This book is a fictional story about a young girl, sold and forced to work as a Geisha in Japan. The book takes places before and after World War 2 and is in first person. The story is narrated from the point of view of Nitta Sayuri, and she recalls her childhood and expirences as a Geisha as she's being interviewed by Jakob Haarhuis, a professor at NYU.
The story is very intriguing, although fiction, it's based on real life interviews with geisha from Japan. I would not recommend this book for young readers because of the sexual and prostitute nature of it, but I do recommend it to my adult friends that want to expand their reading library.
The book is not very explicit, but does go into some details about how young girls go about becoming geisha, being forced to work as maids and train in school, dance, and playing an instrument to entertain grown men.
I would not call this book a favorite on my list so far, but it was good enough to read and keep me interested throughout the length of the book. I have heard there was a movie made, so I might watch that at some point, just to compare/contrast to the book.
Reading this book made me very thankful that I grew up in Southern Georgia and not in Japan where when your parents are no longer caring for you, that men can come and sell you from your homes, promising you a better life, and sending you out into the world of Geisha unprepared for what your future holds. I'm thankful that I have parents who loved me, cared for me and taught me not to talk to strangers! (:
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