the end which I felt was rushed almost as if he wanted to hurry up and finish it also the end was disappointing in my opinion it was too much happy ever after for me...I'm not sure this needed to be a spoiler but I wanted to test the button!

Firstly I thought there was some really vivid imagery in this book. I was definately transported to those places. I loved the description of all the kimono, kind of want one myself now

The translators note at the beginning made the whole story more real. Even though I knew it was fictional it made me take the story more seriously.
This story made me realise just how western I really am. I mean, I'm pretty open minded but there some things that are just not acceptable here, and probably weren't acceptable here in the 30s and 40s. Like the bidding for Sayuri's virginity - that Dr guy would be locked up here But it was an interesting insight into Japanese culture and I'm kind of sad that its almost vanished nowadays. I guess I just don't like when things have to change
I felt that the women, while clearly not valued as women, seemed more substantial than the men, who were sort of 2-dimensional. Do you get what I mean? Maybe its because the story was told by a woman.

My opinion of Sayuri really changed as I read, mainly because of how she treated Nobu and how she and Mameha treated Hatsumomo. Hatsumomo undoubtedly deserved to get a taste of her own medicine but I always believe that you shouldn't lower yourself to a bully's level. By refusing to react in the way they want you inevitably become the better person. So that bit grated a little. And poor Nobu, didn't you just love him? Loved the Chairman too tho

So I for one am glad she got her hearts desire at the end. I think someone else said the ending was too happy but I disagree. I think the ending is tinted with sadness and this makes Sayuri's story much more poignant.

Sayuri ends up as the Chairman’s mistress, but she is never promoted to the position of wife, so her future is always dependent upon her continuing to please him. She has no more status or security than any other geisha

Its difficult to say if I enjoyed it. It was interesting but my rather strong feminist ideas rebelled against women been trained from a child to to nothing but please men. Imagine having your virginity sold to the highest bidder, doesn't bear thinking about. But on one level I did like the book and even watched the film. ( I didn't realised it rained so much in Japan).

I quickly became absorbed in this book, learning about Japanese culture at that time and about what it meant to be a Geisha. I liked the interaction of the different women in the Okiya … Hatsumomo’s nastiness, the friendship between Sayuri and Pumkin, and then Sayuri’s relationship with Mameha. I loved hearing about the different styles of Kimonos, with their elaborate colours and embroidery.

Sayuri’s relationships with the main men that come into her life – Dr Crab, the General, Nobu and the Chairman didn’t interest me as much to be honest. I found the nature of the relationships with the women to be so submissive a little disturbing. I know that this is the whole cultural difference and that the Geisha were ‘trained’ to wait on the men. I just found it uncomfortable to read about.

Also, even though Sayuri’s life was all about bringing her closer to the Chairman, I didn’t feel their relationship was explored enough for me to care whether they got together or not. I actually remember feeling that when I watched the film too. Maybe I shouldn’t watch the film before I read the book!

Even though I found the majority of the book readable, I felt that the section after the war breaks out to the end a little tired. Almost like the book ran out of steam, either that or I had. Maybe I felt it was a bit too long.

Saying that, I like the poetic style of Arthur Golden’s writing and had to keep reminding myself at times that it wasn’t a woman writing. Very clever literature!