The Orpheus Clock
The Search for My Family's Art Treasures Stolen by the Nazis
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4.6 • 14 Ratings
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
“An extraordinary piece of history...a fresh and lively read” (The Christian Science Monitor)—the passionate, gripping, true story of one man’s single-minded quest to reclaim his family’s art collection, stolen by the Nazis in World War II.
Simon Goodman’s grandparents came from German-Jewish banking dynasties and perished in concentration camps. And that’s almost all he knew about them—his father rarely spoke of their family history or heritage. But when his father passed away, and Simon received his old papers, a story began to emerge.
The Gutmanns, as they were known then, rose from a small Bohemian hamlet to become one of Germany’s most powerful banking families. They also amassed a magnificent, world-class art collection that included works by Degas, Renoir, Botticelli, Guardi, and many, many more. But the Nazi regime snatched from them everything they had worked to build: their remarkable art, their immense wealth, their prominent social standing, and their very lives. Only after his father’s death did Simon begin to piece together the clues about the Gutmanns’ stolen legacy and the Nazi looting machine. With painstaking detective work across two continents, Simon has been able to prove that many works belonged to his family and successfully secure their return.
“Fascinating...splendid and tragic” (The Wall Street Journal), “Goodman’s story is alternately wrenching and inspiring...An emotional tale of unspeakable horrors, family devotion, and art as a symbol of hope” (Kirkus Reviews). It is not only the account of a twenty-year detective hunt for family treasure, but an unforgettable tale of redemption and restoration.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
With a novelist's narrative gifts, Goodman movingly portrays his family's victimization by the Nazis and the post-war repercussions of those events. Following the death of his father in 1994, Goodman began going through his papers and learned that his grandparents' valuable art collection had been stolen by the Germans. His family's efforts to retrieve the items hit unexpected barriers, and even readers with some familiarity with such struggles are likely to be shocked at the callous and hostile attitudes of Dutch officials who demanded that Goodman buy pieces back and the reputable auction house Sotheby's. The art world proved itself, at least at the outset, more concerned with carrying on "business as usual" than justice. The sections that present the Goodman family's lives before and during WWII are powerful and replete with tragic ironies: a bank they founded played a major part in Germany's becoming a "military and industrial world power," and Auschwitz, where Goodman's grandmother Louise was murdered, was built on land that had once been owned by a company whose board included her uncle. In combining a modern-day detective story with nuanced context for its importance, Goodman produces much more than another Holocaust book.
Customer Reviews
Startling
A startlingly relevant book for today and a story that stirs the soul. Thank you Mr. Goodman, for sharing with the world.