Book Review: Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden

If you want to take a peek into 1930s Japan and the beautiful, kimono-clad, mysterious world of geisha, Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden could be your next read!

At its heart, Memoirs of a Geisha is a Cinderella story—if Cinderella wore elaborate kimonos, performed intricate tea ceremonies, and had to battle jealous rivals. We follow Chiyo, a young girl from a poor fishing village, who is sold to an okiya in Kyoto to become a highly influential geisha named Sayuri.

⛩️ The Magic of Kyoto – What I Loved

1. Like stepping into another era

If you're a fan of historical fiction and like being transported to another time and place, this book delivers in spades. Golden’s research is evident in the way he brings Kyoto’s Gion district to life. He does an amazing job describing a vivid, immersive setting. From the moment Chiyo sets foot in Gion, you feel like you are walking the narrow alleyways with her, hearing the clack of wooden okubo sandals, the rustling of silk kimonos, and the whispered politics of teahouses and rival geishas.

2. A Glimpse Behind the Curtain

Before reading this novel, I had a vague idea of what a geisha was —something between an artist and a hostess. But Golden peels back the layers, revealing the training, discipline, and sacrifices involved.

👘 The art of wearing a kimono properly? Not as simple as it looks.
🫖 The tea ceremonies? A mix of beauty and a fine eye for social etiquette.
🎎 The rivalries? Sneaky, cunning, and high stakes. It doesn't take much for your future as a geisha to be lost.

It's a fascinating look into a past world that not many outsiders get to see.

3. Each Chapter Feels Like a Short Story

One of the things I look for in books is that each chapter has a reason to be there - it pushes the story forward, rather than being a pretty placeholder to hit word counts. Each chapter in this book can stand on its own while still progressing the story narrative, each has a conflict and resolution that makes finishing each chapter terribly satisfying.

⛩️ Where It Slows Down (Literally)

Alright, let’s talk pacing. The first two-thirds? Absolute *chef’s kiss*. It flowed effortlessly, and I was hooked within the first few chapters. Once Chiyo officially becomes a geisha however, and Hatsumomo leaves, the momentum slows considerably.

The tension of her training and her struggles with rival geisha Hatsumomo are the main driving forces for this novel. Once Chiyo's mizuage is sold and the conflict with Hatsumomo is put on the back burner, the momentum drastically fades.
There’s a lot of waiting… and waiting… and waiting for things to happen.
Some moments that should be emotionally powerful feel horribly drawn out.

Did I still enjoy it? Yes, I did, until the end. But if you’re someone who loves fast-paced historical fiction, this might test your patience.

⛩️ Fact or Fiction?

Arthur Golden opens this book with a translator's note saying:

Sayuri was clear that she wanted to dictate her memoirs rather than write them herself, because, as she explained, she was so accustomed to talking face-to-face that she would hardly know how to proceed with no one in the room to listen. I agreed and the manuscript was dictated to me over the course of 18 months.

He leads you to believe that you are about to read a factual account of an influential geisha. After your lengthy experience, however, he ends the book with this:

Although the character of Sayuri and her story are completely invented, the historical facts of a geisha's day-to-day life in the 1930s and 1940s are not.

This felt like quite a let down to me after reading, and it made it feel like this person I had just had this adventure with is a fabricated lie.

Golden does say in his acknowledgements that he had several in-depth conversations with former geisha, Mineko Iwasaki, to rectify misconceptions he had about the geisha world and based Sayuri's life loosely on her own. This is tainted, however, when Iwasaki sued Golden for defamation, claiming that the book portrayed her life as a prostitute. Some argue that Golden, as an American writer, romanticizes and distorts the reality of geisha life. Mineko goes on to write her own biography called Geisha: A Life, which is classified as non-fiction and is on my TBR list.

While beautifully written, Memoirs of a Geisha should be taken as historical fiction, not a factual account.

⛩️ A Divisive Love Story:

The love interest Chairman Iwamura and the President Nobu play pivotal roles in Sayuri's life, creating this unfortunate love triangle. I didn't buy into Sayuri's dedication to the Chairman. She hinges her whole life on this one meeting she had with him as a child, and for the majority of the book, the Chairman is a distant figure that we see more in her yearnings than in any actual interactions. Personally, I felt bad for Nobu, who tried his best for Sayuri and saved her from the war and dedicated a lot of his life to her, only to be betrayed and forgotten at the end.

Speaking of, the ending felt a bit too rushed in the last chapter and felt a bit too much like a convenient tidy-up, reminding me of my good old BRATZ storytelling days. Strong, nuanced characters make this book an interesting read, but Sayuri’s love story may not work for everyone, as even I, at times, wanted to bang my head against a wall with the whining about a better life that she has been told time and time again is not a possibility for geisha.

⛩️ Final Verdict – Should You Read It?

📖 Overall Rating: 3.5/5

Atmosphere & Setting: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (Immersive magic!)

Characters: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (Compelling, but Sayuri’s romance is divisive)

Pacing: ⭐⭐⭐ (Slow in the last third)

If you love:
✔️ Richly detailed historical settings
✔️ Character-driven stories
✔️ A deep dive into Japanese culture

Then Memoirs of a Geisha is 100% for you.

If you prefer:
❌ Fast-moving plots with constant action
❌ More modern storytelling styles

You might struggle with the pacing.

⛩️ Final Takeaway & Where to Go Next

This book was quick to suck me in. I loved how immersive this book was and the rich cultural details, but the pacing after Sayuri becomes a geisha? Not so much.

Still, it’s a book that lingers in your mind long after you turn the last page.

There is a movie based on this book, which is quite engaging, however, the last third veers so far away from the book that it's its own thing now. There is also a controversy as some characters were portrayed by Chinese actors rather than Japanese, and there seemed to be a mutual dislike about this development from both sides.
I would recommend giving Mineko's Geisha: A Life a read if you want a more trustworthy account of the geisha world.

Have you read Memoirs of a Geisha? Leave your thoughts in the comments below!

📖 Next Month's Read:

We've finished one chunky book, and now it's on to the next! We're going from Historical Fiction to a Game of Thrones-esque heist. I've picked up a copy of Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo as I've heard excellent things about the dynamic of the six main characters that I'm excited to get into. I'll see you in next month's book review!

✍️ Hop to it and keep writing! 🐸 - Krystal