Similar books
Geisha | Girl with a Pearl Earring | A Million Little Pieces | Kane and Abel | Chicken Soup for the Golden Soul |
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.
Groups with this in collection
Teen Books (5) | Malaysian Bookworms (36) | 50 Book Challenge! (290) | Eclectic Book Club (87) | Historical Fiction Lovers (107) |
- Book Details
- English Books
- Rating:



(290)
4 stars 
3 stars 
2 stars 
1 star 
- Paperback 448 Pages
- Edition: Vintage contemporaries ed., Feb. 1999
- ISBN-10: 067697175X
- ISBN-13: 9780676971750
- Publisher: Vintage Canada
- Pub date: Jan 01, 1999
- Dimensions: 20 cm x 12 cm x 3 cm Just how big is that?
- Also available as: Mass Market Paperback, Paperback, Hardcover, Audio CD, Audio Cassette, School & Library Binding and Others
- In other languages:

FAQ
How does the voting work?
Find a comment helpful / unhelpful? Cast your vote. Only one vote from each person will be counted. Every hour we gather all the votes, add them up, add some magic source, and there we have the new sorting for the comments on the page of this book!I see mistakes in the book information. How can I fix it?
Under "Book details", there is a link labeled "Improve data of this book". You can use that form to send us the correct information.



I could not put this book down, I mean almost literally I read strait through it! I have no idea why I let this book sit on my shelf for so long but now I am just grateful that I read it. Beautifully written, the characters are so well crafted that I loved even the ones I hated. It was one of those ... Continue
I could not put this book down, I mean almost literally I read strait through it! I have no idea why I let this book sit on my shelf for so long but now I am just grateful that I read it. Beautifully written, the characters are so well crafted that I loved even the ones I hated. It was one of those books that had me wishing it was longer so the story wouldn't have to end.
At first I thought this was a true story and I have to admit, when I found out it was fiction I was a bit disappointed. Nevertheless, I love this book because it's unlike any other book I've ever read. I learned about Japanese culture and I gained a respect for geisha.
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..