Memoirs of a Geisha

Rating:
Summary: Wow!
Review: When I visited the US recently, my friend told me that Steven Spielberg planned on making a movie about this book. I finally bought the book last week and I was totally engrossed to the detriment of my job and family (luckily I read fast). If you have any idea of what life was like for a wealthy family during that era, you will understand this book. My hat is off to you Mr Golden for causing me to constantly ask if this book really had been written by a young American male. My husband will read it now and when he is finished I will send it to my mother who was born and raised in Japan at this time. Maybe she is the better one to pass an opinion on this book.

Rating:
Summary: One of the best books I have ever read
Review: I read this book on vacation last year. Upon finishing this book, I could not believe that it was a work of fiction. The characters were so real and I got so caught up in their stories and what motivated them to do the things that they did. It is hard to believe the details that go into this book and knowing that they could have really happened. This book is a great read and I recommend it every chance I get! If you read only one book this year, make it "Memoirs."

Rating:
Summary: reviewers prose indicative to credibility of their rating.
Review: Just an observation; notice how the prose of the reviewers, that so gratiously, submitted their 5 star ratings...their own insightful review parallelled the authors writing. There is a difference between prose and prozaic. The reviewers that were OVER-generous with ONE star, have the intelligence and sardonic wit, as demonstrated cleverly in their reviews, that they will learn to stay away from the bestseller list. As for me, after 10 pages, I concluded that he's not a writer- maybe a storyteller, but mostly a typist. I'd rather watch paint dry.

Rating:
Summary: Good start , but a brief ending
Review: I taught about buying this book for a while.And when I did,I ve read it in a snap. Very good start,very good naration and description.But the last 3-4 chapters are a big dissapointment.Very brief, not at all fresh.He lost it.I am hoping for a better shorter film version.

Rating:
Summary: Mesmerising and obviously well researched
Review: I got this book for my birthday and had heard about it previously, so I couldn't wait to get into it! I found it incredibly detailed and informative, totally caught up in her coming of age and subsequent successes and failures. I was truly amazed at the end to discover it was a piece of fiction and not a biography! If there was only one area I can say I was disappointed in, it was the final chapters. Golden appeared to rush through to the end. Of course, I also hated the fact the book was coming to the end.

Rating:
Summary: This is a great book.
Review: A pleasure from start to finish. This is the most enjoyable read we've had in our book club so far.

Rating:
Summary: "Unputdownable"
Review: A friend gave me "Memoirs of a Geisha" to read because she loved it. It sat around for two or three weeks on my desk untouched because I didn't think I had any interest in Geishas. But when I started to read it, I couldn't put it down. It is the story of the heart of a young girl, from childhood to old age, and it crosses all culture lines. Though written by a man, it beautifully paints the feelings and thoughts of most women as they learn to deal with love and duty, which often are so far apart. A must read for women of all ages!

Rating:
Summary: It's little me vs. the masses and one very rich Mr. Golden
Review: Can you argue with money and wicked mad sales? Sure! My boss said, Must read! Must read! And, I did! I did! The opening was beautiful, and then...ZZZZZzzzzZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzZZZZZZzzz *clunk* Whah?

Rating:
Summary: Is this an accurate depiction of geisha life or not?
Review: I don't know anything about the life of a geisha, or Japan, but as a woman I found that Arthur Golden's voice rang hollow in his depition of a woman in the latter part of the book. The continued 'girlish' behaviour of a thirty year old woman, who had experienced more challenges in her life than most members of a book club put together made me doubt other aspects of the book as well. The narrative suddenly seemed rather flat and empty as Mr Golden appeared to tire of his task and wrapped up the book in a couple of chapters.

Rating:
Summary: Incredibly rich storytelling.
Review: Fantastic storytelling! Explores the life of an individual isolated in a world that cages women into a perpetual state of inconsequence. Robbed of any real decsion-making of her own, she manages to manipulate events attempting to exercise some sort of control over her own fate.