MEMOIRS OF GEISHA by Arthur Golden

“Sometimes we get through adversity only by imagining what the world might be like if our dreams should ever come true.” 

In this literary tour de force, novelist Arthur Golden enters a remote and shimmeringly exotic world. For the protagonist of this peerlessly observant first novel is Sayuri, one of Japan's most celebrated geisha, a woman who is both performer and courtesan, slave and goddess.

We follow Sayuri from her childhood in an impoverished fishing village, where in 1929, she is sold to a representative of a geisha house, who is drawn by the child's unusual blue-grey eyes. From there she is taken to Gion, the pleasure district of Kyoto. She is nine years old. In the years that follow, as she works to pay back the price of her purchase, Sayuri will be schooled in music and dance, learn to apply the geisha's elaborate makeup, wear elaborate kimono, and care for a coiffure so fragile that it requires a special pillow. She will also acquire a magnanimous tutor and a venomous rival. Surviving the intrigues of her trade and the upheavals of war, the resourceful Sayuri is a romantic heroine on the order of Jane Eyre and Scarlett O'Hara. And Memoirs of a Geisha is a triumphant work - suspenseful, and utterly persuasive

Memoirs of Geisha is indeed a phenomenal. It is one of those classics that really would knock on your head and throw you a lesson you have to learn. It describes a lot about geisha and japan's history. It was a really cool thing to read. Never in your spare time. You should dedicate a schedule for this book because a classic for me is so damn hard to fucking read. The words are enigmatic and the ideas are so deep.


The mood for this novel was never changing. A plain straight line. It was like a friend of mine sharing me her stories about her life in a really calm way. I think that was Golden's point. The book did start in a story telling matter by the lead character. I find it somehow... boring. No one at my age would probably enjoy such a serious book but I did appreciate it. I learned a lot regarding life, ethics, and respect. It was such an informative book. A biography kind of book.


I was always interested in Japan since I was young. Evryone is interested in Japan. They are just so fucking mysterious in a lot of ways. After reading Memoirs of Geisha, I really respect now the geisha's. I thought that they were just simple prostitutes. I never expected that the procedure was so tough. I can't imagine how difficult it would be. There were lot to risks and a lot of sacrifices. Geisha could be a profession if the society had not marked it as... Well, something like that.


Hooray for Golden and Japan!