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Memoirs of a Geisha
 
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Memoirs of a Geisha (Paperback)

by Arthur Golden (Author)
4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (61 customer reviews)
RRP: £6.99
Price: £5.49 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
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Customers buy this book with Memoirs of a Geisha [DVD] [2005] DVD ~ Ziyi Zhang

Memoirs of a Geisha + Memoirs of a Geisha [DVD] [2005]
Price For Both: £9.97

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Product details

  • Paperback: 512 pages
  • Publisher: Vintage; Film tie-in edition edition (1 Dec 2005)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0099498189
  • ISBN-13: 978-0099498186
  • Product Dimensions: 17.2 x 11 x 3.4 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (61 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 5,557 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in this category:

    #1 in  Books > Fiction > Authors, A-Z > G > Golden, Arthur

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Product Description

Literary Review
'Exceptional and erotic'

Product Description
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.

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What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

Memoirs of a Geisha
78% buy the item featured on this page:
Memoirs of a Geisha 4.5 out of 5 stars (61)
£5.49
Memoirs of a Geisha [DVD] [2005]
8% buy
Memoirs of a Geisha [DVD] [2005] 3.9 out of 5 stars (67)
£4.48
Memoirs of a Geisha
7% buy
Memoirs of a Geisha 4.6 out of 5 stars (243)
£5.01
The Time Traveler's Wife
4% buy
The Time Traveler's Wife 4.4 out of 5 stars (891)
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Customer Reviews

61 Reviews
5 star:
 (45)
4 star:
 (7)
3 star:
 (4)
2 star:
 (2)
1 star:
 (3)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.5 out of 5 stars (61 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars The opposite of a 'feel good' book, 20 April 2008
While it was a good book and I enjoyed it, there was just too much pain and suffering in it. The poor wee soul had it rough and the book just brought me down.

I (think) it's meant to be a happy ending but overall it just left me very sad. Every page I turned I thought "hopefully THIS will be the break she deserves"....but sadly it was usually just more unfairness and sadness.

It's packed with cultural reference which is interesting and if even half of the practices are ture..........they were rough times indeed.
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22 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing, 12 Jan 2006
By Emma Simpson (York, UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
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.
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars An enchanting story, 2 Jun 2006
By Mr. R. J. Cervello "Robstar" (London, England) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
A beautiful and simpliscically amazing story of love and hope. I didn't know much about the Japanese Geisha's before reading this book, and now I feel i know them personally. Sayuri-san's world is both heartbreaking and inspiring. The most magical moments are the little detail's in story-telling that is present in the book. I have already read this book twice, and I believe it to be my favourite book of all time.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Very enjoyable
This book is a wonderful insight into the Japanese culture and the life of a geisha, I found it a fascinating read and felt great empathy for the main character Sayuri. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Louise

5.0 out of 5 stars Quite simply the best book I have ever read
I read this book years ago but it remains the best book I have ever read. Each time I picked it up I was immediately transported to Gion in Japan and I can remember looking... Read more
Published 4 months ago by A. Varley

2.0 out of 5 stars misled
i read this book under the impression these were thoughts and memories of a real person, and despite being intruiged felt there was something not quite right, certainly about the... Read more
Published 6 months ago by Mole catcher

5.0 out of 5 stars A good read
I think that this book is really amazing. From the beginning you are given an insight into a totally different culture that one that the average Westerner is used to. Read more
Published 7 months ago by C. Valcin

1.0 out of 5 stars Why is this popular?
I'm really struggling to find reasons to like this book, and I'm a bit bewildered why it seems to be so universally loved. Read more
Published 7 months ago by JD

5.0 out of 5 stars MEMOIRS OF A MASTERPIECE
If you have only experienced the movie, let me make it as clear as possible: you have barely scraped the surface. Read more
Published 7 months ago by NeuroSplicer

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Portrayal of Geisha Life
Arthur Golden spent a fair amount of time researching this book, speaking to geishas whose stories in one form or another appear here. Read more
Published 8 months ago by Douglas P. Murphy

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful but also in need of a reality check
This book is exquisitely written; the story is engaging, the characters are well developed and the language is almost poetic in its beauty. Read more
Published 8 months ago by N. Lavender

5.0 out of 5 stars Loved it....
Unfortunately, I saw the film of this first before reading the book. I always think it's better to have read the book first so you can create the characters, settings, etc. Read more
Published 14 months ago by S. Reid

5.0 out of 5 stars Breathtaking!
I was blown away by this amazing story, beautifully written. I am full of wonder that it was written by a man. Well done Mr Golden! In my opinion, you are an artist.
Published 17 months ago by R. Robinson

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