The Hare with Amber Eyes
A Hidden Inheritance
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4.0 • 35 Ratings
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- $17.99
Publisher Description
A New York Times Bestseller
An Economist Book of the Year
Costa Book Award Winner for Biography
Galaxy National Book Award Winner (New Writer of the Year Award)
Edmund de Waal is a world-famous ceramicist. Having spent thirty years making beautiful pots—which are then sold, collected, and handed on—he has a particular sense of the secret lives of objects. When he inherited a collection of 264 tiny Japanese wood and ivory carvings, called netsuke, he wanted to know who had touched and held them, and how the collection had managed to survive.
And so begins The Hare with Amber Eyes, this extraordinarily moving memoir and detective story as de Waal discovers both the origins of the netsuke and of his family, the Ephrussis, over five generations. A nineteenth-century banking dynasty in Paris and Vienna, the Ephrussis were as rich and respected as the Rothchilds. Yet by the end of the World War II, when the netsuke were hidden from the Nazis in Vienna, this collection of very small carvings was all that remained of their vast empire.
"To be handed a story as durable and exquisitely crafted as this is a rare pleasure. . . . This book is impossible to put down. You have in your hands a masterpiece." —The Sunday Times (London)
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
One man studies his family’s past and uncovers some of modern history’s best and worst moments in this dazzling account. Edmund de Waal, a world-class ceramic artist, had a love of Japanese art which he shared with his great-uncle, who owned a remarkable collection of tiny carved objects created by Japanese artisans known as netsuke. While researching a book, de Waal learns the full, remarkable tale of Charles Ephrussi, a lover of life and art who knew Marcel Proust and Claude Monet. His netsuke collection was given to family in Austria in the early 20th century, meaning his art and his family were at the mercy of the Third Reich during World War II. De Waal is a masterful storyteller, capturing joy and tragedy with equal skill, and he tells this epic tale with style and vivid detail. Anyone with a love of art or history will be engrossed by this unexpected true story.
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
The Hare with Amber Eyes
The background social/religious history is fascinating but is bogged down by the writer's ramblings of the art pieces. I read this book for my book club I would not have finished it otherwise. I wouldn't recommend it unless you have a lot of time on your hands.
Wait for enhanced
There is a more recent version of this book available from the UK store. Wait and read something else until someone makes the Vintage Digital enhanced version available in North America. The reviews of the enhanced edition are glowing.