Memoirs of a Geisha

Rating:
Summary: Interesting view in the life of a geisha
Review: Memoirs of a Geisha was a wonderful book. I had trouble putting it down. The life of a Geisha always seemed so interesting to me and it shed light on the stereotype. I would recommend this book to anyone.

Rating:
Summary: I miss Sayuri
Review: I must say I was very impressed that this book was written by a Western man. Even though I knew this was a novel, most of the time I had the impression that the words were coming out of Sayuri's mouth. That she was a real geisha, now old and living in New York. It must sound stupid, but many years ago, when I read Frida Khalo's biography, I had the feeling that, if there was more than one life to live, I could have been her in some past life. Now, somewhat, I identified so much with Sayuri's feelings, even though I lead a very different live from hers, that I think, in my imaginary world, that I could've been her. Mr. Golden, thank you for sharing your creativity and your research on how the Japanese geisha lived in the beginning of the century. There's a passage in the book, when she's already living in New York, that seemed specially true for the world we live in. It's when she meets the young lady that, by knowing she'd been a geisha, thinks she's talking to a prostitute. And then, this same young woman leaves the place scorted by a much older man, who provides for her as much as the Japanese men would for the geishas. I've finished reading the book last night, but I already miss Sayuri.

Rating:
Summary: Straight to the charity pile
Review: There's no way I'm going to recommend this to anyone I know. Golden couldn't seem to decide between writing a travelogue or a cheesy novel and ended up failing at both. He's got a few moments of smart dialogue or interesting factlets (the old lady's chicken-neck thing...eww) but those only seem to highlight the rest of the book's shortcomings (like the thin plot and the pathetic, one-dimensional characters). The highest praise I can give is that it's a decent time-killer and I wouldn't smack it out of someone's hands if I saw them reading it. As for me, I'm going to try to forget I ever saw it.

Rating:
Summary: Breath taking!
Review: The book is well written: the style and tone transport the reader into the world of Sayuri. It is indeed a page turner. It took me less than 2 days to finished the book as I was so entrenched and mesmerised with the characters and storyline. Golden's decription of the Japanese culture is interesting and true in many sense. His style of language and tone were in line with the culture and era of the time. Every word in the book makes you feel as if Sayuri is beckoning at you and telling you the story face-to-face in the same type of manner you would expect from a Japanese woman of the time. An excellent book!

Rating:
Summary: I am inspired to read again!
Review: "Memoirs of a Geisha" is the best book I have read in a long time. I received it for Christmas, and it was m y favorite gift by far. Arthur Golden is so descriptive with his many analogies, similies, and comparisons, and I found my self lost in a visualization that was Sayuri's world. A must read!

Rating:
Summary: interesting
Review: The world of a Geisha was new to me so this book kept my attention. I'm glad it didn't go into any more detail than it did because it probably would have become boring but as it is, it was good. It didn't dwell too much on history or culture and was mostly a story of one woman and her experiences in Japan around WW2. I liked reading about the Japanese culture and how Sayuri dealt with some of the problems she faced. I think most women could probably identify with Sayuri and her feelings for the Chairman. We've all had that one man in our life whom we've never forgot how he made us feel. I recommend it.

Rating:
Summary: The story of a Japanese Geisha
Review: Memoirs of a Geisha, by Arthur Golden

Memoirs of a Geisha, By Arthur Golden, is a wonderful novel detailing the accounts of a young girl who begins her life as a peasant and then matures to one of the most renowned geisha in Japan. This descriptive piece gives the reader insight about what life was like not only for a maturing geisha but also for the ordinary people of Japan during times of the Great Depression and World War II, allowing a clear picture of what is happening. One becomes drawn into the story and fascinated by every element of the plot from the start, beginning with young Chiyp's tiny home town of Yoroido. Chiyo is a girl who is intelligent and pretty, but often lets her impulsive ideas keep her from seeing things clearly. As a young girl, her mother becomes seriously ill and Chiyo and her older sister are sent away to Kyoto and separated. Soon Chiyo begins her new life as a maid in her new home, an okiya, not knowing what has or will become of herself and the rest of her family. From here she experiences many ups and downs in life before beginning her apprenticeship as a geisha, sometimes letting her hopes and vivid imagination get in the way of her career. Hatsumomo, a prominent geisha supporting her okiya, fears Chiyo's unique beauty will make her more popular, and does everything in her will to set back Chiyo's career as a geisha. Before long, Chiyo is driven to run away from Hatsumomo and her new life, but gets caught. Eventually, with the help of Mameha, Hatsumomo's rival, Chiyo is able to rise as one of the most prestigious geisha in Japan. Golden's education proves that he knows about Japanese culture. He earned an M.A. in Japanese history and learned Mandarin Chinese at Columbia University and a degree specializing in Japanese art at Harvard, as well as an M.A. in English from Boston University. After also spending a summer at Beijing University, Golden also interviewed Mineko Iwasaki, a popular geisha in the 60's, in order to learn more about the daily life of a geisha. This novel shows that he has mastered much of the Japanese culture and displays his talent for writing. Overall, Memoirs of a Geisha is a thoroughly enjoyable book from start to finish that anyone can enjoy.

-reviewed by Minnette B.

Rating:
Summary: Disappointing; should have been called "Memoir of a Bore"
Review: While Mr. Golden's prose holds up pretty well after 400+ pages, the story of Chiyo/Sayuri, the geisha, does not. For a memoir (fictional or not) to be worthwhile, the subject must have led an interesting life. While the portrait of the geisha 'trade' and life in Japan during the period treated is certainly interesting, the experiences of our heroine are pretty dull.

Yes, there are personal rivalries, power grabs, and lots of emotion. But frankly, other than the unorthodox setting (the Gion district of Kyoto), there's nothing compelling about this story. After 250 pages it dawned on me that geisha are, in fact, prostitutes (consider the relationship between a geisha and her 'danna') despite everyone's claims that there is somehow something more subtle and nuanced about their profession.

Left me disappointed.

Rating:
Summary: First Novel? Written by a Male? Impressive.
Review: Considering this is Golden's first novel written from a female's viewpoint, I'm impressed. I learned much about pre-WW2 Japanese culture; Golden painted his research into the picture without the story turning into an encyclopedia entry. If you like biographies, you would like this book even though it is fiction.

Rating:
Summary: Four Stars for Facts, Not Fiction
Review: I'm going to assume that most everyone has the details of the book already that you can get from the cover, so I won't go into that summary again. You can get that from the title. But perhaps ' Memoirs of a Geisha Reflecting Upon Her Life Many Years Ago as Told to a Westerner Also Late In His Life As Told By Arthur Golden' would be a much more appropriate title. ( Although it just isn't as catchy, I agree.) This novel is full of the kinds of details that one would expect from an author who has all of the appropriate titles and credits of Mr. Golden, not to mention the 10 years of study. The devotion to his topic is evidient in the copious details. The world in which he takes us is that of a curator, walking through a dreamlike museum of all of his highly prized objects, found in the deepest corners of the earth, from a land and time that we cannot fully comprehend and never visit. His details are exquisite, the devotion to the subject unwavering, but were his story a rare and highly prized silken screen, it would be no less two-dimensional. Sayuri could be any Geisha. Her Chairman any businessman. There is so much in the events of their lives and the details of their surroundings that you can almost forget that we learn very little about the actual people. The reader will do well to forget the word 'Memoirs' and remember that this is fiction, perhaps of the purest kind: A fairy tale. A Western fairy tale in an Eastern setting. Cinderella, teahouse style. Only on paper can a villan be so purely evil, a heroine so unquestioningly long suffering, a hero so valiant by his mere existence. But the silken threads of good and evil, great beauty and unspeakable hideousness are so eloquently woven that we do not mind that it takes hundreds of pages to arrive at our glass slipper ending.