the attention to detail that Arthur Golden has shown is amazing. A beautiful book with a heartbreaking yet uplifting storyline. He delves deep into a world that we are perhaps unfamiliar with and does it with such grace that this novel is an absolute find.

This is a book I know I'm going to return to again and again, it has become one of my favourites. Considering Golden is a white American man his achievemet of writing beautifully and realistically in the shoes of a Japanese woman is staggering. This is a romance with a difference as Sayuri is, of course, a geisha nothing is straight forward. At first my girly sensibilities didnt like this ending, not so much tinted with sadness as blotched with the fact she will always be just a mistress, after much thought I realised that this is the beauty of the novel, this is Sayuri's fairy tale ending, it was all she ever wanted and she got it. Any one who fails to adore Sayuri is dead inside she is sweet, wise, descriptive, suspicious, intelligent and nieve. The book is also incredibely easy to read, you will find yourself transported t o1930's Japan in no time no matter where you are. So, in short, please read this book, you may not know it yet but you need it in your life.

This book captivates you from the very first page to the last. Written in first person as Sayuri, you are taken by the hand into this mysterious and erotic world. Her fears, anxiety, excitement and sadness are written so beautifully, you forget she is ficticious. The book does have a darker side, but its not its main emphasis. You must remember this is fiction and typically not so many real life Geishas have such eventful careers. Golden did thoroughly research the topic and the era. Never the less, readers do gain a better understanding of the secretive and seductive world of Geishas. Outstanding writing.