Blog this item

Memoirs of a Geisha

By Arthur Golden

(743)

| Mass Market Paperback | 9781400096893

Like Memoirs of a Geisha?
Join aNobii to see if your friends read it, and discover similar books!

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 SayuriContinue

Critics

Memoirs of a Geisha By Arthur Golden

Arthur Golden's luminous novel debuts on the big screenA dapting any book for the screen is a tricky process, but surely no material has presented a greater challenge than Arthur Golden's brilliant debut novel, Memoirs of a Geisha. First published in ... (read full critics)

bookpage published on Mon, 13 Sep 2010

Memoirs of a Geisha

Desert Isle Keeper Review Memoirs of a Geisha This is the fictional tale of a geisha, the high-class counterpart of a Japanese prostitute, who rose to fame in the city of Gion in the late 1930s. Plucked from a tiny fishing village when she was nine, ... (read full critics)

likesbooks published on Tue, 31 Aug 2010

30 Reviews

2 people find this helpful

Sceptical

I doubt Golden's novel is an accurate depiction of geisha's life, coz in the book geisha impresses me as nothing more than a sex object - albeit a high-class sex object. Of course I don't think the line between a geisha and a prostitute is that thin. Seriously, I am digusted by the book. I think I s ... (continue)

I doubt Golden's novel is an accurate depiction of geisha's life, coz in the book geisha impresses me as nothing more than a sex object - albeit a high-class sex object. Of course I don't think the line between a geisha and a prostitute is that thin. Seriously, I am digusted by the book. I think I should read the autobiography by Mineko, a true geisha whom Golden based his character(s) on.

Is this helpful?

larukucafe said on Jun 14, 2006 | Add your feedback

1 person find this helpful

Sad and dark story. By the time I finished the book I had come to the conclusion that Geishas are just exploited girls..call whatever you want but in the end it is just pitiful how the whole system work to exploit women..

Is this helpful?

Annam_Mathews said on Jul 6, 2006 about the Hardcover edition | Add your feedback

The novel is beautifully written, about a girl's journey becoming a Geisha in Kyoto.
I read the novel around 2002/3, with the movie releasing a few years after. The movie is quite disappointing when comparing to the book.

Is this helpful?

Angelamaris said on Mar 30, 2011 about the Paperback edition | Add your feedback

Below expectations.

Surprisingly rather boring and shallow. Characters don't arch and tend to be rather flat. The reader can have an idea about what was Gion before the Second World War and being a geisha, but all in all not too interesting.

Is this helpful?

Clara Mazzi said on Feb 28, 2011 about the Paperback edition | Add your feedback

Beautiful Novel

I read this book a few years ago and I simply loved it. Unlike the movie, the book goes into deep details on the life of a Geisha and its historical facts. Besides being beautifully written, it also made you search for more about Geishas.

Is this helpful?

MirianSilva said on Feb 2, 2011 about the Paperback edition | Add your feedback

One of my favorites - simply exquisite!
A fascinating story with rich characters in a fascinating time & place!!

Is this helpful?

Nini said on Nov 17, 2009 about the Hardcover edition | Add your feedback