"To the eyes of the American soldiers who drove past, I looked no different from the women around me; and as I thought of it, who could say I was any different? If you no longer have leaves, or bark, or roots, can you go on calling yourself a tree? I am a peasant, I said to myself, and not a geisha at all any longer. It was a frightening feeling to look at my hands and see their roughness. To draw my mind away from my fears, I turned my attention again to the truckloads of soldiers driving past. Weren't these the very American soldiers we'd been taught to hate, who had bombed our cities with such horrifying weapons? Now they rode through our neighborhood, throwing pieces of candy to the children."

War Different

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About Arthur Golden

American novelist best known for Memoirs of a Geisha, an internationally bestselling historical novel. He studied art history and Japanese culture and has written fiction and nonfiction. His work is noted for detailed cultural setting and narrative craft.

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