Rating: 
Summary: A sensational novel of grace and elegance...
Review: "Memoirs of a Geisha" tells the story of a Japanese girl's complicated life in an okiya. Sayuri (aka Chiyo) faces many hardships--such as coping with her jealous rival, Hatsumomo, and winning the affections of the Chairman. With the encouragement and support of Mameha, her "Older sister," she becomes the most loved and well-known geisha in Gion. The story's romance, intelligence, beauty, and cultural facts blend together to create a breathtaking book that is impossible to put down!
Rating:
Summary: Unforgettable!
Review: I don't care if there are certain aspects about this story that may be, arguably, inaccurate. It doesn't matter. This book is wonderful! I cried crocodile tears while reading it! A fabulous story about a girl and a lifetime of obstacles and adversity, ending with...I'm not going to give it away! Plus it really clarified in my mind what exactly a geisha is! However, buying this book for the story alone is enough--it's breathtaking!
Rating: 
Summary: A must for your library...
Review: It was a fast read but captivating nonetheless. Although I do not think that, this was a work of non-fiction as the author proclaims. It is however, a book that swallows you whole and takes you into the life of a Geisha. I found this book engaging and all conquering, I'm sure you will too.
Rating:
Summary: About the geisha who says "He got it wrong..."
Review: As a journalist, I happen to know quite a bit about this story; I decided against printing (I work for a leading newspaper) because the author declined to go on the record about what I knew to be the truth. The geisha in Kyoto who is attacking him for getting it "wrong" is an unstable woman notoriously disliked in the Gion district. She most certainly has ulterior motive in attacking him. Here's what he got "wrong": a scene takes place on a boat on the river, but it's in a section of the river that is too shallow for a boat (it doesn't change the historical fact that they did sometimes go out on boats on that river); a scene in which the geisha wears a kimono more typical of geisha from another district. None of the details she told me about make the least difference. What she's really upset about is, as far as I can tell, is that she told the author--as well as a number of documentary film makers--about her mizuage setting a record and is now embarrassed at being held accountable. She claims that things like mizuage don't take place in the geisha district. This is patently false. Before you conclude, on the basis of one geisha's words, that the book is a poor representation of the truth, READ THE ARTICLES with a critical eye. The Post journalist behaved very irresponsibly in printing such an imbalanced piece. He thought it would make a good story, and perhaps it does; but it doesn't tell the truth as responsible journalism should. I don't think the author will mind if I pass along one thing he mentioned to me: that he has gotten fan letter in Japanese from a number of geisha.
Rating:
Summary: A vivid, culturally rich story....
Review: I loved it! I found it to be one of the most refreshing, culturally rich stories I have read in quite some time. The plot, if viewed through Western glasses, may appear trite or "Cinderella-like". However, if the reader takes care to absorb cultural details, he will find an intriguing, sophisticated story and a deeper insight into Japanese culture. I must admit that I was personally drawn into the story because I spent 6 years living in Osaka and could visualize the scenes described in Kyoto. (Natsukashii!) However, I think that the author does a fantastic job of capturing visual imagery and cultural nuances in the characters' behavior to tell a fascinating story. In order to fully appreciate this book, you must be willing to listen carefully.
Rating:
Summary: A Great Read For Those Interested In This Subject
Review: Before I give my review, let me point something out. I HATE to read. I mean, I usually despise reading. School has sucked all the enjoyment out of reading for me because, first, I don't have time to read what I want, and secondly, sometimes teachers read *too* much into the story and nitpick at the text. Keep this in mind when I say that _Memoirs of a Geisha_ is one of the best books I've ever read. The writing was very well done, oftentimes I had difficulting believing that this was both fiction *and* written by a man! The book was so good that it kept me up until 1:00 AM when I finally FORCED myself to stop reading. I gave it to a friend of mine who loved it so much she, too, stayed up late just to see what would happen. Don't get me wrong, I love the classics, too, but oftentimes they seem to add a lot of text that doesn't enrich the story or have many slow portions. In _Memoirs of a Geisha_, everything has a meaning at some point. I highly suggest this book to anyone who enjoys books by Amy Tan such as _The Joy Luck Club_ or _The Kitchen God's Wife_. I'd had given this book more stars if I could. My only gripe about the book was that I wish it were longer. I'm not saying it was too short, it's just that I was so intrigued that I had wished there were more, though this is a result of my personal interest and not at all a fault of the novel.
Rating: 
Summary: Art demands courage, not research
Review: While intrigued by a glimpse into a world closed to me, I find the author altogether more interested in things than in people. This is the proper stance for an historian and student of visual art; it is a handicap for a novelist. Golden is distant, and his novel only about surfaces. It has no depth, a melodramatic plot, flat charac- ters, and he generalizes experience rather than communicating sensation. The oft-mentioned blue eyes are a red herring, not a functional symbol. While it is perhaps apt that a story about a culture that objectifies women -- and geisha in the extreme -- would objectify its characters, and that a work almost devoid of subtext would have stock archetypes as actors, it doesn't seem deliberate artistic intent, and if meant as subtle comment, is too dear at the narrative's expense. Golden is, perhaps, too well trained as a collector of facts. Loathe to present anything that is not verifiable, his novel exists within the tiny limits of reality. A novel must be a work that breathes in the infinity of fiction. Art is not a thing observed, that we can view and set aside. Art is an act: experienced, incorporated and symbiotic. Golden hints at intimacy, but does not enter into it, requires only passivity in the reader, demands no emotional investment and delivers only entertainment. He never dares to create a world inside his characters as real as the one outside them, the details of which he lovingly reports. Golden does not risk the act of fiction, the act of Art. In this, the author is like his geisha protagonist: adept in the craft of presentation, polished appearances, elaborate surface decoration and the gestures of emotion. But under all those layers of exotic paint and silk? Empty. The betrayal of Sayuri by her culture is that it does not allow her to be herself, and only values her as a commodity. Ironically, Golden commits the same act when he does not let us learn about this woman or about ourselves by allowing us access to her interior. We are left with a collection of interesting factoids, vivid spectacle, pastel sentiment. And the same question after the last words of Golden's book as we have before we began: who is this woman, and what does she have to say to us?
Rating: 
Summary: I already thought this book was bad, but look at this!
Review: I thought this book was a poorly written, trite, and sillyCinderella story; that its main character was shallow, selfish,ungrateful, disloyal (especially to her poor sister) and needlessly cruel; and that it romanticized and glorified kidnapping and sexual exploitation of children and women by wrapping them in pretty costumes (imagine your reaction if this book didn't have an exotic setting). And I have to laugh at all the protestations that geisha life isn't about selling female-subjugating sexuality, it's about art and conversation: then why are all the customers men, and all the geishas women? Don't women like art and conversation, too? And what about selling virginity? Okay, that's just my opinion. Look at this excerpt from a Washington Post article....: "I am indebted to one individual above all others. ... To Mineko [Iwasaki], thank you for everything," Arthur Golden wrote in the acknowledgments of the English version of the book, a stunningly popular novel that stayed on the New York Times best-seller list for 58 weeks. The feeling is not mutual. 'HE GOT IT WRONG' "Basically, what is written in Arthur Golden's book is false," says the retired geisha, in her first interview since the book was published in Japanese in November and she was able to read it. "He got it wrong."
Rating:
Summary: Luminescent Descriptions of a Different Way of Life
Review: This exquisite book was a gift to me. I usually prefer to choose my own books to read; my taste is eclectic and personal. I suppose everyone is the same way. If you are open to hearing a tale told in a luxuriantly long and expertly crafted manner, with visually rich scenes and a taut undertone of sensuality that pulls you toward the ending, you will probably like this book. It is as simple, and as complex, as anything that is nearly perfect. I think of the kimonos and the incredible descriptions that are given of them when I reflect upon one aspect of this book I found entrancing. I enjoyed learning things about the culture and I surrendered myself to the plot. Like a flower unfolding and blooming, MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA is a treasure to enjoy and keep in your memory.
Rating: 
Summary: Too Slow in Too Many Spots
Review: This book was HIGHLY recommended, people ranted and raved about it. I was rather disappointed in it. It has taken me forever to finish because I feel it doesn't draw you in and keep you there. There were parts that made you not want to put the book down but you would lose that the minute you turned to page. I would recommend this book, it just wouldn't be highly recommended!
|
