Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden

Sold into a life of beauty and betrayal, a young girl must transform herself into Kyoto’s most celebrated geisha to win the heart of the only man she has ever loved.

Sold away from her small fishing village as a child, Chiyo is forced into the rigid, beautiful world of a Kyoto okiya. Her striking blue-gray eyes mark her for success, but they also ignite the wrath of the house’s reigning geisha, Hatsumomo. Reborn as Sayuri, she masters the ancient arts of dance, music, and conversation to navigate a society built on secrets and competition—all driven by a childhood encounter with "the Chairman," the only man she has ever truly loved. As World War II threatens to destroy the world she’s fought so hard to enter, Sayuri must find a way to survive the transition from tradition to modernity. Memoirs of a Geisha is a lush, sweeping epic of survival and the pursuit of a forbidden dream.