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Title: Very touching, very sensual story
Review: This book was very well written, never boring. I read it quickly, and enjoyed it thoroughly. It seems to have been very well researched. The details lend a realism to the story that makes it difficult to believe it's not an autobiography. The characters are so real. The author does an excellent job of contrasting what seems on the surface to be a privileged life with the darker, sadder side of geisha life. It is as much the reality of Geisha that they are pampered, privileged, and respected, as it is that they are bought and sold, and lack ultimate control over their own lives. But throughout the story we learn, as Sayuri is learning, that there are means for gaining control over one's life and destiny. Such means require wit and cunning. Learning such means is the art of Geisha as much as tea ceremony, or any other craft.
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