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Rated a Very Helpful Review by the Epinions community
Mar 9, 2000
Pros: detail is rich and unbelievably accurate
Cons: starts a little draggy, the Japanese are still hypocrites
Summary: 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 ... read more
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Rated a Somewhat Helpful Review by the Epinions community
Mar 7, 2000
Pros: I'm glad I gave in, and read it!
Cons: Difficulty in understanding the mentality.
Summary: When "Memoirs of a Geisha" was given to me, my first reaction was 'thumbs down'! The book sat on my bookshelf for a while, until I finally picked it up and began reading and reading and reading! It was hard to put it down. I kept trying to ... read more
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Rated a Helpful Review by the Epinions community
Mar 5, 2000
Pros: romantic, beautiful culture
Cons: very slightly confusing with characters names
Summary: I have to admit that i was kinda forced to read this book. I usually enjoy a good murder mystery or other type of suspense novel. However,my aunt pushed it on everyone she knew until she got me--the only one who said she hadnt read it (and i dont believe ... read more
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Rated a Somewhat Helpful Review by the Epinions community
Feb 27, 2000
Pros: beautiful descriptions of Japanese life in the early 1900's, characters one can identify with, and a great ending
Cons: it is pretty long(428 pages), and it may take a chapter or two before you really get into it
Summary: This is an awesome novel about the geisha Sayuri. It is beautifully written to show the physical and emotional changes a young girl goes through when she is forced to become a totally different person, a glamorous geisha with the humble beginnings of a ... read more
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Rated a Helpful Review by the Epinions community
Feb 25, 2000
Pros: A highly entertaining read.
Cons: I got no laundry done that weekend.
Summary: This book was hyped up so much and I initially shied away from it on the assumption that it was written to titillate Westerners. Upon a recommendation from a girlfriend of mine, I caved and purchased a copy from CostCo.
It was undeniably the ... read more
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Rated a Somewhat Helpful Review by the Epinions community
Feb 22, 2000
Pros: Beautifully written, engaging story
Cons: Characters a little shallow
Summary: Once I picked up this book, I literally could not put it down--Memoirs of a Geisha had me completely entranced. The book transported me to a world previously unknown, and though at first foreign, the author had me actually seeing through the eyes of ... read more
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Rated a Very Helpful Review by the Epinions community
Feb 21, 2000
Pros: intriguing, beautifully written, wonderful
Cons: none
Summary: I first became interested in Memoirs of a Geisha when I saw my sister in law lay down with it on a Saturday morning and read the entire thing without stopping for more than 5 minutes at a time. The next day, when I found it lying on the table I began ... read more
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Rated a Somewhat Helpful Review by the Epinions community
Feb 19, 2000
Pros: great depiction of a life as a geisha
Cons: none at all
Summary: This book places you in Japan around World War II and fills you with emotions you never thought you could feel when someone explains something so foreign and different to you than the life of a Geisha in Japan. You get wrapped up in the drama of a life ... read more
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Rated a Somewhat Helpful Review by the Epinions community
Feb 16, 2000
Pros: Well paced, a beautiful setting and story line
Cons: Fans of action may find the description tedious
Summary: Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden is a beautifully crafted novel- intelligent, visual and sensitive. It tells the story of a young girl named Sayuri, orphaned at the age of nine in rural Japan, who is separated from her one remaining relative, her ... read more
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Rated a Very Helpful Review by the Epinions community
Feb 10, 2000
Pros: Simply Captivating
Cons: None whatsoever
Summary: I stumbled upon this book by accident, and was a little hesitant at first to read it..."a book on the Japanese, how exciting", I thought. But I was way off base, this book was so exceptional and riveting, I couldn't put it down. I mean ... read more
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Rated a Somewhat Helpful Review by the Epinions community
Feb 9, 2000
Pros: Fascinating story!
Cons: The story ended!
Summary: What a privilege to witness this fascinating journey.You will have a difficult time putting this book down and you will have a difficult time putting the story and the characters out of your mind for a long, long time. The life and culture of the Geisha ... read more
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Rated a Somewhat Helpful Review by the Epinions community
Feb 7, 2000
Pros: Well written.
Cons: Written by an author outside of the culture.
Summary: I read "Memoirs of a Geisha" about a month ago and to be honest I really did not know much about geishas prior to the reading. My preconception was that geishas were just dancers in Japan. I did not realize that it was an entire lifestyle and ... read more
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Rated a Very Helpful Review by the Epinions community
Feb 6, 2000
Pros: Delightful, elegant
Cons: none
Summary: I read Memoirs of a Geisha a couple of months ago, and I still think about it. From the first chapters I was enchanted with the elegance of the lifestyles and ways of the geisha. The writing is absolutely superb. Every detail of her life is seen in the ... read more
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Rated a Somewhat Helpful Review by the Epinions community
Feb 5, 2000
Pros: Believable, rich and complex.
Cons: Short on some of the ordinary details.
Summary: The novel by Arthur Golden, "Memoirs of a Geisha", totally immersed me in the fictional story of Sayuri. Her metamorphosis from an underprivileged child into a woman of substance, was beautifully written. The details of the city, the way ... read more
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Rated a Very Helpful Review by the Epinions community
Feb 4, 2000
Pros: hard to put down
Cons: SOME men may think it's "unmanly" to read a book about women
Summary: My wife told me I would enjoy Memoirs of a Geisha-I had my doubts!
It sounds like a book women would like but not so interesting to a man, I thought. Anyone with a passionate heart will like this book. I read in in about two days.
... read more
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Rated a Somewhat Helpful Review by the Epinions community
Feb 1, 2000
Pros: too many to list
Cons: none
Summary: Where to begin? I got this book after several recommendations from friends. I only regret not getting it earlier. One of the ways I like to rate books is how much I miss them when I'm finished and I feel as though I've lost a good friend. Towards the end ... read more
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Rated a Very Helpful Review by the Epinions community
Jan 31, 2000
Pros: Great story, VERY well written
Cons: It is fiction, I wanted it to be a true story
Summary: One of the best novels I've read (and reread) in a long time, Memoirs of a Geisha tells a powerful and moving story about Sayuri, a lovely grey-eyed geisha of Gion.
This novel tells with intimate detail about the life in the household that ... read more
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Rated a Somewhat Helpful Review by the Epinions community
Jan 28, 2000
Pros: The realism
Cons: The slow beginning
Summary: Although this book has a slow start and drags a little bit, the climax and the ending makes up for it. The detailed descriptions gives you the feeling of realism. The darkness that the geishas go through makes you cringe and the happiness that the ... read more
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Rated a Somewhat Helpful Review by the Epinions community
Jan 28, 2000
Pros: smooth reading
Cons: NONE
Summary: Arthur Golden's "Memoirs of a Geisiha" is captivating. From page one, you've just got to keep reading and reading and reading! Golden's writing style flows so smoothly. His simile use paint vivid pictures in your mind. Once you start ... read more
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Rated a Helpful Review by the Epinions community
Jan 26, 2000
Pros: It makes you think
Cons: You can not put it down once you start it.
Summary: I just finished reading this book not to long ago and i must say it has the most captivating story line.
It is very well written and gives you a true inside to the life of a young poor Japanese girl that goes from living in a little hut to living ... read more
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