Memoirs of a Geisha

Rating:
Summary: I had to move on...
Review: I'm a rare voice of disappointment: Geisha intrigued me early on - I'm fascinated by Japanese culture. But I became bored with it's stiff documentary feel - it felt as if it was compiled from a wealth of information, but without a heart. The characters did not come alive, the scenes did not shine for me. Many times I retried reading it and at last gave up.

Rating:
Summary: Engaging description, yet hollow content
Review: I found the writing and the plot of this novel to be quite lovely and engaging. However, I was very disappointed by the ending. The main character has lived her entire life for a man and has taken no pride in her great accomplishment as a sucessful geisha. She claims to have lived in misery before getting the Chairman, yet she lived a very pampered life throughout the depression while others suffered poverty and starvation. She has suffered and overcome so much, yet she only claims sucess for herself when she betrays the man who was kindest to her and becomes the mistress of a man who is way to old for her anyway.

Rating:
Summary: Element of a novel
Review: Simply put, I believe the most important element in a novel is its ability to keep readers so hooked that they're unable to put the book down. Well, that is exactly what happened when I picked up this book. It is a wonderful novel, indeed.

Rating:
Summary: I was so sad when it ended- I wanted the story to continue!!
Review: This book blew me away- I can't get it out of my mind. It is so beautifully written, it's almost lyrical. I recommend it to anyone who has a true curiousity in other cultures- and a heart for romance!!!

Rating:
Summary: This book is incredible, I simply couldn't put it down!
Review: I am still not quite done with it, I'm in the late three-hundreds of this book but so far it has been amazing, the detail, the things so emotional at moments I feel as though I know Chiyo-chan/Sayuri and that she's an old friend telling me of how she was once a glamourous Giesha in Gion until the war then you see how she suffers much like she did in the beginning, taken from her home. Now she's brought back to the Gion district and all the Okiya are once again open in Japan. I hope for the best ending because in what I've read Sayuri deserves all the happiness this and the next world have to offer. An excellent true-to-life book that I just can't seem to put down. My breaks and lunches at work now are devoted to this book. I love it!

Rating:
Summary: Experience old Japan through this book.
Review: Loved the book. Felt like I was living alongside the characters in the book. The images of Japan could not have been made any more vivid.

Rating:
Summary: This one is a must-have. I'd read it again.
Review: Memoirs of a Geisha: A Novel is an up close and personal experience of a life chosen for these young girls. As exciting as their evenings may seem, the reality is bittersweet.

Rating:
Summary: Can you say "Flowery?"
Review: I enjoyed this book. I learned a lot about the Japanese culture: facts I can only assume are accurate. But that's where the fun ends. The author uses an incredible amount of metaphors, adjectives, and can never just describe something the easy way. This got really old. The believability of the book is a little hurt by the fact the author is a white man, trying to write from the perspective of a Japanese woman.

Rating:
Summary: Not on the Bandwagon
Review: There needs to be a better way to learn about Geisha than having to wade through this book.

Rating:
Summary: Brought me into the world of geisha, a place I'd never been.
Review: The emotions of this woman from little girl to elderly lady are captured by a man! I lived very briefly as a small girl in post-war Japan and I could see the streets of the town I lived in so vividly as I read the author's description. I loved this book and couldn't put it down. I've passed it along and recommended it to others and everyone I've spoken to about it (men and women) have enjoyed it. Hard to understand where the negative reviews come from.