I decided to buy myself a copy of Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden out of curiosity. I had seen it in bookstores for months and on the best-seller lists. I finally bought a copy over the winter break and started reading it. I am glad I did buy it, because it is an unforgettable novel and well worth $14.00.

Memoirs of a Geisha follows the life of Sayuri, a Geisha from Gion. The novel is written as if she is giving an interview to the reader. She narrates her life for the reader, and the reader is caught in the story from the beginning. It begins with her childhood in the small town of Yoroido. There she meets Mr. Tanaka Ichiro, the man that changes her life forever. He buys Sayuri, who at that time was named Chiyo, and her older sister, Satsu, from her parents, an old fisherman and his very ill wife.

Chiyo and Satsu are taken away from Yoroido and taken to Kyoto where they are separated. Satsu ends up working as a prostitute, but Chiyo is sent to an okiya, a house where Geisha are trained and live, as a maid with the intentions that someday she would be trained to become a geisha. For years Chiyo lives at the okiya working like a slave for Mother and Auntie, the women who run the okiya, and also Hatsumomo, a geisha who lives there and who always tries to get Chiyo into trouble. Chiyo attempts to run away from Kyoto with Satsu, but she is unsuccessful, though Satsu does manage to escape. Chiyo is determined to someday escape from the okiya and find her sister, but things change when she meets the Chairman. The Chairman is a man Chiyo meets after she trips in the street one day. The Chairman, who is accompanied by a geisha, stops to make sure Chiyo is all right and the kindness of the Chairman has such an impact on Chiyo that she decides that she wants to become a geisha and stays at the okiya for her training.

All through Chiyo's apprenticeship and training, she remembers the impact the Chairman had on her, and she hopes that someday he will come into her life again. He does, along with Mr. Nobu, a very wealthy businessman who becomes smitten with Chiyo, who has now taken her geisha name, Sayuri; though Sayuri admires the Chairman much more.

Throughout the novel we see the relationships between Sayuri and her customers develop and how she becomes one of the most popular geisha with the help of Mameha, another popular geisha. Close to the end of the novel we see Sayuri go through a very difficult struggle that could change her life for the better or for the worse. She has to either betray the trust of a man who loves her and wants to be her dana, a man who takes a geisha as a mistress and supports her financially, or give up any hope of one day being with the only man she has ever had true feelings for.

This is an emotional story that I had trouble putting down at times. I don't read very many books other then the texts for my classes, and I loved reading this. I might start reading it again soon, because the emotion and suspense is powerful. I recommend this book to anyone looking for something to read that is historical, romantic, suspenseful, astonishing, and captivating all at the same time. It's a wonderful novel.

Look for Memoirs of a Geisha the movie in the future. It will be directed by Steven Spielberg. Hopefully the movie will stay true to the novel.

You can also read other reviews and purchase the book through Barnes and Noble.