The passion behind Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden is one of the most intellectual novels ever written. This story about love and obedience ties in all elements of a classic literary piece. Through the eyes of an untraditional geisha the novel unfolds one page at a time. Sayuri, a young women finds love, lust, jealousy, and burden within her life time. The adventures of figuring out who Sayuri is behind the fame of a geisha will stay in the mind of the reader forever.


Adding the placement of World War II, famine and poverty occurred giving the story a twist never seen in the upper class of society. The telling of how geishas, along with the thriving population lived in dark times is an interesting point of view on the world. People falling apart still had entertainment from the controversial geisha houses. Sayuri found the living situations obscene due to the surrounding underclass men but found herself drawn into the promiscuous deeds, that had to be obeyed or this young girl would undergo brutal corporal punishment.

Memoirs of a Geisha is a page turning novel that will leave everyone guessing what will happen next; not wanting to put this master piece down to figure out Sayuri’s next move in the game of life. Reading this book must be the number one heart pounding work in the written language.