Memoirs of a Geisha: A Novel

This is an amazing piece of literature. I say literature as a high form of praise. Books can be found by the millions. Perhaps thousands will make an impression on you of one sort or another, yet far fewer will imprint themselves upon you with everlasting images and emotions. And far fewer still will remain on that elusive book shelf in your heart as well as your brain. For me this is one of those full experience reads which will be on my heart and intellects shelf/soul. This is a powerful book that defies genre. While many classify it as a love story, I feel that falls far short. It has a love story in it but also personal strife, adversity, coming of age, over coming obstacles and acceptance of the cards life deals you. It also is a richly woven historical piece which grandly painted imagery of the time and location. If you enjoy Japanese history, geisha, differences in cultures, this also has something for you. The faceted story weaves seamlessly many themes and morales with its prose like writing in places without odious or tedious repetition or pretentiousness. It is a breathtaking story which begs to be told yet flows flawlessly. I couldn't stop reading. I truly can't recommend this book highly enough. Its attributes are many. To name a few, flawless writing, descriptions as if you were there, intriguing dialogue, period perfection, a perfectly structured story with clear lines and directions, yet not so much so that you don't have surprises. Also it succeeds amazingly in capturing your interest and those of the characters. I felt very invested in their stories. This book touches emotional nerves and exposes the best and worst of human nature in a true depiction of that world at that time. This book also ignited my interest on several aspects which led my to further non fiction reading. What a compliment. The author did his job wonderfully with research and of course tying it together for the reader. I will never see the movie as there is no way it could capture or come close to the scene presented to us in this book. Some works can never be improved upon and I feel this surely falls into this category. Reading this book is a must. I've read it too many times to count and each is as enriching as the previous trips. I can't imagine too many people won't fall in love with this book. SHORT NON SPOILER PLOT SUMMARY: The story of a girl's life in 1920ish Japan as she is sold from her family into a geisha district. The story spans at least 45 years but centers on her evolution as well as historical and political events going on around her which impact her life's journey. You can probably find a better summary but I don't want to give anything else away as it is part of the allure of the story.

Very interesting book about Japanese traditional customs!! And the book can have you laughing how the young girl in training to be a Geisha talks about her mentor behind her back with funny humor.

A commentator has said that this is a book that seems to stay open. It's absolutely true! I first had an interest in reading "Memoirs of a Geisha" because I have never read a novel about Japanese culture before, and I wanted to learn more about it from an author who had studied it in-depth. Once I started, I couldn't put the book down until I finished it a few days later. The story of Sayuri's life as a geisha in Japan around the time of WWII is engrossing, fascinating, and at times disturbing. "Memoirs" chronicles the life of Sayuri (as narrated by her to a fictional biographer), and how she goes from rags to riches, from riches to rags, and back again to riches. The plot is truly a page-turner; Golden also writes in lush detail about every aspect of Japan's geisha culture. However, Sayuri's development throughout her life, while believable, was disheartening. Here was a woman with so much potential--she's beautiful, intelligent, insightful--and she is trained to be manipulative, deceitful, and opportunistic. Not that this is surprising, based on the environments and upbringing she experiences. It could be argued that she made the most out of her circumstances; she took the hand she was dealt and then beat the dealer at his own game. Still, the reviews that compare Golden with authors like Austen and Dickens ring hollow when you examine the progress of a David Copperfield or an Elizabeth Bennett, who rise above their circumstances and whose individual characters are refined and brought to a higher level of integrity and morality--the opposite, in my opinion, of Sayuri's. As other readers have commented, the ending was a little to "neat" for me. I felt betrayed by the Chairman's reaction to Sayuri's last desparate act; indeed he seemed to condone the notion that the end justifies the means--go for what you want, and break the rules of ethics if necessary. Sayuri's lowest, most contemptible moment with the Minister is rewarded with a happy ending. Now I sound now like I'm not recommending this book--I do, heartily! But be forewarned, the ultimate message of this book is one that is very lonely and spiritually devoid: rely on yourself, because God and man alike will fail you.

Such an amazing read and definitely recommend. If you like the history about Geisha’s life, you will love this book.

With the long-awaited screen adaptation directed by Rob Marshall ("Chicago") coming next month, Arthur Golden's original novel is certainly worth a second look as it remains one of the deepest and most convincing immersions into a foreign culture, the highly complex and mythologized world of the Japanese geisha. The first-person narrative is such a bold move because it immediately gives a sense of autobiography that a lesser writer would have come across as merely self-indulgent. Yet, he invents an academic figure to "write" the foreword - Jakob Haarhuis, a fictional professor of Japanese at NYU, provides an explanation for how the memoirs are gathered, that they are the taped memoirs of the protagonist Sayuri. While it's obvious that Golden has done his research, what takes the book to a higher level is the way he penetrates the psyche of the people caught within the orbit of this cloistered world. The story follows the life of Chiyo, a nine-year old Japanese girl who is sold into slavery along with her older sister Satsu. Because of her unusual grey eyes, Chiyo is then sold to an okiya (boardinghouse for geishas). The scenes in the okiya are Golden's most meticulous and accomplished, especially as Chiyo undergoes a grueling apprenticeship and competes with the beautiful, worldly but wholly spiteful Hatsumomo, who is the okiya's star geisha. Men become bewitched by her poise and subservient manner, and she takes her new name, Sayuri, symbolizing her metamorphosis into a professional geisha. Surviving some unsavory escapades with some of the okiya's most undesirable patrons, Sayuri surpasses Hatsumomo in stature and becomes the mistress of the man she had set her heart on all along, the benevolent chairman of an electrical supply company. While a more predictable story would have stopped there with the love story, the author goes further and has Sayuri move to New York to run a salon for visiting Japanese businessmen until the chairman dies. In a certain way, I wish Golden did stop the book in Japan when WWII ends in the story. The chapters afterward feel rushed as if the author is losing interest in her story and wants the reader to get to the inevitable ending quickly. Regardless, Golden fills the book with vivid images and subtle descriptions of the nuances of Japanese culture. Absolutely invaluable in its detail if sometimes too overwhelming to appreciate at once (a repeated reading is recommended), the story reflects a brilliant eye for the customs and rituals within geisha society, including its politics, rivalries, and traditions. Having been to the historic Gion district of Kyoto, where present-day geishas still live, I have caught a glimpse of these women scurrying about in their beautiful kimonos looking both fetching and anachronistic. Golden captures their stories with compassion and an anthropologist's fervor. This is strongly recommended both as fiction and an essential ingredient of Japan's cultural history.

This was the first book selected by the book club I was invited to join at the start of the year. From the first page I was hooked on the beautiful evocative descriptions of people, places and situations. The story is essential the life story of a little girl from a poor fishing village in Japan who finds herself taken to the Trisha district known as Gion , where she overcomes loss of family and the loss of the life of her childhood, and learns the art of being a geisha. We hear the story from Sayuri at the age of 80 years or so, remembering her life and how she came to be where she is today. As I said the descriptions alone are enough to make this a worthwhile read. But the story itself is also full of schemes and intrigue, and shadowy unknown benefactors that influence the course of the protagonist's life with small actions that have tremendous impact. It is also a story of true love, as well as a story about the strength and struggles of women in Japan . It allows the reader to become part of a different culture and way of being...and of appreciating that the two layers of Japanese culture: the surface story as illustrated by the beauty and grace of the geishas versus the broken, harsh, and grimy circumstances that produce the geishas. All of this combines to give a thoroughly absorbing reading experience that leaves one feeling a little richer inside for having completed the book. It was a great book to start off my year and I would recommend it to anyone interested in appreciating gender and culture issues from a different perspective., and to any reader who appreciates a well written tale.

This book contains a story that can be split into three parts. The first part is the story of young Chiyo, who is sold with her sister when their mother is too ill to care for them. Coming from a small fishing village, they are sent to Kyoto. Whereas Chiyo is seen with potential and educated as geisha, her sister is directly sold into prostitution. This part was really touching for me and made me think about the situation in my home country, where around the same time, children might also, if not sold, then at least be send to farmers, who had not enough children of their own to help them on their farms. Often, these children would be treated much worse than their own children. Both my grandfathers had to endure such a fate and one of them consequently never ate cheese, as this was all he was given to eat while there. The second part is then Chiyo’s education to be become a geisha. In order to do so, she has to get around Hashumomo, the senior geisha in her okiya. This has to be done with cunning and the way how Mameha can plot around the “evil stepsister” Hashumomo is like a heist story. This part is written humorously, but here, I could also understand why Japanese people will feel insulted by this book. On the one hand, the book says that geisha are no prostitutes, but then it goes on saying that the highest goal a geisha can achieve is a danna. The third part is then a cheesy love story, until Sayuri can finally be together with the man of her dreams. The conclusion of the story was so constructed that it made me happy when it was finally over. Nevertheless, this is an interesting read that I could finish within a week.

Golden's prose is beautiful--this is the work of a master. Exceptional detail, vivid descriptions, and a compelling cast of characters.

Some find this story a bit controversial and misleading. I wouldn't take it as historic fact but this is a beautiful, captivating and vivid read. I didn't want to put the book down!

This is the second time I read this (last time was about 10 years ago) and I still loved it! Such a great story with fabulous characters, true to life, epic, a must read!! This consumed me in a good way.

Loved it

Comprei uma edição usada, e amei o produto. Adoro livros antigos, amarelados. Valeu muito a pena, tanto por isso quanto pelo conteúdo do livro, que é uma história incrível. A entrega foi rápida e o livro veio muito bem embalado.

A fascinating and informative story of one woman’s experience of life in a culture far removed from the Western world. Interesting to hear the effects that WWII had on the ordinary Japanese people, especially at this time of the 80th anniversary of Victory in Japan. I would recommend this book.