Quotes from book
Memoirs of a Geisha

Memoirs of a Geisha
Arthur Golden

Memoirs of a Geisha is a historical fiction novel by American author Arthur Golden, published in 1997. The novel, told in first person perspective, tells the story of a fictional geisha working in Kyoto, Japan, before, during and after World War II and ends with her being relocated to New York City.

“Flowers that grow where old ones have withered serve to remind us that death will one day come to us all.”

Arthur Golden book Memoirs of a Geisha

Source: Memoirs of a Geisha

“Hopes are like hair ornaments. Girls want to wear too many of them. When they become old women they look silly wearing even one.”

Arthur Golden book Memoirs of a Geisha

Source: Memoirs of a Geisha

“If you keep your destiny in mind, every moment in life becomes an opportunity for moving closer to it.”

Arthur Golden book Memoirs of a Geisha

Source: Memoirs of a Geisha

“Of course, a sign doesn't mean anything unless you know how to interpret it.”

Arthur Golden book Memoirs of a Geisha

Source: Memoirs of a Geisha

“A wounded tiger is a dangerous beast.”

Arthur Golden book Memoirs of a Geisha

Source: Memoirs of a Geisha

“We can never flee the misery that is within us.”

Arthur Golden book Memoirs of a Geisha

Source: Memoirs of a Geisha

“Now I know that our world is no more permanent than a wave rising on the ocean. Whatever our struggles and triumphs, however we may suffer them, all too soon they bleed into a wash, just like watery ink on paper.”

Arthur Golden book Memoirs of a Geisha

Source: Memoirs of a Geisha

“I was thanking him for… well, for something I'm not sure I can explain even now. For showing me that something besides cruelty could be found in the world, I suppose.”

Arthur Golden book Memoirs of a Geisha

Source: Memoirs of a Geisha

“I had to wonder if men were so blinded by beauty that they would feel privileged to live their lives with an actual demon, so long as it was a beautiful demon.”

Arthur Golden book Memoirs of a Geisha

Source: Memoirs of a Geisha

“Nothing like work for getting over a disappointment.”

Arthur Golden book Memoirs of a Geisha

Source: Memoirs of a Geisha

“I dont think any of us can speak frankly about pain until we are no longer enduring it.”

Arthur Golden book Memoirs of a Geisha

Source: Memoirs of a Geisha

“When a man takes a mistress, he doesn't turn around and divorce his wife.”

Arthur Golden book Memoirs of a Geisha

Source: Memoirs of a Geisha

“Neither you nor I can know your destiny. You may never know it! Destiny isn't always like a party at the end of the evening. Sometimes it's nothing more than struggling through life from day to day.”

Arthur Golden book Memoirs of a Geisha

Source: Memoirs of a Geisha

“Sometimes we get through adversity only by imagining what the world might be like if our dreams should ever come true.”

Arthur Golden book Memoirs of a Geisha

Source: Memoirs of a Geisha

“I didn't say to act dead. I said act helpless.”

Arthur Golden book Memoirs of a Geisha

Source: Memoirs of a Geisha

“Perhaps it seems odd that a casual meeting on the street could have brought about such change. But sometimes life is like that isn't it”

Arthur Golden book Memoirs of a Geisha

Source: Memoirs of a Geisha

“Every man has his destiny. But who needs to go to a fortune-teller to find it? Do I go to a chef to find out if I'm hungry?”

Arthur Golden book Memoirs of a Geisha

Source: Memoirs of a Geisha

“I've lived my life again just telling it to you.”

Arthur Golden book Memoirs of a Geisha

Source: Memoirs of a Geisha