Memoirs of a Geisha
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Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
A literary sensation and runaway bestseller, this brilliant debut novel tells with seamless authenticity and exquisite lyricism the true confessions of one of Japan's most celebrated geisha.Nominated as one of America's best-loved novels by PBS's The Great American Read
Speaking to us with the wisdom of age and in a voice at once haunting and startlingly immediate, Nitta Sayuri tells the story of her life as a geisha. It begins in a poor fishing village in 1929, when, as a nine-year-old girl with unusual blue-gray eyes, she is taken from her home and sold into slavery to a renowned geisha house. We witness her transformation as she learns the rigorous arts of the geisha: dance and music; wearing kimono, elaborate makeup, and hair; pouring sake to reveal just a touch of inner wrist; competing with a jealous rival for men's solicitude and the money that goes with it.
In Memoirs of a Geisha, we enter a world where appearances are paramount; where a girl's virginity is auctioned to the highest bidder; where women are trained to beguile the most powerful men; and where love is scorned as illusion. It is a unique and triumphant work of fiction--at once romantic, erotic, suspenseful--and completely unforgettable.
Arthur Golden was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and obtained a bachelor's degree in art history with a focus on Asian art from Harvard College. He received his M.A. in 1980. He obtained a bachelor's degree in Japanese history from Columbia University, where he also studied Mandarin Chinese. He worked in Tokyo after a summer at Beijing University and received an M.A. after returning to the United States. Boston University awarded me a bachelor's degree in English. With his wife and two children, he lives in Brookline, Massachusetts.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9780679781585 |
| ISBN 10 | 0679781587 |
| Title | Memoirs of a Geisha |
| Author | Arthur Golden |
| Series | Vintage Contemporaries |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | Random House USA Inc |
| Year published | 1999-01-10 |
| Number of pages | 448 |
| Prizes | Short-listed for Book Sense Book of the Year Award (Adult) 1999 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |