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Memoirs of a Geisha

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Memoirs of a Geisha

By: Arthur Golden
Narrated by: Noriko Aida
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About this listen

An extraordinarily vivid and beautifully written first novel exploring the hidden world of the geisha.

Memoirs of a Geisha is a rare and utterly engaging experience. The extraordinary tale of Sayuri, a young girl who grows up to become an acclaimed geisha, it spans a quarter of a century, from 1929 to the post-war years of Japan's dramatic history, and opens a window onto a half-hidden world of eroticism and enchantment, exploitation and degradation.

©1997 Arthur Golden (P)1998 HarperCollins Publishers Ltd. Biographical Fiction Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Biography Inspiring War

Critic Reviews

"Golden tells a mesmerizing story." ( The Los Angeles Times Sunday Book Review)
"Astonishing...breathtaking....You are seduced completely." ( Washington Post Book World)
"Many...details serve to enrich Memoirs of a Geisha, giving Sayuri's story a sharper focus and providing the distinctive qualities the heroine herself lacks." ( The New York Times Book Review)
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I did not realise that this was going to be such a heavily abridged version of the book. Huge sections of the storyline were left out and the plot ending is entirely different to both the original book and the movie. Very disappointing even though it was beautifully read.

Heavily abridged version

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Beautiful Story that kept me intrigued throughout. Definitely worth the read and i will be listening to Memoirs of a Geisha again in the near future.
I have just picked up the hard copy to read and hope that the full versions will be available on Audible soon, Noriko read the story wonderfully and i dont think anyone could have read it better.

Worth the read

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Disappointed that there was no unabridged version available. I feel this just doesn’t quite live up to expectations because of this. In saying this the narrator is lovely to listen to.

A shame it is abridged!

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Loved it, the narrator fit the pace of the story and told it beautifully.
This has become one of my absolute favourite ways to enjoy this wonderful story.
This auditions was calming and peaceful, a great way to unwind from an anxious or stressful day.

But to be honest, the ending differed from the novel and movie in a way that was calming when listened to before bed or at the end of a day. I think this talking was perfect, the ending was nicely done.

I would definitely recommend this audio book to friends; just as I have recommended the novel, film and soundtrack to the film.

A beautiful story, wonderfully read.

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I dislike only that it is abridged, it causes the story to feel hollow and not very deep. It misses a lot of the interesting cultural beats of the story and feels far too fast paced.

The narrator was very compelling

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incredibly personal and told in first person recount. sad and beautiful like all the best love storys. however there isnt much detail that isnt told in the film. maybe better avoiding if youre after a deeper experience than the film

beautiful and intimate story

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This is such an incredible book. The language and use of metaphor is stunning. So disappointed to see it chopped down by almost 18 hours. Please can we have the unabridged version in English so we can enjoy in full. Here’s hoping!

Please can we have the full version in English

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If you have read the book, this definitely is for you. a ridiculous amount of the story has been cut for this tiny abridged version. Rather disappointing to be honest.

So much has been cut!

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I didn’t realise this was an abridged version, warning before buying! Lots missing from the original book.

Warning - abridged version

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i have read the hardcopy version before, and picked up this as something familiar to listen to and a good story. i have no idea who the eff edited the script on this but I want to punch them in the face. do not buy

this is not the real book!

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