I loved Arthur Golden's novel `Memoirs of a Geisha'; I found it surprising that an American male was the author, this a testimony to his talent as a writer. When reading the novel, I truly believed that he was translating the life story of a real Geisha based on interviews. The time and the location of the book is beautifully described, making the book almost `magical'.

The story captures the life of Chiyo/ Sayuri, a grey-eyed Japanese girl, who along with her sister, is sold by her family as a result of poverty. Upon arrival at a Geisha house, the sisters are separated and Chiyo succumbs to her new role as a servant for the dominating Mother.

Hatsumomo the Geisha of the house, develops a dislike for Chiyo and begins to make life difficult for her. Soon Chiyo starts attending Geisha school. Later circumstances will end in her punishment, as a result she will be banned from attending the school.

One day, while attending to some errands, she meets the Chairman who extends her a kindness that she will never forget. When Chiyo grows up, Mameha, a leading Geisha, trains Chiyo can become the most desired Geisha.

I was so upset when I saw the movie. I had hoped for once that someone would do true justice to a book.

This book captures the very essence of the geisha lifestyle. I have met a geisha and realized that exactly what they told me was exactly what this book goes into detail about.

Sayuri, Pumpkin, Hatsumomo, Mameha. The characters are unforgetable.

This book was brilliant, and beautifully written. I guess the main thing you should realize is that it is fiction, although Golden based some of it on his interviews with Mineko Iwasaki, one of the best-known Geisha of her time. When the book came out she sued him for breach of contract, he had named her when he said he would not and she said he misinterpreted Geisha -that they were not high class prostitutes as she felt they were portrayed in the novel.

Whatever the situation, this is a magnificent piece of writing, and highly recommended.

Sayuri's mother died when she was a child, and her father sold her into slavery -you get the impression this was done because he knew he would die soon too and wanted to make sure his daughters were looked after. They were sent to the Gion district in Kyoto and Sayuri taken in to an Okiyo (Geisha House) as a maid. Her sister was not so attractive and was sent to be a prostitute in a different district.

Sayuri nearly ruined her chances of becoming a Geisha by being rebellious and trying to run away. When she realized that 'outside' there were very few opportunities for her, she decided she wanted to become a Geisha and was taken under the wing by an older 'sister' -a well known Geisha.

From this she rose to become one of the most famous Geisha of all time. During this time she entertained many men -but not ina sexual way. The Geisha were entertainers but not prostitutes -they were kept women by a successful man who they would join with in a ceremony -although not marriage.

Through all this she is in love with a man who appears to not know she is alive.

The descriptions are wonderful, the writing colourful, I really felt I was there.

Highly recommended.

Be aware that this audio tape is an abridged version of the book, so it's missing some material. The most important parts are here, though, and if you're a fan of audio books and tapes, which a lot of people like to listen to while they're commuting or travelling in their cars, this one is fine if you don't mind the fact that it's not the entire book. The only reason I give it four stars instead of five is that it is an abridged version.

I had a few other comments about the story. I don't read much fiction these days, sticking mostly to history and nonfiction, but I made an exception for this novel since I am a student and teacher of a couple of Japanese martial arts, and I'd absorbed some small knowledge about things like geishas during my studies. And I'd heard about how good the novel was.

I wasn't disappointed. I found Golden's book about a geisha during the 1930s, when the geisha tradition and culture was already dying, to be an accurate, detailed, and well written story about the life of what could have been a typical geisha. For me it's reminiscent of Yasunari Kawabata's famous novel, Snow Country, a bittersweet story about a love affair between a wealthy Tokyo playboy and a provincial geisha in a remote mountain town. Kawabata won the Nobel Prize in literature in 1968. The bittersweet quality derives from the fact that the geisha knows that although by most standards she is still young, she is past her prime and is one of the last of a dying breed.

Like Kawabata's novel, Golden's novel sensitively and realistically portrays the world of the geisha during a time when it was already waning. Golden shows that, contrary to western stereotypes of geishas as ordinary prostitutes, they were highly cultured and educated, trained in music, poetry and the arts, and more than able to hold their own and intelligently converse on many subjects with their often wealthy and powerful clients.

I understand this is Golden's first book. It's a fine debut by a new author and I hope it won't be his last. It will be interesting to see what he does next after such a spectacular debut.

By the way, an interesting little side note here. I've studied a little Japanese, and Japanese is replete with epithets, slang, and various and sundry derogatory words relating to people's mental, moral, and physical shortcomings. One funny aspect of this is how reptiles and especially turtles come in for a lot of abuse. Calling someone a turtle, for example, means you're saying they're slow or unintelligent. And if you call someone a "deb game," it translates literally as "a turtle with buckteeth." But the actual meaning is a "peeping tom."

Don't expect wonderful English sentences or great literary prowess, the book doesn't have it. Then again, it is written in the way of a memoir of a geisha.
The book could have been a little better with some more depth, a better look into the main character.

It is the best book however to get a good view on how the world of the geisha worked. A fascinating, sometimes hard for us to understand, world of girls who start learning at an early age (sometimes 3 already). If you are interested in this aspect of Japanese culture, this novel is a must.