Nitta Sayuri, a celebrated Geisha of the 1930's and 1940's, dictates her memoirs from her Park Avenue suite. Her translator, like the author of this book, is a scholar of Japanese history. As a nine-year-old girl, Sayuri, who has unusual blue-gray eyes, is sold by her impoverished father to a famous Geisha house in Kyoto. She undergoes many hardships, especially at the hands of the beautiful but evil head Geisha, Hatsumomo, until a chance encounter with a kind older man changes her outlook and the course of her life. Traditional Japanese culture comes to life in this intimate and detailed portrait. Beautifully told, and so authentic it's hard to believe that it's fiction.

Reviewed by Ruth H., North County Regional

This book review was submitted on-line by a Reader's Club patron.

Reader's comments about this book

What a page-turner! It is hard to believe that an American male could capture the range of emotions and subtle nuances in the life of a Japanese woman! I can't believe this is fiction. Also, the movie looks promising.
-Ongisa, Charlotte, NC

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