New York: Knopf, 1997. Near Fine in a Near Fine dustjacket. Patterned ivory boards with a gilt-stamped burgundy backstrip. Quarto. 434pps. Stated First Edition. The spine-ends are mildly bumped and a previous owner's bookplate is affixed to the front pastedown, otherwise clean, tight, square, and bright. All tips are sharp. The text is immaculate; no reading wear. The dustjacket, glossy in a mylar sleeve, has a small crease in a corner of the rear flap; the original price is intact. A very nice copy of the author's first novel. ".An alluring tour de force: a brilliant debut novel told with seamless authenticity and exquisite lyricism as the true confessions of one of Japan's most celebrated geisha. 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. 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. This is a book of nuance and vivid metaphor, of memorable characters rendered with humor and pathos. And though the story is rich with detail and a vast knowledge of history, it is the transparent, seductive voice of Sayuri that the reader remembers." Purchase with confidence: all books, gradings, and descriptions are rendered the care of a genuine bibliophile. Satisfaction guaranteed or all costs you've incurred will be promptly refunded. Thanks for your interest in Nooks Of Books.. First Edition, First Printing. Hard Cover.

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

On Jan 16 2014, a reader said:

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

Bookseller: Nooks Of Books (US)
Bookseller's Inventory #: 105-4562
Title: Memoirs of a Geisha
Author: Golden, Arthur
Format/Binding: Hardcover
Book Condition: Used
Edition: First Edition, First Printing
ISBN 10: 0375400117
ISBN 13: 9780375400117
Publisher: Knopf
Place of Publication: New York
Date Published: 1997
Keywords: JAPAN FICTION HISTORICAL JAPANESE AMERICAN LITERATUR KYOTO SAYURI 1930S ARTHUR GOLDEN MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA FIRST EDITIONS COLLECTIBLE USED BOOKS NOVELS
Bookseller catalogs: Literature & Fiction, U S A;

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