Rating: 
Summary: A smooth read, predictable plot
Review: I don't understand the hype about this book. Yes, it's well written, but, as many of its critics have pointed out, the turns of plot and characterization are weak and uneventful. For the first two-thirds of the book we follow the plight of poor Sayuri up until her twenties; the last third wraps up her life, racing through WWII and the American occupation. A pleasant read, but I won't be pushing it on anyone.
Rating: 
Summary: Couldn't Put it Down
Review: An amazing cross-cultural autobiographical piece of fiction told in the first person by the Geisha heroine. The novel opens when our heroine is only 9 yrs old, in 1929 Japan. Her mother is dying of bone cancer, and her and her older sister are sold by her father. Her sister is taken to a house of common prostitution, but Chiyo, the heroine who is narrating the book, is taken by a Okija (Geisha house). Geisha, I learned, are entertainers--they sing, dance, tell stories, make jokes, and carry on interesting conversations with the patrons of tea houses. They also become the mistresses of very wealthy Japanese men. I always thought the Geisha got to choose who would be her dannae (her wealthy patron) but as it turns out, they have very little sayso over it at all. The deflowering of their virginity, which occurs at around age 14 or 15, goes not to a man they might like, but to the highest bidder. There is, however, a love story in the book as well as the many other trials and misadventures of Chiyo, whose Geisha name is Sayuri. There are quite a number of twists and turns and plots & counterplots, and I couldn't put the book down--I found myself rooting for this young woman in her battles against a very cruel, but very beautiful Geisha named Hatsumomo, and for her to find happiness with the man that she fell in love with when she met him on the street as a child and he was kind to her. But will she ever meet him again? Or will she be forced into becoming the mistress of the brusque, horribly disfigured Nobu--who is the business partner of the man she truly loves? The detail in the book is exquisite, Mr. Golden certainly did his research. And we learn about the actual daily rituals of Geisha, what it is really like, from the inside.
Rating: 
Summary: Exotic and Yet Familiar
Review: Memoirs of a Geisha is a fiction in the format of an as-told-to autobiography about a little girl removed from her impoverished household and put in the service of a Kyoto teahouse. It is absolutely compelling reading because we can identify with the main character's struggle for recognition as she combats poverty, obscurity and jealousy among her rivals to become a popular and respected geisha. At the same time, we become aware of how very different the Japanese cultural context is, and just how the geishas filled out their role in that context. The book is set during the last flowering of the traditional geishas, the prewar 1930s and 1940s, when geishas were paid entertainers, not just party girls and certainly not prostitutes as is often thought. Memoirs of a Geisha makes compelling reading with human emotions that get the reader hooked and exotic period detail that fascinate all the while. Reading it was a thoroughly enjoyable experience.
Rating:
Summary: too repetitive
Review: I completely agree with wishnick's critique, prose with no soul, which was extremely eloquent and intelligently written. I disliked all the characters because they were too superficially drawn, and I felt that the writing was too repetitive. In fact, I skipped about half or more of the book, and merely read the ending because I could never NOT finish a book. Because the author keeps repeating himself over and over to drive in obvious points, I feel that I didn't miss anything, despite my blatant skimming. I'm sure we do get a good idea of what constitutes a geisha's life, though you can probably get better depictions by reading other books about geisha, and hence you can bypass Golden's annoying writing. Fortunately, I borrowed this book from the library! If you are still intrigued with this novel because of the high critical acclaim (unfounded), please just borrow the book. This is the type of novel that does not bear reading twice, or once for that matter.
Rating:
Summary: Amazingly the best book!
Review: How did I buy this book? When I came back from a year stay in Japan...I was searching for a good book to read and my interest is in Japanese culture...then I came across with this book with a great pic of a a geisha in all of her natural shy beauty...and knowing about geisha made me attracted to buy the book...and I can say it worth every cent! I must say it's one of the best book (if not the best one) I've ever read in terms of fictional characterization of a Japanese woman, of a geisha. I thought the author is a woman. And when I found out he is Arthur Golden, a man capturing a woman fantasy, dreams, emotions, feelings, hate, anger, joys, sadness, triumphs, failures...everything. It's like reading Sidney Sheldon who I think is very good in handling woman character.... I am teaching basic Nihongo in my place and I always recommend the book to my students and sometimes we end up talking about it for the whole class session... And I want to comment about the critics...esp about the man who wrote that it's a "prose without something" (can't remember)...it sad he can't connect himself to the novel. There's nothing wrong with the story..what i think is there's something wrong with him...:):) Congratulations to Mr. golden for the great research he had done for this novel. My hats off you!
Rating: 
Summary: Prose with no soul
Review: I was not expecting that much from this novel, since I rarely find something that is so hyped up to be worth my time. I got just about what I expected. It is very easy to believe that this book was written by a man. As I read it, I felt no sort of connection to Sayuri. It was hard to relate to her, and no, it isn't because of the "exotic" setting, or the fact that I am white and she was Japanese. A good character should be easy to relate to no matter their sex, color, or place of origin. I found Sayuri lacking any real character development. Her supporting cast was not any better. Hatsumomo, who hated her for being too much competition, while she was nine years old. The mean mother of the okiya, the dumb, chubby friend who betrays her, and the harsh Nobu whose every move was easily predictable, as was every plot twist in this story. I didn't find the writing style to be anything special, the prose was lacking in true soul. It was as if Golden wrote this feeling nothing. The entire novel seemed to be saying "Hey, I know a lot about Japan, read me!" Knowing about a country and being able to capture its essence are two very different things. Perhaps it would have helped if he hadn't, for over sixty pages, used the word "geisha" at least once per page. I realize that she is living around geisha, and working for geisha, and training to be a geisha, you don't have to keep using that word. And if the Japanese want to prove that geisha are not prostitutes, this isn't a good endorsement. I hate to tell you, but if you are being paid for making love to a man, I don't care how educated you are, or what culture you are, that makes you a prostitute. I simply feel that this book would have been better had it been written by someone who actually was or had experience with geisha. The very woman that he based this story upon was outraged, and claimed that he told her life story completely inaccurately, and that there may even be a lawsuit. I suppose in the end, I just didn't enjoy the style of writing, the absence of characters with personalities, and the lack of feeling with which this novel was written.
Rating:
Summary: Butterfly in the Sky
Review: Hi my name is [anonymous], and boy do I have a book for you! Do you like reading about Japanese Cultures, well I do. That is why I read Memoirs of a Geisha, by Arthur Golden. It is a very, very, very, very, good book. I thought Sayuri is very neat. So if you like reading about Japanese cultures, I suggest you visit your local bookstore or library and pick this book up. Back to you Lavar!
Rating:
Summary: Memoirs of a Geisha
Review: I found this book fascinating. Once I started I could hardly put in down. The characters are great and it almost seems you know them by the end of the book. It also teaches you about the Japanese geishas and whole Japanese culture in general. Golden did a great job drawing the reader in and explaining the Japanese traditions. The story was very believable and excellently written.
Rating:
Summary: Memoirs of a Geisha
Review: I found this book fascinating. Once I started reading I could hardly put in down. The characters are great and it almost seems you know them by the end of the book. It also teaches you about the Japanese geishas and whole Japanese culture in general. Golden did a great job drawing the reader in and explaining the Japanese traditions. The story was very believable and excellently written.
Rating:
Summary: A Great Read
Review: This is one of the best books I have ever read! I read it about a year ago and have been searching for another book that I could love and enjoy as much - no luck so far! A great look into the Japanese culture and a great story as well. Everyone that I lent it to loved it as much as I did. What made it so special was that you felt that you were not only being entertained, but that you were learning something also - a great mix! FYI-I am a 30 year old female.
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