Sayuri is sold as a child to become a geisha because of her extraordinary eyes. At first, this is not what she wants, and she squanders her time, and it would appear her opportunity. It is only after meeting and becoming drawn to a gentleman that she takes becoming a geisha seriously. Taken under another geisha's wing, she regains her opportunities and begins her training once more, this time taking it seriously. During the years that follow, she rises among the geisha to become one of the most renowned, survives war, and eventually comes to the United States as the mistress of the man she loves.
Impression: I've wanted to read this for some time and only recently picked it up. I'm not, however, as impressed as everyone seems to think I should be. The story is interesting, the characters are intriguing, the culture fascinating, and the book is a quick read, but it's not one of the best books I've read. Whole the author does use some neat descriptive phrases, overall the writing felt a bit flat to me. I am a very visual reader, and much of this I couldn’t visualize well. The story was enjoyable, I just don't feel it's as fantastic as everyone else seems to think it is. Would I read it again? Probably. Like I said, it's interesting, but the story is very straightforward and I doubt there are nuances that I missed the first time around, and I personally love books that you can discover and rediscover with every reading. Memoirs is not one of those books.
