A seductive and evocative epic on an intimate scale, that tells the extraordinary story of a geisha girl. Summoning up more than twenty years of Japan's most dramatic history, it uncovers a hidden world of eroticism and enchantment, exploitation and degradation. From a small fishing village in 1929, the tale moves to the glamorous and decadent heart of Kyoto in the 1930s, where a young peasant girl is sold as servant and apprentice to a renowned geisha house. She tells her story many years later from the Waldorf Astoria in New York; it exquisitely evokes another culture, a different time and the details of an extraordinary way of life. It conjures up the perfection and the ugliness of life behind rice-paper screens, where young girls learn the arts of geisha - dancing and singing, how to wind the kimono, how to walk and pour tea, and how to beguile the most powerful men.
Memoirs Of A Geisha (Vintage 21st Anniv Editions)
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The first thing you notice about the audio version of Memoirs of a Geisha is that Arthur Golden's 428-page novel has been reduced to a scant two cassettes. But dismay quickly gives way to mounting pleasure as Elaina Erika Davis (Contact, As the World Turns) begins her delicate rendering of geisha culture in the years before the second world war. Davis reads the abbreviated story of Sayuri with an authentic-sounding Japanese accent--one mixed with a magical combination of Asian reserve and theatrical energy. As Sayuri ages from a 9-year-old peasant girl to a popular geisha in her late 20s, Davis directs her voice gently away from curious youth to a tone that reflects Sayuri's uphill life.
From start to finish, the listener is absorbed in the elegant spirit of Davis's performance, eager to hear the next chapter of Sayuri's transformation into one of the most famous geishas of the century. How unfortunate, then, to learn that book readers not only get the basic story, but a fascinating look at the intricate rules and rituals of geisha culture. Here, for example, is one of the many revelations omitted from the cassette: "Japanese men, as a rule, feel about a woman's neck and throat the same way that men in the West might feel about a woman's legs .... In fact, a geisha leaves a tiny margin of skin bare all around the hairline, causing her makeup to look even more artificial .... When a man sits beside her, he becomes that much more aware of the bare skin beneath."
We're also denied several subplots--the aborted friendship between Sayuri and a geisha named Pumpkin, for example, or much of the story involving the man Sayuri is secretly in love with. But what remains is as precious as a traditional Japanese kimono--at once artistic, suggestive and moving. --Ann Senechal --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
'Intimate and brutal, written in cool, lucid prose it is a novel whose psychological empathy and historical truths are outstanding' Mail on Sunday
Endless and fascinating-a narrative that is both gripping and beautifully paced-a wonderful read (The Observer )
'This is a high-wire act. Rarely has a world so closed and foreign been evoked with such natural assurance' New Yorker
Endless and fascinating-a narrative that is both gripping and beautifully paced-a wonderful read (The Observer )
'This is a high-wire act. Rarely has a world so closed and foreign been evoked with such natural assurance' New Yorker
'Memoirs of a Geisha ' is the sort of novel that novel-lovers yearn for, which is to say, so convincing that while reading it you become transported to another time, another place, and feel you're listening and seeing with someone else's ears and eyes' Margaret Forster
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
34 of 37 people found the following review helpful
By Emma Simpson
Format:Paperback
This book is probably one of the best I've ever read. It allows an insight into a culture that isn't really understood in Western society, and shows what life is actually like for a geisha of Gion. It opens your eyes to another, completely different world and does it in a way that makes you think about it from an objective point of view, rather than comparing it to our lives and culture.
Reading Memoirs of a Geisha is entertaining, funny and thought-provoking, often sad but always heart warming - despite some of the customs/events that would be shocking in the UK, you're never tempted to judge Sayuri (the main character, the geisha) for her actions. Instead you live through it with her and understand what and why she did.
This book is inspirational in that Sayuri goes through so much just to survive, and yet the way the book is written lets us see that it's not unusual for a geisha to go through even more than she did.
I would recommend Memoirs of a Geisha even to people who usually like a lighter read, because even though it's sometimes sad and makes you think a lot, it's also funny and you really feel for Sayuri. A brilliant and utterly engaging read.
Reading Memoirs of a Geisha is entertaining, funny and thought-provoking, often sad but always heart warming - despite some of the customs/events that would be shocking in the UK, you're never tempted to judge Sayuri (the main character, the geisha) for her actions. Instead you live through it with her and understand what and why she did.
This book is inspirational in that Sayuri goes through so much just to survive, and yet the way the book is written lets us see that it's not unusual for a geisha to go through even more than she did.
I would recommend Memoirs of a Geisha even to people who usually like a lighter read, because even though it's sometimes sad and makes you think a lot, it's also funny and you really feel for Sayuri. A brilliant and utterly engaging read.
20 of 22 people found the following review helpful
By S.C.
Format:Paperback
Memoirs of a Geisha is the perfect novel. It is the sort of book that only comes by every so often and in this one you will unfold a hidden world of beauty. The story begins in the 1920's but the course of the novel is set over a period of many years, which include those of the second world war. Chiyo-chan is a nine year old girl from a small fishing village, her life so far has been simple and happy, until her mother grows terminally and eventually fatally ill. No longer able to cope, Chiyo's father arranges for her
and her sister Satsu to be taken to a distant region of Japan, Gion one of the many Geisha districts. On arrival they are seperated and Chiyo is sent to the Nitta okiya to become a Geisha. But the life of a Geisha proves to be very difficult for Chiyo who later becomes the celebrated Geisha, Sayuri.
This book is one of the best i have ever read, the tale becomes so absorbing that Chiyo's life becomes yours for the duration of the novel. Along the way you will meet characters such as the mischeivous Pumpkin, the greedy Mother of the Nitta okiya, the Beautiful Mamaeha-san and the malicious Hatsumomo.
and her sister Satsu to be taken to a distant region of Japan, Gion one of the many Geisha districts. On arrival they are seperated and Chiyo is sent to the Nitta okiya to become a Geisha. But the life of a Geisha proves to be very difficult for Chiyo who later becomes the celebrated Geisha, Sayuri.
This book is one of the best i have ever read, the tale becomes so absorbing that Chiyo's life becomes yours for the duration of the novel. Along the way you will meet characters such as the mischeivous Pumpkin, the greedy Mother of the Nitta okiya, the Beautiful Mamaeha-san and the malicious Hatsumomo.
11 of 12 people found the following review helpful
By Jake Turner
Format:Paperback
Stunningly written Memoirs of a Geisha is a masterpiece. If you've seen the film but havn't read the book you must as the book is 1000 times better.You are intrested all the way through the book is perfect for Japan lovers.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Brilliant
Brilliant. One of the best books I've ever read, but this may be tempered by the fact that I've just come back from the Gion district of Kyoto.
Published 1 day ago by John Thomason
5.0 out of 5 stars
Memoirs of a geisha
I found this book really enjoyable. It captures everything they went through, sadness, happiness etc.. I would thoroughly recommend anyone to read this book.
Published 14 days ago by Caroline
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fantastic
Until very recently, my favourite book of all time was 'Jane Eyre' but this has topped it. The story, the language, the history is simply wonderful and utterly compelling. Read more
Published 17 days ago by Chrissie
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Insight
This book was recommended to me and I was not disapointed. It is a great insight into the lives the Geisha
Published 25 days ago by Mrs Diane S Speak
4.0 out of 5 stars
Addictive novel!
I enjoyed this book a lot it really is very good and easy to get stuck into. I am glad I watched the film first, because it means I still enjoy the film, but reading the book is... Read more
Published 1 month ago by maisie saunders
4.0 out of 5 stars
Entertaining cultural insight
'Memoirs of a Geisha' provides entertaining insight into traditional Japanese culture. Golden's novel is thoroughly engaging and believable to the point that you lose yourself in... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Jennifer Ward
4.0 out of 5 stars
You forget that it's fiction.
This book captures the imagination and transports you to the world of the geisha. You find yourself really caring about the characters and wanting to know more about their lives. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Miss L. E. Cork
5.0 out of 5 stars
Love it
I was looking for something easy to read after long hard day at work and this book just rocks. I mean story is so mooving I loved every word of it. Read more
Published 1 month ago by mims
5.0 out of 5 stars
what a read!!
this book is an amazing read, the style in which is written is just so enthralling. I would highly recommend it.
Published 1 month ago by MRS JENNIFER CANT
4.0 out of 5 stars
An informative and romantic read
This was interesting from an historical and cultural aspect. It went into great detail about the clothes, appearance, training, hardships, scheming and business tactics that were... Read more
Published 2 months ago by J Hutch
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