Two sisters in a poor, remote fishing village are sold off and sent to Kyoto. Thus the epic tale begins, with an abundance of distinct characters influencing the life of Chiyo, the younger sister: there's her age-mate and immediate consoler,Pumpkin, the elderly and grumbling Granny, money-obsessed Mother, and Auntie, a failed geisha with a walking disability. Also living in the geisha house is the famous and ill-mannered geisha, Hatsumomo, renowned for her wickedness and dazzling beauty, and most importantly, Mameha, who becomes her future mentor and guardian. All these characters and their actions form a grand cultural-historical soap opera that spans decades.

The prose is elegant and the character development exquisite. As you read, you become immersed into a world of a different time and place. As Japanese culture is extremely complex, this was no small feat on the part of the author.

The other feature of the novel examines the phenomenon that when women are reduced to slaves and prostitutes in a male-dominated society, i.e. when their livelihood depends solely on appeasing the other sex, they will turn upon each other, trying by all means to destroy one another so that they will be the only one holding men's favor. Women can be as poisonous and merciless as you can imagine when it is a matter of survival. In this respect, the novel reminds me of the story told in Raise the Red Lantern: Three Novellas, which I did not read but saw the movie.

The main source for Mr. Golden's book was Mineko Iwasaki, a retired geisha he had interviewed for background information while writing the novel. Iwasaki later went on to write an autobiography, which shows a very different picture of twentieth-century geisha life than the one shown in Golden's novel Geisha, a Life.

There had been quite a bit of criticism of the book from Japanese readers regarding insensitivity and inaccuracies in portryaing japanese culture, which may be justified, however I gave it 5 stars soley for the reading pleasure. The idea of auctions and geisha's selling their viginity has been claimed to be totally false.

This was the author's first, and I believe, his only novel. I guess he couln't top it and quit while he was ahead. He certainly got enough money from it!

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As a reader of bodice-rippers and books that are a part of the Luxury Suite Trash Experience™, I'm prepared to discuss how and when some of my favorite reads can be problematic. I don't feel bad about enjoying them but I do think it's important to have dialogues about why others might not, and why this is 100% okay for others to feel this way without having their opinions lambasted by stans. I, for example, refuse to buy or read anything by Orson Scott Card for personal reasons and once had an Angry White Mann  ™ call me names for being unable to separate my personal feelings about what Card has said about the LGBT+ from my feelings about his books. We all have those lines that can't and mustn't be crossed, so I totally understand why others choose to get political with their wallets.n

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n  MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA came under fire for multiple reasons, parts of which had to do with the book, and parts of which had to do with the film. The book has obvious surface issues, like cultural white-washing (giving the heroine blue-grey eyes, downplaying the tragedy of Hiroshima by portraying all American soldiers as fun-loving rascals who are definitely not rapey (seriously)), as well as presenting Chiyo's rise to geisha as a glorified Cinderella story shrouded in Orientalism (and some of the blurbs in this book really underscore that view with coded language, such as the Chicago Tribune's describing the book as "[a]n exotic fable" (emphasis mine) and Vogue's "a startling act of literary impersonation, a feat of cross-cultural masquerade" (emphasis mine). I'm not sure what "cross-cultural masquerade" means but it sounds unfortunately like, "literary yellow-face."n

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n  The deeper issue came with one of Arthur Holden's sources, an actual real life geisha named Mineko Iwasaki, who took umbrage with the way the details of her life were mangled in the telling of this novel. I had always been aware of the controversy, and knew it had prompted her to write a memoir detailing her life with more accuracy called, GEISHA: A LIFE, but only found out today while researching the background for this book that she apparently sued both the author and the publisher on the grounds that he had allegedly promised to keep her identity secret, and yet her name features prominently in the "acknowledgements" section of the book.n

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n  The movie was controversial because Chinese actresses Ziyi Zhang (Sayuri), Michelle Yeoh (Mameha), and Gong Li (Hatsumomo) were cast to play the roles of the Japanese women in the book. The response to this was the typical "white people who are of X descent play characters of Y descent all the time, and no one bats an eyelash," but the problem with that line of reasoning is that it assumes that actors of color have the same opportunities and varieties of roles open to them that white actors do, which isn't the case. Actors of color have far fewer opportunities, and when opportunities do turn up, they are usually type-cast. Memoirs of a Geisha was a beautifully filmed movie and I felt very grown-up when my mom took me to see it with her after I'd read the book for my high school book club, and it will always have a place in my heart, and I still admit that it smacks of cultural appropriation.n

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n  Getting to the book, MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA is one of those rare books that I have reread several times, and I consider it the entre to my love of epic stories and bodice-rippers. There is something so exciting about following a character from childhood and seeing them evolve and grow over the course of a novel, following them as they navigate new and exciting life changes and forge new relationships. Chiyo/Sayuri was a very readable protagonist and her goal - become a successful geisha  - is a very clear one to follow, and root for, because the Cinderella story is so universal.n

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n  Upon this subsequent reread, I did notice things that somehow escaped my notice before. Chiyo's detachment from her family, and her under-reaction by the news of their deaths was very strange. I was also bothered by the fact that she never met her sister, Satsu, again, as it kind of felt like the author had left the door open for that reunion, seeing as how Chiyo/Sayuri experienced so many other reunions in her life. I also remember feeling sorrier and more sympathetic for Nobu the first time around, but now, as an educated and wise woman, I see that he is one of those "nice guys" who puts women on pedestals and cannot forgive them for toppling or getting dusty. Even when Chiyo/Sayuri was in his good graces, he was so mean to her, and it was kind of hard to read about that this time.n

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n  There were also some wtf moments, like the mizuage scene (or the virginity auction), which I guess was one of the portrayals that Iwasaki was much more upset about. Then the man who buys Sayuri's mizuage takes the blood stained towel her maidenhead dripped on and puts it in a briefcase holding his virginity collection, or vials containing blood-stained fabrics from all the geisha he has despoiled. What a creep! I couldn't believe I'd forgotten the virginity briefcase. It reminded me of a scene from a historical bodice ripper I read about this Norman invader who had a necklace made of the pubes from all the women he'd raped. You can't make this stuff up, guys. Romance novels are the wild, wild west.n

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n  To the author's credit, he wrote a somewhat convincing woman, especially with regard to sex and her views of her body and her relationships with other women. While reading this book, I couldn't help but compare this to Jason Matthews's RED SPARROW, in which the heroine didn't resemble an actual human being so much as an emotionless sex robot. Sayuri had hopes and dreams, and Golden doesn't kid himself that pretty young women dream about banging geeky older men for their personalities or their pasty looks; Sayuri does what she does to survive, but she prefers men she's attracted to on her own terms and isn't truly happy until she settles down with someone who can give her what she really wants. It's such a simple thing, but so many dudes either choose not to understand this or don't want to understand this in their writing of women and man, it shows. So, kudos.n

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n  I enjoyed this book, problematic content and all. I'm sorry it caused pain, and controversy, but I am reviewing this from my own biased, privileged perspective as a white lady, so take my opinion with several grains of salt. It helps to read this as a trashy bodice-ripper and not as 'historical' fiction.n

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4 stars

3.5 Stars - Great book.

It took me a few chapters to get into the story and the characters – just about everything. The opening is fine but that’s it, just fine. I wasn’t pulled into the story in any way. Mediocre may be too strong of a word for the first three to four chapters but it definitely teeters on mediocre.

There are many different ways to draw me into a book but mostly I have to feel some sort of connection to the characters. I didn’t feel that in the first few chapters here. Honestly, I don’t know why I kept reading but ultimately I’m glad I did.

As for the characters, there’s not one character that I liked but I didn’t necessarily dislike or hate them either (except for Hatsumomo and Mother, those two I despise). Sayuri isn’t even that great of a person, and yet I was rooting for her, even through her stupid mistakes. I think part of the problem with the characters is that the situations they’re in and the culture they’re in are just so different than anything I’ve read before. I must sadly say that my reading experience tends to be heavy on the Western Hemisphere. I think I need to adapt my reading skills to really appreciate characters from other cultures. I say all that, and that doesn’t mean the characters aren’t well written. They are impeccably written and I can see that. I just don’t like the characters as people. I don’t like them but I do respect them, well I respect most of them.

Part of the problem is that the whole subject matter was new to me so I was so focused on grasping certain concepts and understanding the Geisha experience/life that I forgot the little things. So much of the character “issue” is on me. But some of it is on the author because I’m not that terrible of a reader.

One of the good things about the characters were their complex backstories and that for most of them, I could sympathize or at least understand why they were the way they were. For instance, Sayuri’s character development is fascinating to watch. Sure, she isn’t perfect but who is? I can relate to certain feelings of hers and that helps create a bond between myself and the main character. Though, I did always feel a certain disconnect. I will say that the author created someone, in my opinion, that is purely evil - Hatsumomo. I know her circumstances and life may not have always been kind to her but I’m a firm believer that people have choices. They can’t control what happens to them, but they can control how they act. Hatsumomo chose incorrectly. This may be a bit of a stretch but since I just finished Rebecca, I saw some major title characters between the title character and Hatsumomo. Both absolutely beautiful bitches that could fool people into believe they were better people than they actually were - less for for Hatsumomo at the end of the book though.

The writing is fine and really plays to the scenes. By that I mean that when the author needs to be descriptive he uses beautiful, flowery language and when he needs to be more concise he molds his words to do just that. The author really knows how to form phrases and sentences and so on to create scenes. My main issue is that he doesn’t know how to break-up paragraphs. If I was taught anything in school, it’s that you can’t let a paragraph go on for too long because you lose your reader and this book certainly proves that point. It was straining on my eyes and I eventually had to go back over and read some of those arduous passages again.

I thought the ending came up very fast. That is to say, that when Sayuri and the Chairman finally “got together” there were only a few chapters left. And that was even cut short because of Sayuri’s move to New York. I understand that this book is supposed to focus on her life as a Geisha, but I still felt short-changed. When I finished, I can’t say I felt satisfied. It appears that Sayuri is happy, or at least content, with where life eventually brought here but I wasn’t satisfied as a reader. That’s probably because I wanted Sayuri and the Chairman to be together forever, as the cliche goes (even though I never got of the ridiculous age difference. Creeps me out a little) but even as I write it I know that’s just not how the Geisha culture is.

Overall, I can happily recommend this book. It’s a great book and even though I’m not sure I actually liked it I appreciated it and the storyline.

Stilul este foarte dificil, iar mai multe aspecte ori nu au fost clarificate ori nu prea am fost eu atent suficient de mult încât să înțeleg ce vrea Golden să demonstreze.

"Uneori, în viață dăm de lucruri pe care nu le înțelegem pentru că n-am mai văzut niciodată ceva asemănător."
"Noi, oamenii, suntem numai o părticică din ceva mult mai cuprinzător. Mergând, putem strivi un gândac sau putem crea un curent de aer care să facă o gâză să ajungă într-un loc unde altfel n-ar fi ajuns. Iar dacă ne gândim la același exemplu, dar cu noi în rol de insectă și universul în rolul nostru, devine limpede că suntem zilnic afectați de forțe asupra cărora nu avem mai mult control decât are bietul gândac asupra piciorului uriaș care-l calcă."
"Ce putem face? Trebuie să folosim orice metodă pentru a înțelege mișcările universului și a ne plănui faptele în așa fel încât să nu luptăm contra curentului, ci să ne lăsăm ajutați de el."
"- Apa nu așteaptă niciodată. Își schimbă forma, curge pe lângă obstacole și găsește calea secretă la care nimeni nu s-a gândit - spărtura minusculă din acoperiș sau din podea. Fără doar și poate, e cel mai versatil dintre cele cinci elemente. Poate spăla pământul; poate stinge focul; poate subția metalul. Nici chiar lemnul, care e complementul ei natural, nu poate supraviețui fără apă."
"Durerea e un lucru foarte ciudat; suntem atât de neputincioși în fața ei. E ca o fereastră care se deschide atunci când vrea ea. Camera se răcește și nu putem decât să tremurăm. Dar de fiecare dată se deschide mai puțin, și mai puțin; până când, într-o zi, ne întrebăm ce s-a ales cu ea."

I don't know what to make of this one. I liked the writing, I found the story okay but it was hard to get through. Not that it was bad but just the sexualization of everything had gotten a bit too much.
Apparently, the author made a lot of things up? well ¯_ಠ_ಠ_/¯

I read this many years ago but still remember how the story haunted me for weeks after I finished. My notion of a geisha was completely upended as these women, though trained to be hostesses for men, had extraordinary skills and acumen. I appreciated gaining insight into a facet of Japanese culture that was new to me. I was also unprepared for the emotional punch of the story. Highly recommend.

n  A little girl named Chiyo (later changed to Sayuri) is forced to grow up fast after she is sold to a geisha house.n

Historical romances can go either way for me and this one most definitely went the right way. The writing was gorgeous and the characters were perfection. I hated it when I had to put this book down at the end of the night, but I knew that every time I picked it back up that I would instantly be transported back to Sayuri’s vibrant world. My favorite detail was when the author described the color and pattern on any one of the many kimonos mentioned in the story. I would pause and imagine one before me, wishing it was there so I could take my hand and gently graze my fingers across the intricate pattern worked into it.

I was pleasantly surprised by the romance hidden away in the folds of the story and was emotionally torn by the options available to Sayuri and which would be preferred. I went in to the story expecting a relationship of duty, forced by the world to benefit one and leave the other desiring more. What I received instead was a woman relentlessly pursuing her wants and desires. I still haven’t made up my mind regarding which path would have been best in the end.

Five stars to a book that left me pondering so much more.

Arthur Golden’s Memoirs of a Geisha is set in Japan from The Great Depression through just after World War II. A young girl named Chiyo moves from her small town in Yoroido to the big city to become a geisha. However, Chiyo misses her family, and an older geisha is determined to destroy her. One day, a man notices Chiyo crying in the streets, inspiring Chiyo to become Sayuri, a remarkable geisha. Will Sayuri have a happy ending?

Memoirs of a Geisha is this month’s May Readalong, and I have mixed feelings about this book. First, the pace is really slow. Usually, this is a detriment, but it is perfect for reading this over a month and having in-depth discussions.

The most enjoyable part of the book is the gamesmanship between the warring geisha, Mameha and Sayuri against Hatsumomo. Mameha knows how to perfectly extract herself from situations gracefully, and she is a true chess player, always thinking a few steps ahead.

I also enjoyed learning more about geisha. The women are entertainers, skilled in conversation, singing, dancing, and playing a musical instrument called the samisen. There are also certain hairstyles and clothing indicating different stages in the life of a geisha.

Now for the bad……

Memoirs of a Geisha has one of the most disappointing endings. It doesn’t even make sense, and for dragging on for ages, the ending is extremely rushed.

At the end of the book, I have more questions than when I started. Each of the geisha could have had their own book, and I felt that some of the characters were left a bit unfinished such as Sayuri’s sister.

And for the really bad….

I wanted to know if Memoirs of a Geisha was based on a true story. In the acknowledgements, Arthur Golden thanks Mineko Iwasaki, who is a real geisha. However, Iwasaki spoke to Golden on the condition of anonymity. She alleges that the book is her life’s story except that Golden falsely sexualized the book. Two years later, an out-of-court settlement was reached.

Overall, this book is great for discussion, but it made me feel sick. Thank to everyone who participated in the Readalong! See you in June for Little Women!

2025 Reading Schedule
JantA Town Like Alice
FebtBirdsong
MartCaptain Corelli's Mandolin - Louis De Berniere
AprtWar and Peace
MaytThe Woman in White
JuntAtonement
JultThe Shadow of the Wind
AugtJude the Obscure
SeptUlysses
OcttVanity Fair
NovtA Fine Balance
DectGerminal

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Loved the book and the writing but there was something about it that I passionately disliked as well.
I can’t explain it as I myself don’t understand it but it definitely hindered my enjoyment to the full.

I was also somewhat take aback by my sheer dislike for Sayuri. I feel like I’m the only one who actively disliked her to this extent but there were moments where I felt so infuriated by her, by her selfishness, her utter lack of loyalty, her self-importance... I just couldn’t stand her.

If words can come off a page and stun you senseless, this is the book to read. When Chiyo a young peasant girl was sold to the Nitta okiya in Kyoto to one day become a geisha. She could not imagine the depths of the water in the sea her life would embark. From the harsh treatment from Hatsumomo, the primary geisha of the house; to apprentice geisha Mameha as her big sister; to the shamisens; to the tea houses; to the Japanese dances; to the hands of Nobu-san the cold kind business man; and finally to the chairman a man of great compassion and understanding. She will lead you thru the great depression and World War II seen thru the eyes of someone who experienced great wealth, kindness, longing, pain of suffering, loss, friendship, betrayal, and extreme poverty. As you read you will meet Sayuri (formally called Chiyo). An excellent read.

Quotes:

I knew he noticed the trees, and the mud, and the children in the street, but I had no reason to believe he'd ever noticed me.

She may have been cruel as a spider, but she was more lovely chewing on her fingernail than most geisha looked posing for a photograph.

"Never forgot them, Chiyo-chan," she said. "They're all that's left of your childhood."

This is why dreams can be such dangerous things: they smolder on like a fire does, and sometimes consume us completely.

"I'd like to be as cooperative as I can." Mameha replied, " but I'd have difficulty arranging such a thing, since you haven't yet agreed to be Sayuri's mizuage patron. If her integrity is in doubt..........well, Sayuri will be presenting ekubo to a great many men. I'm sure most will be skeptical of stories they hear from Hatsumomo."

"I never seek to defeat the man I am fighting," he explained. "I seek to defeat his confidence. A mind troubled by doubt cannot focus on the course to victory. Two men are equals - true equals - only when they both have equal confidence."

Absolutely stunning and flawless.
Promoted to one of my all-time favorite books.

I've no clue how the author wrote this, being that he is not a geisha, not Japanese, not a woman, not from the World War II era, etc., etc.... but it is absolutely incredible.

4.5 stars
This novel is very rich and full of diverse characters and shows a big deal of the classic Japanese tradition.

-Every character represents an aspect and an attitude of humans

-Although it is lengthy but I don't find it boring,the length of the book helped in building up the anticipation for the end,thus more satisfaction.

-some people find it insulting to women,well it is a novel not the author's belief.

-I kinda liked Hatsumomo and felt bad for her end,she was the salt of the book.

-the age of the characters along the novel is a little peculiar,and the age difference between Sauyri and the chairman is huge if left to the readers calculations.

-The writing style of the author is nice,and it seems to be affected by the meticulosity of the Japanese.

I wish i have read it before watching the movie,which i will watch again after finishing it.