Rating: 
Summary: Rich in vivid detail
Review: This book provides a fascinating look at the enigmatic lives of the geisha during their peak of popularity, beauty and grace. The author has done an excellent job of detailing the rituals and practices of the geisha, as well as the world in which they were forced to compete. The characters are engaging and true to life. Sayuri, the main character, is a mostly believable heroine. Her ambitions were not always rational but this creates a more imperfect and human character. My main criticism of this book is the decline of story tension after the World War II section. And Sayuri does not attain her goal herself; how it is obtained is silly and flat. Nevertheless, this book is still an excellent choice for anyone interested in this almost forgotten Japanese culture.
Rating:
Summary: MesmerizingMemoirs
Review: I begin by saying that I have no ties to the Japanese community and have no way to measure the accuracy of this novel. All that I am qualified to say is that this is one of the most real books I have ever read. The characters have a depth that is rarely portrayed in fiction and through the suffering of our Heroine Sayuri Nitta. The story follows Nitta from her days as the dutiful second daughter of a poor country family through the trials of her schooling, her apprenticeship and successful career as a Geisha. While each step is fascinating it is the picture that is painted as a whole that makes this novel the captivating story that it is. By portraying the suffering and growth of all of the characters in his story Golden has painted a modern day fairy tale that educates and entertains its viewers.
Rating: 
Summary: Create a picture in your mind
Review: I could not put this book down. Every scene is so vividly written that I could see every scene as if I were there. This book definitely made me want to know more about the mysterious lives of the Geisha then and now.
Rating: 
Summary: Hints at greatness but doesn't deliver.
Review: The story behind the book is all too familiar now, and reads like a played out mantra. Guy who majors in Japanese studies in an Ivy League university seeks out an ex-geisha who decides to provide an expose into the water trade. That much of the actual circumstances was intriguing enough to be incorporated into the novel. The rest is supposed to illustrate the author's ability to vicariously chronicle the tale of Sayuri Nitta. Or is it? As a historian, I doubt any can fault him on accuracy. After all, he did gain access to two reliable sources on the profession and the historical events. (one being the ex-geisha, and the other is Liza Dalby, an anthropology student who trained as an apprentice or maiko). The story itself starts out interestingly enough. Child leaving behind the remnants of idyll family life to eke out an existence in the city, after losing her father. There, she is exposed to life in the west, and eventually settles in America. The story is set in the turbulent post-restoration years in Japan's history. Readers of Japanese literature would recognize the general outline as somewhat similar to that of Daughter of a Samurai, by Etsu Sugimoto. Once the girl Sayuri arrives in Kyoto, she gains an instant enemy in Hatsumomo. Adopted by another well known geisha, Mameha, they stoop to no less than destroying Hatsumomo. Mameha then reveals that it was the Chairman whom Sayuri desired some 20 years prior who led her to adopt Sayuri as a "little sister". Golden paints a strange picture of Sayuri fixated with the same man for some 20 years starting at barely 10 years old. The flawed Nobu would have made a better man for Sayuri and made for a more interesting ending. He seemingly embodies the traits that make him all the more human. The Chairman's character remains undeveloped despite the seminal role he plays in the events. The book probably wouldn't receive many harsh reviews if it didn't allude to something greater. An unexpected twist or a hint of giri-nijo (duty/loyalty against the morally right decision) so prevalant in Japanese literature to offset all the "machiavellian scheming" (as one reviewer puts it) might have been the solution. The most troubling aspect is that Golden - for all the pretensions of cultural accuracy and authenticity - would stoop to chronicling a catfight for interest, hints at pandering to the lowest common denominator. As an aside, it was slightly humorous to find groups of tourists clutching "Memoirs" while wandering around in Kyoto last year. ....
Rating:
Summary: I could not put this book down
Review: This book is wonderful It encompassed my eevery moment. I planned my day around it-sounds addictive? it is! This story of a young girl turned slave and then to Geisha was heartbreaking and also a success story. I really saw what through a geisha's eyes wha life was like for them:tragedy and continuos criticismt while appearing as they are beautiful and pampered. Until then end of this book, I really believed this book was a true biography. Hats off to the writer for spell binding me!
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Summary: Elegant genius!
Review: I debated about reading this book or not.I questioned how a man could write about the plight of a geisha. How could a man begin to understand? Well, I don't know how he did it exactly, but Arthur Golden created a masterpiece that will be cherished for centuries to come. Not one moment of this book was disappointing. The characters were so real, the storyline so intricate and delicate, and the writing so captavating. It will leave you breathless...and wishing you were a slower reader!
Rating:
Summary: The Most Riveting Book I've Read in Years
Review: Though "Memoirs of a Geisha" hardly needs another glowing review, I simply can't help but heap more praise on the mountain of 1,200 + reviews that already exist. The tale of Chiyo/Sayuri is truly the most elegant, absorbing piece of fiction I have read since John Irving's "A Prayer for Owen Meany." From the minute I started this book, I was taken away to a world I never knew existed and that I didn't want to leave when it became time to put the book down and resume my own life. All through the day, and into my dreams at night, when I wasn't reading the book, I was thinking of the geisha of Gion, and imagining myself in a gorgeous kimono and obi (though I imagine there were few blue-eyed, blonde geisha from Oklahoma!). Now I'm grieving having finished this wonderful tale! If you haven't yet read this marvelous book, do yourself a favor and ORDER IT THIS VERY MOMENT!
Rating: 
Summary: Shallow & manipulative deeds win over loyalty & honesty
Review: Regardless of the argument of whether Sayuri is believeable as a real Japanese character or not, I was completely disappointed by the general tone of the book -- that those who are the most capricious, selfish, conceited, shallow, manipulative and superficial will always win out over the same types, and that inevitably, those who are loyal and true will only lose out. The main lesson of the book, if there ever is one, is that it is better to seek perfection in superficiality over true good-hearted nature on a much more deeper level. The true tragedy of the book is that it lauds the attaining of dreams through manipulative and shallow methods, and punishes those who stay true to their principles.
Rating:
Summary: Memoirs of a Geisha
Review: Chiyo was a little girl when her mother got very ill and was unable to take care of herself. Her father was a fisherman who went fishing almost every day. One day, when Chiyo's mother was especially ill, Chiyo was sent out to the village by her father to get some ceremonial insence, for Chiyo's mother was on the verge of dying.She was running down the road when she slipped and fell. Her lip was cut wide open. She continued on until a man came up to her and told her that he would fix her up and that she shouldn't have been running in the rain; and he also pointed out to her how lovely her gray, sparkley eyes were. She thought that this man was very kind, and learned that he owned a fish company. His name was Mr. Tananka. She hoped that one day, she would see him again. And she did. The next day he called her and her sister Sayo to come and spend the night. When they got there they were checked over by a fortune teller, who said that they were very healthy. A few weeks after leaving Mr. Tananka's house, Chiyo came home to see Mr. Tananka talking to her father. She heard some words that led her to believe that she and her sister were going to be adopted, seeing as their mother was soon to perish. The next day, Chiyo and Sayo were called to meet him at the fish factory his family owned. Chiyo was certain that they were going to be adopted, but they were pushed in to the back of a wagon and taken to a train station. They were wondering what was going on. The train stopped somewhere around Kyoto, and they were taken to the city of Gion by wagon. When they got there, she and her sister were separated and put into different Okaiya's. They had sooned learned that they had been sold. Chiyo was to become a Giesha, or entertainer, while her sister was just to be used as a maid. Chiyo started out as a maid too, but she was able to work her way up. She became friends with another maid there, called Pumpkin, but became enemies with the household Geisha Hatsumomo. Her only choice, she found out, was to become a Geisha. And with the great Memeha on her side, things seemed possible. She was set on ruining Hatsumomo's reputation as a Geisha, and being able to go back to her Hometown, Yoriodo.The Depression was a great problem; though somehow, she managed to get through it.
Rating:
Summary: For Lack of a Better Word. . . .Extraordinary
Review: This book, was probably the best book I've ever read, even though I'm only 14.
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