About this title: In 1929, a poor fisherman sells his nine-year-old daughter to an elite geisha house in Kyoto. So begins the remarkable first-person account of how the lovely child, Chiyo, became the accomplished and much sought-after geisha Sayuri, with the help of a kindly mentor and despite the malice of a rival; and of how Sayuri struggled to balance ...
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Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
Date Published: 09/1997
ISBN-13:9780375400117ISBN:0375400117
Description: Good in good dust jacket. Good, In good dust jacket. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. With dust jacket. 448 p. Previous Owner's Inscription. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
Date Published: 09/1997
ISBN-13:9780375400117ISBN:0375400117
Description: Very good in very good dust jacket. Very Good, In very good dust jacket. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. With dust jacket. 448 p. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
Date Published: 09/1997
ISBN-13:9780375400117ISBN:0375400117
Description: Very good in very good dust jacket. Very Good, In very good dust jacket. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. With dust jacket. 448 p. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
Date Published: 09/1997
ISBN-13:9780375400117ISBN:0375400117
Description: Very good in very good dust jacket. Very Good, In very good dust jacket. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. With dust jacket. 448 p. read more
"Breaking my promise of keeping myself away from dramatic novels, I made up my mind to read this one, and just lucky me .......it was really worth it.
Memoris of a geisha is an astonishing novel that exposes the questionable secretive life of geisha specifically, and the superb Japanese culture in general. It's a story of Chiyo, a-nine-year-old girl, who had happened to be driven away from her own family, town and the spontaneous innocence of childhood, to be thrown in a curst, sickening life. In a world where loneliness becomes the precise definition of life, Chiyo-chan seeks desperately surviving with some of her few shattered hopes and dreams. In somehow or another she could actually make it through the symphony of that suffering.
It was quite stunning how a Western author could represent a totally exotic culture with such extremely intimate fine descriptions. I really loved his writing-style, the way he overuses similes and metaphors which just put you in that amazing pre-set fantasy.
Nonetheless, as the story was approaching the end, I found it kinda boring. Until the very moment when Pumpkin betrayal takes place. Now I didn't see this one coming, which actually I found it "superbly duperly" brilliant. I just didn't imagine that clumsy girl would turn to be a nasty one.
My favorite character was Mameha. I disliked Chiyo, the main character, though you can't help but awfully sympathize with her for which her life, personality, dignity and dreams were hardly crushed.
If I were to change something in the story, I would change the end. I wished that the Chairman walks out on Chiyo and leaves her behind!
Oh, all what i am thinking about right now is to wear a kimono :D"
"I've read this book 3 times now and each time I pick it up, I forget how much I disliked reading it the last time. On the surface, the book presents an interesting subject. The life of a geisha is fascinating, especially to a westerner who has little knowledge of Japanese culture. Golden does do a fine job describing the day to day rituals, life and culture of a Kyoto geisha in the 1930's.
However, once you get past the exotic subject matter, the plot proves itself to be particularly trite and inane. The Chairman comforts Sayrui when she is very young and distressed; she then falls in love with him after this brief encounter and spends the next 20 years or so of her life attempting to find some way to be with him. Her devotion remains strong, despite the fact that the Chairman never shows any inclination that he cares for her at all or that he even realizes that the talented geisha Sayuri is the little girl that he once gave his handkerchief to. She is an intelligent and resourceful woman, yet she can see no other way to be happy in her life than to be the object of the Chairman's affection.
Golden ties up the novel with a neat little bow. After Sayuri has betrayed Nobu - a man who has for years proven that he will respect and care for her - the Chairman confesses that he has always loved Sayuri and that he is the reason why Mameha decided to become Sayuri's older sister. He becomes Sayuri's danna and convinces her to give up the life of a geisha, isolating Sayuri from the only life and people she has ever known. The whole story feels implausible.
While Golden attempts to write in a very flowery and elegant style, it comes across as forced and clunky and is ultimately distracting from the story."
"I was drawn into the story because the author described the lifestyle of a geisha very well. So this read is a good history lesson along with being a intriguing story about a young girl and her fight into womanhood."
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