4/5 - Memoirs of a Geisha is not really a memoir. The translator's note and title both make it seem like it is but when I Googled the book halfway through reading I learned that it's historical fiction, loosely based on the life of a geisha that Golden interviewed. 
 Memoirs of a Geisha follows a young girl named Chiyo, later known as Sayuri, who comes from humble beginnings to become a prominent geisha in Japan's Gion district in the World War II era. Sayuri stands out in Gion because she has really rare, light eyes. She struggles to get her geisha training off the ground for various reasons: she's not emotionally committed, she misses her family, and one of the girls she lives with, Hatsumomo, is downright awful. I loved the language, it's flowery, whimsical, and descriptive but doesn't slow down the flow of the story. My favorite character was Sayuri's mentor, Mameha, who is obviously the savior/angel of the story but she's charming so I didn't mind her lack of flaws. To me, the problem with the book stems from how it's not a real memoir. How can a story about the life of a Japanese geisha...written by a white man, even one who has studied the culture...be pulled off without at least a little bias? And how believable is it that this same man refers to American soldiers as "kind," from the point of view of a Japanese woman whose life was changed by World War II? Golden researched well and the story is captivating, but that part seemed stretched; I think it would have been cool to read an actual memoir or autobiography of a woman from that time period. Historically, though, geisha kept quiet about their lives so I'm not sure a true memoir exists. 
 When I'm really into a book, it stays in the back of my mind all day until I finish it. "Memoirs of a Geisha" was definitely one of those books, which is why it gets a 4/5 rating. It kept me company for a few days after reading as well - fading from my mind like a flower fades in winter. (Oh yeah, the book is full of nature similes, too.)