I read this book a few years ago and really liked it. This copy I bought for release.

Arrived safely today! Thanks, corry000!

Rob Marshall (of Chicago fame) is directing the movie version of Memoirs of a Geisha, which is opening nationwide Dec. 23, so I thought I should read the book before seeing it in the theater. So far the prescreening reviews have been amazing - coming from a book this good, it's no surprise.

I was swept away by the characters and flow of Arthur Golden's story, and I truthfully can't wait to see whether the colorful kimonos, elegant hair styles, and haunting makeup in the film live up to the glorious pictures Golden painted in my mind. The story is filled with creative imagery - "It was a big box of a building, with a roof that didn't seem quite substantial enough, but made me think of a lid fitted onto the wrong pot" (p. 194) - and powerful lines - "Hopes are like hair ornaments. Girls want to wear too many of them. When they become old women they look silly wearing even one" (p. 295) - that presented sometimes the most complicated of human emotions in the simplest way.

One of my favorite passages:

"From time to time at elegant parties, I've been introduced to some young woman or other in a spelendid dress and jewelry. When she learns I was once a geisha in Kyoto, she forms her mouth into a sort of smile, although the corners don't turn up quite as they should. ... This woman is thinking, 'My goodness ... I'm talking with a prostitute...' A moment later she's rescued by her escort, a wealthy man a good thirty or forty years older than she is. Well, I often find myself wondering why she can't sense how much we really have in common. She is a kept woman, you see, and in my day, so was I." (p. 291)

But it wasn't just my imagination that was stimulated; my thirst for knowledge was quenched, too - I feel like I learned quite a bit about Japanese culture, albeit a small part of it. Although Sayuri says that geisha are pretty much the equivalent of prostitutes, they go through much more than their Western counterparts, that's for sure!

I also enjoyed Golden's way of explaining different Japanese terms and phrases, and I couldn't help but laugh out loud at this statement: "Kabuki is a relatively young art form; it didn't exist before the 1700s" (p. 150). Relatively young indeed! One day I hope to watch a true Kabuki performance in Japan. My father saw one while he was stationed there with the Army and, though he's never been a fan of the arts, he always says there's nothing as beautiful on this side of the globe. Until that day, however, I'll have to settle for books and movies such as Memoirs of a Geisha. If they were all as good as this story, I suppose I wouldn't have much to complain about.

Since I received this as an RABCK, I wanted to pass it on in a similar way. So, with a little checking on Cliff's Wishlist and Rabck.com, I discovered that phillycarol was looking for "any prize-winning or award-winning book" or "any book you rated with 9 or 10 stars."

So, surprise! :)

I don't know whether Memoirs has won any awards (it deserves some!), but it certainly scored a 10 on my rating scale and a 9 on corry000's. I didn't see it on your bookshelf, phillycarol, so I have my fingers crossed that you haven't read this one already. Hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

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Thanks for the great surprise, wyldanthem! I've actually been wondering recently if I read this book or not - it's been driving me crazy. So now I'll read it (again?) before I see the movie. My sister was at my house when I opened the mail and she is also excited to see this book because she just mentioned to me this past week that she wanted to read it. So I'll pass it on to her when I'm finished with it. Thanks again! I know this is a RABCK but if you see anything on my bookshelf that interests you, let me know.

Loved it! This was a really great, original story that I definitely have not read before. The descriptions were written so well that I could picture everything in my head. I can't wait to see the movie but now I'm afraid it won't live up to my expectations since the book is always better than the movie. ;)

This book is taking a detour to my mother this weekend and then she'll pass it on to my sister when she's done with it.

I really enjoyed this book. What more can I say - I think my rating of a ten says it all.
By the way, Phillycarol said the movie is nowhere near as good as the book.

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