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Memoirs of a Geisha
 
 

Memoirs of a Geisha (Mass Market Paperback)

"Suppose that you and I were sitting in a quiet room overlooking a garden, chatting and sipping at our cups of green tea while we..." (more)
4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1,780 customer reviews)

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Book Description

In this literary tour de force, novelist Arthur Golden enters a remote and shimmeringly exotic world. For the protagonist of this peerlessly observant first novel is Sayuri, one of Japan's most celebrated geisha, a woman who is both performer and courtesan, slave and goddess.

We follow Sayuri from her childhood in an impoverished fishing village, where in 1929, she is sold to a representative of a geisha house, who is drawn by the child's unusual blue-grey eyes. From there she is taken to Gion, the pleasure district of Kyoto. She is nine years old. In the years that follow, as she works to pay back the price of her purchase, Sayuri will be schooled in music and dance, learn to apply the geisha's elaborate makeup, wear elaborate kimono, and care for a coiffure so fragile that it requires a special pillow. She will also acquire a magnanimous tutor and a venomous rival. Surviving the intrigues of her trade and the upheavals of war, the resourceful Sayuri is a romantic heroine on the order of Jane Eyre and Scarlett O'Hara. And Memoirs of a Geisha is a triumphant work - suspenseful, and utterly persuasive.


From the Trade Paperback edition.


From the Back Cover

"Astonishing . . . breathtaking . . . You are seduced completely." —Washington Post Book World

"Captivating, minutely imagined . . . a novel that refuses to stay shut." —Newsweek

"A story with the social vibrancy and narrative sweep of a much-loved 19th century bildungsroman. . . . This is a high-wire act. . . . Rarely has a world so closed and foreign been evoked with such natural assurance." —The New Yorker


From the Trade Paperback edition.

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First Sentence
Suppose that you and I were sitting in a quiet room overlooking a garden, chatting and sipping at our cups of green tea while we talked about something that had happened a long while ago, and I said to you, "That afternoon when I met so-and-so ... was the very best afternoon of my life, and also the very worst afternoon." Read the first page
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1,780 Reviews
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4.3 out of 5 stars (1,780 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Compelling read, Mar 11 2006
By Fanny (Montreal) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Memoirs of a Geisha (Paperback)
This is one of the best books I have ever read in my entire life. It is tied for the best and favorite with McCrae’s explosive, funny, and shocking “A Tour of Southern Homes and Gardens.” Memoirs of A Geisha is a wonderful book that captivates the reader from page one. My only disappointment with the book is that it wasn't longer. When's the last time THAT happened to you? The book was 428 pages I wish it could have been 1,000.

Also, I read the book too quickly. It is a book that people should read a chapter at a time, reflect, and read the next chapter the next day. But, unfortunately, a book this good will never allow you to put it down.

Memoirs of a Geshia takes a look at a girl who is stolen from her home at age 9 and sold. She is abused, ridiculed, and humiliated throughout her journey. She has to learn the many skills of becoming a Geisha. It is a book that is truly excellent and wonderful. It is probably one of the best books I have ever read. I would only recommend this book to more mature audiences. It does contain some graphic and sexually paragraphs. However, these paragraphs add to the theme and the events of the book. Without them, you have a different book. It is truly a wonderful novel and these areas and themes only add to it. You must, must, must also try the “Tour of Southern Homes and Gardens” for another look into another world—this time, the Southern United States as you’ve never seen them before!
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars great story, Jul 10 2007
By Toni Osborne "The Way I See It" (Montreal, Canada) - See all my reviews
(TOP 100 REVIEWER)   
This review is from: Memoirs of a Geisha (Paperback)

A remarkable and breathtaking novel, the author unlocks the complex world of rituals with insight, grace and intelligence. It is beautifully written and immensely believable.One can easily enter this exotic world where appearances are so important.

The story spans a lifetime, a girl is sold into slavery at a very young age by her father and is taken away from her village only to be groomed into beguiling the most powerful men. This story is seen through the eyes of the main character as she struggles to become and to be one of the most sought geisha in Gion .

This part fairy tale and part historical novel drew me in from the very first page. I wonder how close the movie came in describing this world without falling into too much Americanism, well maybe I will have to watch the DVD one day and judge for myself.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Portrayal of Geisha Life, Nov 12 2008
This review is from: Memoirs of a Geisha (Paperback)
Arthur Golden spent a fair amount of time researching this book, speaking to geishas whose stories in one form or another appear here. The book basically presents the biography of one geisha who through often very harsh events in her life transforms herself from the daughter of a fisherman into one of the most famous geishas of Japan. Both she and her sister are thrown into geisha houses to be taught this profession although her sister falls quickly into misfortune. Geisha houses demand strict discipline and service and have firm hierarchies that allow the use of power either purposefully or with cruelty. Jealousies and rivalries threaten the course of this woman. Once she achieves her goal, there remain tough decisions about whom she will serve. Economics and survival prevail over personal preferences and sentiment. The stability of her career is precarious as numerous events threaten to destroy it as they have for other geishas who are then often dragged into lives of prostitution. The intrusion of WWII presents other unexpected challenges and compromises to cope with shortages and lean times. A vivid and captivating book.
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Most recent customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars MEMOIRS OF A MASTERPIECE
If you have only experienced the movie, let me make it as clear as possible: you have barely scraped the surface. Read more
Published 12 months ago by NeuroSplicer

4.0 out of 5 stars very moving!
I have to admit it took me a while to read this book. The beguining about her childhood is a bit long, but once you enter the real world of a geisha house... Read more
Published 16 months ago by Martine

4.0 out of 5 stars interesting
this book was very detailed. i read it after watching the movie, and learned more in the first few pages than i did from the entire film. Read more
Published 17 months ago by greatedcorn

5.0 out of 5 stars Couldn't put it down.
This is one of my all-time favourite books. It's beautiful. Vivid. Eloquent. I just love it. I love the detail and how the story is painted. Read more
Published 22 months ago by Shara Cooper

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best so far.
I've read excellent books and this one is also an excellent, but somehow I feel that it is a different type of excellent. Perhaps I didn't treat it as a simple fiction. Read more
Published 23 months ago by HSBC

5.0 out of 5 stars An Exceptional Novel
By using his detailed long-term research on the geisha culture in Japan, Arthur Golden wrote a historical fiction novel entitled "Memoirs of a Geisha. Read more
Published 23 months ago by Zadius Sky

5.0 out of 5 stars Engulfed in her life!
From the very first page of this book I was enthralled. The book is so well written. All the emotions in this book is astounding. Read more
Published 23 months ago by M. McDonald

5.0 out of 5 stars One of my favorite books!
Like reading a true story! This book will take you into the life and times of a traditional Japenese Geisha and the difficulties and hardships, one faced. Read more
Published on Aug 26 2007 by Reader

4.0 out of 5 stars Blessedly good
The movie was good and so I had to read the book because the book is bound to be ten times better, as in almost all film adaptations. Needless to say, it was amazing. Read more
Published on Jul 6 2007 by Draco Malfoy

5.0 out of 5 stars Don't be fooled by the fine print
This book has been sitting on my "to be read" shelf for a long time, mainly because the teeny tiny little print that fills the pages to within half a centimeter of the edge filled... Read more
Published on April 21 2007 by Amanda Richards

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