Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden

I had never read Arthur Golden before, although I was tempted to read this book through recommendation. Thus I had no pre-conceptions of the writing style of the author. Neither had I seen the film, and although I bought the film, was glad that I decided to read the book first, since the film pales in comparison. The story tells of Chiyo, a young girl (aged 8), living in the fishing village of Yoroido in 1929, with her mother, father and sister, Satsu, and the road which takes her from the simple life she is leading to being a successful Geisha. From the moment I started to read the book, I was captivated by the writing style, though more than this the picture ...  Read the complete review

As the final week of my first year at uni was drawing to an end, during a shopping trip to Newcastle with my boyfriend I decided to treat myself to some new books to keep my mind occupied when I was at home. For me, Waterstone’s is an Aladdin’s cave and the books are its jewels. With the offer of 3 for 2 on ‘Summer reads’ amongst others, I couldn’t resist. I bought ‘1984’ by George Orwell, ‘The Rice Mother’ by Rani Manicka and this, ‘Memoirs of a Geisha’ by Arthur Golden. The RRP of the book is £6.99 and the ISBN no. is 0-09-977151-9. So, now that you know where to find it, why would you want to? ...  Read the complete review

For a long time now, I've been intrigued by all things Japanese. The Japanese way of life, the language, the writing system - I find it all fascinating. Recently, I have started to learn Japanese at evening classes and one of my major ambitions in life is to one day travel to Japan and spend time travelling around. So, when I saw this book on offer in Waterstones' while home in the UK over Christmas I snapped it up, and I have to say that I am extremely glad that I did. To be honest, when I first started reading "Memoirs of a Geisha", I wasn't sure if I was going to like it. It is told in the first person from the perspective of a woman and ...  Read the complete review

I've not been very well today. I've not been well for a while, but shrugged it of with thoughts of more important things that needed doing and struggled along with my head feeling as thought it was filled with water. Yesterday however, the important things were all done, after dragging my poor body out of bed early enough to ring work and tell them in my best croaky 'I'm not very well' voice I slumped back into dream land for a few hours of much needed sleep. Around midday I finally rose and after a good wash, a couple of slices of toast and a quick pootle on the computer I found myself feeling more than a little bored. Unable to face the ...  Read the complete review

'Memoirs of a Geisha' seems to have been on the bestseller list at many bookshops since its first UK publication in 1998. It's by no means the first book on the subject, but it's undeniably the most popular. In fact, several years before the publication of 'Memoirs', Liza Dalby, the only American woman ever to become a geisha, wrote about her experiences in a book entitled simply 'Geisha'. So, after having seen the book on bookshelves across the country for so long, spotting it in HMV's "2 books for £10" promotion, and having an interest in Japanese culture, I decided to give it a go. Put simply, despite the raving ...  Read the complete review