recommend you read this passionate book. It will deepen your understanding of another culture and, on a personal level, permits you to see events in your life from another perspective.
Rating:
Summary: Another Geisha
Review: I had read Lisa Dalby's "Geisha" long before this, and had read extensively on Japanese culture before that, but the novel was well-done, engrossing, wonderful. As the professional reviewers noted it had a love of coincidence, like Austen and Dickens, and a sensibility of another century, but then, it was of another era. The only quibble I have is its treatment of "Lizard Face," a noble man, dismissed as unsuitable late in the novel, discarded with too little explanation -- this seemed to mechanical to me. I really disliked both the protagonist amd the novelist for this dismissal of a good, if damaged, man. Otherwise, I rate this novel worth more than one reading....
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful
Review: Memoirs of a Geisha transformed me into not only another time and place but a culture so largely misunderstood in my country. Written with insight and sensitivity the author allowed me to progressively understand the life of a young woman which was totally foreign before. An amazing read - I put it down only to sleep.
Rating:
Summary: An excellent debut
Review: Memoirs of a Geisha is so realistic that as I read the opening translator's note I found myself checking to make sure it was, indeed, a novel rather than a work of non-fiction. It is beautifully written, the characters come alive and the plot keeps you glued to the pages. It's also an opportunity to learn more about Japanese culture. Unfortunately, I felt that the quality of the writing declined in the second half of the book. Perhaps this is just a reflection of my personal bias toward character development over plot. But I found the first half of the book slower, richer and more satisfying. During the second half my attention was simply focused on what was going to happen next. Another weak point was the section where Hatsumomo read Chiyo's diary, in which Chiyo attempted to reveal some of her innermost feelings in code. I thought that her code was a bit transparent. It is hard to believe that a woman who was so strictly trained in the art of subtelty would be so obvious. Still, these are small arguments to make. Overall, it was a good read which I can highly recommend. If you're interested in reading another debut book by a westerner about Japan try The Salaryman by Meg Pei. It is superb! Much better than this book and widely acclaimed, too.
| 
