By Lauren Holstner

Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden is an amazing novel and an even greater story.  This novel is set in Japan before and during WWII.

Memoirs of a Geisha is about a small girl named Sakamoto Chiyo. Americans would say her name as Chiyo Sakamoto.  This young girl is only nine, her mother is dying, and so is her father.  Then she meets Mr. Tanaka, who she thinks will adopt her and her older sister.
Through many misunderstandings, and a long painful train ride, she ends up in the Nitta Okiya in Gion.  She has been separated from her sister, and with no where else to go she starts her life as a geisha in training. She goes to live at the okiya, which is a place geisha live and train when they want or are forced to become geisha.

This novel is the most amazing book I have read in a long time; iit is startling and extraordinary.  From the details to the story line,  I cannot tell if Sayuri (Chiyo’s geisha name) really did exist even though I know she did not, making it even more extraordinary.
I fell in love with this book after reading it; I still can’t even stop thinking about it.  I think anyone who likes a good story should read this.    This real life novel will draw readers in to a land barely any of us could imagine: the life of a geisha.