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Memoirs of a Geisha
 

Memoirs of a Geisha (Vintage International)

by Arthur Golden

According to Arthur Golden's absorbing first novel, the word "geisha" does not mean "prostitute," as Westerners ignorantly assume--it means "artisan" or "artist." To capture the geisha experience in the art of fiction, Golden trained as long and hard as any geisha who must master the arts of music, dance, clever conversation, crafty battle with rival beauties, and cunning seduction of... (read more)

Top tags: fiction,  historical fiction,  japan,  romance,  memoir (all tags)

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Other Reviews

Amazon Reviews (5)
 

Most Helpful Reviews

Liked It

2 of 2 members found this review helpful.
maryam
  • Rated 4 stars

“Such a lovely, captivating read. Telling so much about the female condition, with the irony of being told by a man. The novel is very educational on Japanese culture. Beauty being a prominent theme. Beauty was something that I struggled with: natural vs. made beauty, how much beauty is determined by character in the book, how being unique in a way that Sayuri (the main character) always hated eventually made her who she was. The theme of beauty went well in telling the story of a geisha....”

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Didn’t Like It

1 of 6 members found this review helpful.
Raed A
  • Rated 2 stars

“I realy don't know what is so intresting about this book more than telling you what the GEISHA's are.”

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Community:
  • Rated 4.167211 stars
Amazon:
  • Rated 4.568182 stars
  

Newest Comments

  • Ariel C

    ariel c said:

    “I've had a few questions going through my mind as I've read such as, how is it that they make money? I know they have patrons but I don't understand how that works. Can someone help me with that concept? Also another question was what is purpose of the house the geisha lives in? Why don't they live on their own?”

    posted 2 weeks ago ( | view 2 replies )
  • emsgurl

    emsgurl said:

    “Does anybody know what award this book has won? It's tagged as an award winner but I can't seem to find which one...”

    posted 3 weeks ago
  • Wajeeha S

    wajeeha s said:

    “should i go for this book?”

    posted 3 weeks ago ( | view 10 replies )
  • Ariel C

    ariel c said:

    “I haven't finished the book quite yet but so far I have found it so unbelievable. The details and images I see in my mind are so different than the movie. The movie was great, of course, but through the book I have been able to feel what she was feeling. I never knew what a geisha was before and now I am intrigued. I can't wait to finish this amazing story.”

    posted Thursday, September 4 2008
  • David S

    david s said:

    “The movies and the book is great, the Asian women culture has lots of beauty. This shows they have lots of self respect and confidence.It is confusing, because in this culture we really don't have anything that corresponds to geisha.I studied Japanese language and culture in college and graduate school, and afterward went to work in Tokyo, where I met a young woman whose father was a famous businessman and whose mother was a geisha.”

    posted Thursday, August 28 2008
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