Memoirs of a Geisha
by Arthur Golden
- Used
- Near Fine
- Paperback
- Signed
- first
- Condition
- Near Fine/No jacket issued
- Seller
-
Windsor, Ontario, Canada
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
A lovely advance reading copy of the first American edition [Knopf NY 1997], inscribed by author Arthur Golden directly on the title page. The book is in near fine condition with some fading on the spine and shelf wear but no remainder marks, a tight and square binding, with no owner inscriptions or highlighting and no staining or marking. Please do not hesitate to contact us for further information concerning this advance reading copy of Arthur Golden's sensational first novel, exceedingly scarce when signed.
Synopsis
Memoirs of a Geisha is a novel by Arthur Golden, published in 1997. The novel, told in first-person view, tells the fictional story of a geisha working in Kyoto, Japan, before and after World War II.
Reviews
Memoirs of a Geisha, by Arthur Golden, is a warm, happy read. It is the story of a Japanese girl whose father sells her and her sister to strangers as her mother dies. Her older sister is sold into prostitution, and our heroine, Chiyo, only nine years old at the time, is sold to a geisha household in Kyoto, and expected to become a geisha. We discover that, at this time, becoming a geisha requires years of schooling. Chiyo studies various instruments, singing, dancing, and the tea ceremony, so that she can become an entertainer of men in tea houses. Eventually, she is adopted as a “younger sister” by Mameha, a first-rank geisha. All of this occurs before the Great Depression and the Second World War. During that terrible period, everyone in Japan underwent great hardships. The geisha profession was legally abolished. Chiyo, by now known by her geisha name of Sayuri, spent the war years sewing parachutes in a former kimono maker’s home and shop. After the war, she eventually was able to return to her geisha life. The story of her success, largely guided by Mameha, and her own desire to become worthy of a man she has fallen in love with, is very endearing. Somewhat to our surprise, she eventually comes to live in the USA, along with her lover. We suspect, although we are never told outright, that she has an American son. She tells her story verbally over a period of months to a sympathetic writer. This is a hard book to put down; the action is so real, and the writing so lyrical, that we feel we must keep reading until we know the end.
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Details
- Seller
- C&S Books (CA)
- Seller's Inventory #
- 001002.2
- Title
- Memoirs of a Geisha
- Author
- Arthur Golden
- Format/Binding
- Soft cover
- Book Condition
- Used - Near Fine
- Jacket Condition
- No jacket issued
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Edition
- 1st Edition
- Binding
- Paperback
- Publisher
- Knopf
- Place of Publication
- New York
- Date Published
- 1997
- Size
- 8vo - over 7¾ - 9¾" tall
- Weight
- 0.00 lbs
Terms of Sale
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Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Remainder
- Book(s) which are sold at a very deep discount to alleviate publisher overstock. Often, though not always, they have a remainder...
- Inscribed
- When a book is described as being inscribed, it indicates that a short note written by the author or a previous owner has been...
- Spine
- The outer portion of a book which covers the actual binding. The spine usually faces outward when a book is placed on a shelf....
- Fine
- A book in fine condition exhibits no flaws. A fine condition book closely approaches As New condition, but may lack the...
- Shelf Wear
- Shelf wear (shelfwear) describes damage caused over time to a book by placing and removing a book from a shelf. This damage is...
- Reading Copy
- Indicates a book that is perfectly serviceable for reading. It may have a defect or damage. As such, reading copy is not a...
- Tight
- Used to mean that the binding of a book has not been overly loosened by frequent use.
- Title Page
- A page at the front of a book which may contain the title of the book, any subtitles, the authors, contributors, editors, the...