The Hare With Amber Eyes
The Sunday Times bestselling biography, winner of the Costa Book of the Year award
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4.1 • 62 Ratings
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- $18.99
Publisher Description
**WINNER OF THE COSTA BIOGRAPHY AWARD**
Edmund de Waal uncovers the history of a family through a turbulent century through 264 objects.
264 wood and ivory carvings, none of them bigger than a matchbox: Edmund de Waal was entranced when he first encountered the collection in his great uncle Iggie's Tokyo apartment. When he later inherited the 'netsuke', they unlocked a story far larger and more dramatic than he could ever have imagined.
From a burgeoning empire in Odessa to fin de siecle Paris, from occupied Vienna to Tokyo, Edmund de Waal traces the netsuke's journey through generations of his remarkable family against the backdrop of a tumultuous century.
'You have in your hands a masterpiece' Sunday Times
'The most brilliant book I've read for years... A rich tale of the pleasure and pains of what it is to be human' Daily Telegraph
**ONE OF THE GUARDIAN'S 100 BEST BOOKS OF THE 21st CENTURY*
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this family history, de Waal, a potter and curator of ceramics at the Victoria Albert Museum, describes the experiences of his family, the Ephrussis, during the turmoil of the 20th century. Grain merchants in Odessa, various family members migrated to Vienna and Paris, becoming successful bankers. Secular Jews, they sought assimilation in a period of virulent anti-Semitism. In Paris, Charles Ephrussi purchased a large collection of Japanese netsuke, tiny hand-carved figures including a hare with amber eyes. The collection passed to Viktor Ephrussi in Vienna and became the family's greatest legacy. Loyal citizens of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Vienna Ephrussis were devastated by the outcome of WWI and were later driven from their home by the imposition of Nazi rule over Austria. After WWII, they discovered that their maid, Anna, had preserved the netsuke collection, which Ignace Ephrussi inherited, and he settled in postwar Japan. Today, the netsuke reside with de Waal (descended from the family's Vienna branch) and serve as the embodiment of his family history. A somewhat rambling narrative with special appeal to art historians, this account is nonetheless rich in drama and valuable anecdote. 20 b&w illus.
Customer Reviews
Really liked it...eventually
The start of this book was hard going - I think the author is a bit full of his self importance and I had to look up one word per page in the dictionary!! Once I got past this and ignored his obvious attempt at intelligence I really liked it. The history is fascinating; but if history/geaneology is not your thing then you'll hate it!
The Hare with Amber Eyes
I wouldn't call this a gripping book by any means. It was interesting but boring in places and the family relationships seemed to be missing information so that I was constantly going back to check on who was who. Certainly for anyone interested in writing a family history, this would be a good book with which to start to see how it can be done.