Sample

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Memoirs of a Geisha

By: Arthur Golden
Narrated by: Bernadette Dunne
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $20.23

Buy for $20.23

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Editorial reviews

After the death of her mother, a young girl from a rural fishing village is sold to a Geisha House in the Gion District of Kyoto. Her fate continually twists, along with Japan's, before, during and after World War II.

This listen captures with great detail the lush glamour of a geisha's world, as well as the brutal realities of indentured servitude. The experience is superior to that of the movie, because each moment is mined for maximum insight. Protocols and relationships, even food and finances, are also meticulously described. The result is total immersion in this fascinating culture.

The narration may seem reserved, but that is appropriate given the book's setting. The sexual content is also very discreet and appropriate. Watching the movie is only getting your feet wet; get the full experience through this listen, a bewitching strong step into not just another time, but another world.

Publisher's summary

Nitta Sayuri tells us in a voice at once haunting and startlingly immediate of her life as a geisha. Her story begins in a poor fishing village in 1929, when, as a nine-year-old girl with unusual blue-gray eyes, she is taken from her home and sold into slavery to a renowned geisha house. We witness her transformation as we enter a world where appearances are paramount; where a girl's virginity is auctioned to the highest bidder; where women are trained to beguile the most powerful men; and where love is scorned as illusion.

It is a unique and triumphant work of fiction - at once romantic, erotic, suspenseful - and completely unforgettable.

©1997 Arthur Golden; Copyright ©1998 by Random House, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Astonishing...Breathtaking...You are seduced completely." (Washington Post Book World)
"...a bravura performance, a first novel that provides a vivid view into a largely lost and secret world." (The Los Angeles Times Sunday Book Review)

Featured Article: The Best Historical Fiction Audiobooks


Often based on real people, events, and scenarios, historical fiction gives us the opportunity to learn about worlds and times we will never experience while introducing fascinating characters and stories set in their midst. Sometimes, the genre can even give us a peek into hidden storylines that routinely go unmentioned in traditional history books, showing us that those of ages past are perhaps not so different from ourselves.

What listeners say about Memoirs of a Geisha

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    6,947
  • 4 Stars
    1,874
  • 3 Stars
    483
  • 2 Stars
    111
  • 1 Stars
    77
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    4,426
  • 4 Stars
    1,127
  • 3 Stars
    462
  • 2 Stars
    91
  • 1 Stars
    87
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    4,918
  • 4 Stars
    960
  • 3 Stars
    261
  • 2 Stars
    45
  • 1 Stars
    35

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Lovely

I have read the actual book twice and watched the movie quite a few times. Each time I enjoy it as my first. Great memoir!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

I loved the entire book!

This book is very long. But at no point was it dragging. Great story! It's crazy that someone lived a life so eventful.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent Experience

I felt like I was there in Japan, seeing the beautiful, full life of a geisha. This is a beautiful story, narrated perfectly. I will listen to it again.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Fascinating and moving

The memoir is moving, poetic, and gives you a gaze into a "secret" world. This was a beautifully written account that left me wanting to hear more wish every chapter.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Wonderful !

This book is so vivid, I throughly enjoyed every chapter . I was sad when it was over.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent reader and good story

Very interesting story - I understand that it’s a Western man’s view of what it would be like to be a Kyoto Geisha, but is one of the few novels about the subject.

The narrator is fantastic!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Love the book!

This was by far the best audible book I've listened to soo far!! I am a big fan of the book and movie, listening to it was a really beautiful!!!! I don't think I'll forget the narrator's voice!

Get it and enjoy!!!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Compelling

A accurate description of the Japan of 1940's and compelling story to boot.
The narrator give a nive "oriental" feeling
Already listened a couple times

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Wonderful book!

I loved every bit of this book. I believe listening to it on audio enhanced the story. I went into the story thinking it was true, and came out wanting it to be true. It was well narrated and a truly great, great story. It had everything I look for in a book. It was very well rounded and lacked nothing. I recommend it to everyone.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

A wonderful Listen

I was enchanted with this book, which had a very spiritually uplifting effect on me. I found the story of a young girl sold into slavery who wins through in the end despite the repression of women, very inspiring. I recommend this to all kindred spirits, both male and female. I have recently discovered Zen and wonder if the two are linked.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!