Pros: Captivating, learn about geishas/history, very well written, beautiful, long, compelling Cons: Nothing. Make sure you read the book first if you plan on seeing the movie.
I was thrilled to find this book as I was browsing around to find a book to borrow from my aunt. I had heard quite a bit about Memoirs of a Geisha, which had been on the New York Times Bestseller List for a long time, and wanted to at least read it for ...
Pros: Interesting, if skewed, look at the 'Floating World.' Cons: The obsession with sex in this novel is offputting after a while.
When this novel was first released in 1997, I had looked forward to reading it very much. Japan has always fascinated me, and the mixture of cultural refinement and at times, bloodthirstiness has left me with questions of the how and why of it. Golden's ...
Pros: entertaining story and characters; colorful writing; fast reading Cons: ending; love story dragged, then exploded; Cinderella-like story
Authors NoteThis is actually a book review told through the interaction of my alter-ego Dr. Freudine and her clients/friends/nemesises. Last time Dr. Freudine and Irish go see Down With Love and discover David and Miss Cunengonde ...
Pros: Rich prose and a flowing writing style. Cons: Not one hundred percent historically accurate, but then what is?
Memoirs of a Geisha By Arthur Golden. Chiyo was born to poor fisher folk, in a little village where she was not unhappy, growing up with her sister, Satsu. But when their mother got sick, their elderly father sold them, not out of cruelty, ...
After many years, and numerous volumes of literature, I still find myself returning to this story. Unlike many other novels that I have read, and soon forgotten, I found this particular volume to have a timeless quality. The characters are vivid, the ...
Pros: Beautifully written. Characters you care about. Exotic locales you can picture. Cons: None
Memoirs of a Geisha is an extraordinary and lovely novel. It tells the story of Sayuri, a geisha from Kyoto's golden age. It is written as a memoir dictated to a friend of hers who begins by telling us how he came to know this woman.
Pros: The way the author pulls you into the story from the beginning. Cons: Maybe too long, could have been shortened.
This is another book I probably would never have bought or read but since it was a book club suggestion for our September meeting I just finished the 434 page book. Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden states very plainly on the cover it is a ...
Pros: well written, glimpse into another culture Cons: negative connotations associated with geisha
I guess that you could say that I had a preconceived notion of what a Geisha is. Like most Americans, I relate them to courtesans and prostitutes. When I was in high school, I used to joke about dressing up as a geisha for Halloween- an in joke among...
Pros: Authentic-sounding and lovely voice. Cons: Absolutely none that I could see.
One of the exercises I have the students in my sociology class do is to analyse a print ad in terms of the way(s) that women are depicted in it. Last semester I chose an ad for a well-known brand of sports shoe. The ad pictured a geisha, eyes downcast...
Pros: Very interesting; captivating; well-written Cons: slow at times
Memoirs of a Geisha is not a biography, nor is it a ghost-written novel. When Dionne25
recommended I read this book, we both were under the impression that it was. That's how convincing it is. Hollywood must ...
Pros: captivating story, evocative imagery Cons: it ends
The night was dark, yet the moon provided enough light for me to see the figure that was moving before me. Cautiously I followed her, afraid to betray my presence. Afraid that should one twig crackle under my steps she may disappear into the night. I did...
Pros: Excellently written; teaches you some Japanese terms; Intriguing Cons: Takes a while to read; Is partially unbelievable
FIRST IMPRESSIONS
When you first start to read this book you are instantaneously drawn in. It is almost impossible not to feel pity for the poor Chiyo from the descriptions of the pain and suffering that both her mother and her father are...
Pros: fantastic cultural depiction, provocative, perfect pacing Cons: a little too happy-go-lucky in the end
I wanted to make my 100th review special, and though the subject of this review isn’t particularly special to me, it was a special experience to read it. I am not accustomed to reading the New York Times bestsellers of the week, but after hearing from a...
Pros: detail is rich and unbelievably accurate Cons: starts a little draggy, the Japanese are still hypocrites
It is truly a staggering book that can cause one to become rapt about the technical minutae of something you to begin with, simply were not all that interested in. After living in Japan for 2 1/2 months in 1992, i found the entire culture rife with...
Nitta Sayuri tells the story of her life as a geisha. In Memoirs of a Geisha, we enter a world where appearances are paramount; where a girl s virgini...More at Buy.com
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