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The Hare With Amber Eyes: A Hidden Inheritance: The #1 Sunday Times Bestseller Paperback – 1 March 2011

by Edmund de Waal (Author)
4.2 out of 5 stars 3,678 ratings
#1 Best Seller in Antique & Collectible Ceramics
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The history of a family through 264 objects - set against a turbulent century - from an acclaimed writer and potter

**THE NUMBER ONE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER**

**WINNER OF THE 2010 COSTA BIOGRAPHY AWARD**

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

'A complex and beautiful book' Diana Athill

**ONE OF THE GUARDIAN'S100 BEST BOOKS OF THE 21st CENTURY**.
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  1. Print length
    368 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    VINTAGE ARROW - MASS MARKET
  4. Publication date
    1 March 2011
  5. Dimensions
    13 x 2.8 x 19.7 cm
  6. ISBN-10
    0099539551
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0099539551
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  1. Just because you have it does not mean you have to pass it on. Losing things can sometimes gain you a space in which to live.
    Highlighted by 417 Kindle readers
  2. They also need these languages as they are denominators of class. With languages, you can move from one social situation to another. With languages, you are at home anywhere.
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[A] wonderful book -- Dame Felicity Lott ― Waitrose Weekend

In a decade where memoir became the dominant genre, this immensely evocative family history told via the journey through the generations of some Japanese miniature figures stood out -- Andrew Holgate ― Sunday Times, *Books of the Decade*

An evocative narrative of art, inheritance and loss ― Homes & Antiques

From a hard and vast archival mass...Mr de Waal has fashioned, stroke by minuscule stroke, a book as fresh with detail as if it had been written from life, and as full of beauty and whimsy as a netsuke from the hands of a master carver. ― The Economist

This remarkable book... a meditation on touch, exile, space and the responsibility of inheritance... like the netsuke themselves, this book is impossible to put down. you have in your hands a masterpiece. -- Frances Wilson ― The Sunday Times

Few writers have ever brought more perception, wonder and dignity to a family story as has Edmund de Waal in a narrative that beguiles from the opening sentence -- Eileen Battersby ― Irish Times

Part treasure hunt, part family saga, Edmund de Waal's richly original memoir spans nearly two centuries and covers half the world ― Evening Standard

A book that combines the charm of a personal memoir with the resonance of world history. -- Rosemary Hill ― The Scotsman

[de Waal) weaves together with great delicacy various strands of the lives of a glamorous dynasty -- Gerald Jacobs ― The Telegraph

The miracle of this book is that, by the end, we do learn the itinerant life of this collection. How did the netsuke escape the Gestapo? How did they return to the family and move to Tokyo? The answers, like much in this book, are incredible -- Frances Spalding ― The Independent

Book Description

The history of a family through 264 objects - set against a turbulent century - from an acclaimed writer and potter

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ VINTAGE ARROW - MASS MARKET
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ 1 March 2011
  • Edition ‏ : ‎ 1st
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 368 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0099539551
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0099539551
  • Item weight ‏ : ‎ 322 g
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 13 x 2.8 x 19.7 cm
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.2 out of 5 stars 3,678 ratings

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Edmund De Waal

Edmund De Waal

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Edmund de Waal wurde 1964 in Nottingham / England geboren und studierte in Cambridge. Von 2004 bis 2011 war er Professor für Keramik an der University of Westminster und stellte u.a. im Victoria and Albert Museum und in der Tate Britain aus. Er lebt in London.

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4.2 out of 5 stars
3,678 global ratings

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Customers find the book fascinating, with one review noting how it reflects on events across recent history. The book receives positive feedback for its readability, with one customer describing it as written with a soft touch.

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ReadabilityInterest
10 customers mention ‘Readability’7 positive3 negative

Customers find the book readable, with one noting it is written with a soft touch.

"Good narration, interesting topic. A must read." Read more

"Excellent book. I will give it as a present" Read more

"...It has been a successful book so maybe i am missing some thing. The story centres on a Jewish European family who lived in the 19th century...." Read more

"I felt it was very different to other books. It is not an easy read in bed on Kindle book, will buy the hard copy so I can research and check..." Read more

9 customers mention ‘Interest’9 positive0 negative

Customers find the book's meandering family history fascinating, with one customer noting how it reflects on events across recent history.

"...But great , most interesting family...." Read more

"Good narration, interesting topic. A must read." Read more

"I have not finished this yet and am not sure if I will. It should be fascinating but I can't get excited by the family history being told...." Read more

"This compelling family story traces and reflects on events across recent history through the curious eyes of its author in a totally engaging way...." Read more

Top reviews from Australia

  • marianne
    5.0 out of 5 stars loved it, different
    Reviewed in Australia on 4 November 2020
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    I felt it was very different to other books.
    It is not an easy read in bed on Kindle book, will buy the hard copy so I can research and check words as I go.
    But great , most interesting family.
    I always want to know what happened afterwards, because such an injustice and theft of life, lifestyle and also unbelievable wealth. I can only hope the family will get justice from Austria and Germany. When I think back to the book and movie of the family who owned the Gustav Klimt, they got some justice, never enough in terms of emotional loss, but still it was recognised and some recompense.
    Thank you for a great book.
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  • Brian Erskine
    4.0 out of 5 stars so interesting.
    Reviewed in Australia on 4 December 2014
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    Hard to get into at first but perseverance paid off! Never heard of Netsuke before. Being Jewish myself it was interesting to intertwine the Holocaust with the Netsuke.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Vicki
    5.0 out of 5 stars Well worth reading
    Reviewed in Australia on 27 August 2019
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    Good narration, interesting topic. A must read.
    Helpful
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  • Cliente AmazonAnita
    5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book and excellent delivery
    Reviewed in Australia on 13 December 2019
    Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase
    Excellent book. I will give it as a present
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  • Dodie
    3.0 out of 5 stars Elegant and written with a soft touch
    Reviewed in Australia on 22 May 2014
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    I have not finished this yet and am not sure if I will. It should be fascinating but I can't get excited by the family history being told. It has been a successful book so maybe i am missing some thing. The story centres on a Jewish European family who lived in the 19th century. They spread across the continent and into Asia. I usually enjoy such stories.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Richard Oborn
    4.0 out of 5 stars A brilliant amble through context
    Reviewed in Australia on 21 August 2016
    Format: Kindle
    So, Let me declare my context. I am a clinical psychologist, so I deal daily with histories, context, connections, associations, & revelations. So this book is my sea to swim in. The way the author slowly accumulated knowledge from others, connected to his own understandings & given story from his own life was beyond masterly, His preparedness to examine his own thoughts & emotions & to allow those to direct his actions was a personal honesty & act of courage. This story is not an easy progression of one cleverness to another. It has its' frustrations & failures to find, & it's' fair share of sadness & loss that had to be encountered. The use of the objects of the netsuke as the representation of connection & emotion was the sure & consistent theme, the touchstone that kept the story true to its' intention. Stopped it becoming yet another European story of war & loss. They also allowed the bridging into different eras. More prosaically, I really enjoyed the way the author projected life & personalify into the characters he described without resorting to fivtionalizing their interactions. Finally, my personal pleasure of reading writers who have a mastery of vocabulary & possess a richness that extends mine, was truly satisfied.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Irena White
    5.0 out of 5 stars A masterpiece of research and story telling and the telling of both
    Reviewed in Australia on 31 January 2022
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    This compelling family story traces and reflects on events across recent history through the curious eyes of its author in a totally engaging way. Throughout its telling, the objects of the netsuke ornaments remain a constant reminder of the value of ordinary moments in extraordinary and uncertain times.
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  • Suzy D
    5.0 out of 5 stars A journey
    Reviewed in Australia on 8 September 2021
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    Such an interesting meander through a family history. I simply can't imagine being part of a family that went through this.
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  • Vijaya K. Dar
    5.0 out of 5 stars A superb read.
    Reviewed in India on 6 April 2016
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    This unusual historical narrative about a collection of Japanese netsukes is one of the finest books I have read in recent years. It is classical literature, even though it could be easily classified as biography, and personal history. Here is indeed a magnificent moulder of clay who can mould the history of the persecution of an entire race into a narrative so personal and yet so universal. It brought to me memories of the persecution of the Pandits in the Kashmir valley, although, like him, I never personally faced it. Many of the heroes of the world of art turn out to have only feet of clay and they can easily topple over from the pedestals on which they have been placed by admiring fans. An unabashed recommendation for readers who love literature.
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  • Mrs. K. A. Wheatley
    5.0 out of 5 stars extraordinary
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 26 February 2011
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    I read a great deal about this book before I actually got it. The more I read, the more intrigued I was, but also the more nervous of disappointment. Could it really be as good as everyone said it was?

    Well, the answer to that is, yes, absolutely it can.

    This is one of those books that will stay with you long after you have read it. It truly is an extraordinary thing. I say thing, because I don't think it can really be classified. It is a meditation on art, on history, politics, the family, the discovery of your ancestors, of art history. At times it is like prayer or poetry. It is beautiful, eclectic, intriguing and sad.

    de Waal is a celebrated ceramicist. He inherits a collection of 264 netsukes from his great uncle, and becomes so intrigued by them, the feel and shape of them, that he decides to trace his family history through the story of the netsukes.

    It sounds ridiculously arty and pretentious and flimsy, but it is not. de Waal writes like a dream and his focus, as a potter is as much about how things feel and look and are shaped, as for the facts. His approach to his writing and discoveries adds such texture and depth to his work that you really can feel like you inhabit the pages with him.

    A spectacularly lovely book.
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  • voracious reader
    5.0 out of 5 stars Like Drinking A Fine Riesling Wine
    Reviewed in the United States on 24 March 2013
    Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase
    This saga or memoir tracing a collection of Japanese netsukes is really the story of the wealthy Jewish Ephrussi family from its humble roots in Russia to Odessa, Paris, Vienna and finally flung to all corners of the earth. The author Edmund de Waal is the recipient of the netsukes through a bequest of his great uncle living in Tokyo. In 1870 de Waal's great grandfather's first cousin Charles Ephrussi became an ardent art collector. All of the Ephrussis became art collectors, but Charles was the most influential and the one who purchased the netsukes. The Ephrussi family was wealthy on the order of the Rothchilds operating one of the biggest and most successful banks in Europe, the Paris branch of the Ephrussi bank. They were given titles and were now part of the nobility. Because they were Jewish they could join certain clubs but could not become officers of those clubs. Still they believed they were largely accepted and were full citizens of their adopted countries whether that was France or Austria. Charles was a gay man living as if he were straight. Via his close friendship with a married woman he allowed the appearance of an affair with her. Rumors of their affair were prevalent. However, he had close friendships with Proust and other gay men living as gay. It was obvious that he too was gay. Proust even used Charles as the inspiration for his character, Swann. Charles began collecting works of art by Renoir, Manet and many other great artists of the impressionistic school. Charles also helped the impressionist artists financially loaning them money and arranging commissions for them. Renoir's girl in blue was probably the result of one of these commissions. Early in his collecting experience Charles purchases an entire collection of Netsukes and places them in one vitrine. He did not acquire them piecemeal searching out different subjects to complete the collection of 264 miniature works of art. There was a fashion of collecting Japanese artworks in Europe and Paris at the time. Charles participated early in that period by purchasing the netsukes from a well known and respected Paris art dealer. Charles circle of friends included great authors, thinkers and artists. The Ephrussis believed that their wealth, financial power,patronage of the arts, charitable works, and noble titles overshadowed their Jewishness, but it did not. Throughout their life in Paris they were exposed to anti-Semitism in words and deeds. They brushed it off as unimportant. Finally, Charles sends the entire netsuke collection with the vitrine to his young newly married cousins Emmy and Victor Ephrussi of Vienna as a wedding gift.
    Along with the netsukes the story moves to Vienna. The Vienna branch of the family ran the equally rich and powerful Vienna branch of the Ephrussi bank. They were equally wealthy living in palatial homes in the best neighborhoods on the ring. They were friends with the nobility and Ephrussi bore the title of Baron. They participated handsomely in all the arts and became ardent supporters of the symphony and Opera. They purchased tapestries and paintings, donated money for hospitals, their synagogue and other charities. Here like in Paris the Ephrussis deemed their sophisticated art interests and charitable works washed them of their Jewishness. It did not. Emmy held weekly salons where she entertained famous artists, thinkers, writers and musicians. Many famous musicians, doctors and lawyers were Jewish. Yet the Ephrussis noticed that their non-Jewish guests were always bachelors. None of the Christian women attended. Once the bachelors married they too stopped attending. Victor was a member of many clubs and associations, but in some he could not hold office. He served with distinction as an officer in WWI. The Versailles treaty left Austria and the other axis powers bankrupt and Vienna suffered from the poverty. Victor believed that Austria would win the war and all his banking and investment decisions were made with that in mind. Victor lost about 90% of his fortune because he refused to place his funds in Switzerland in Swiss francs during the war. He refused to buy dollars or pounds. He was a loyal patriotic Austrian citizen and wanted to demonstrate his patriotism to his country. After WWI the Ephrussi family of Austria had to reduce its expenses. They had to cut out several routine expensive vacation trips. Their country home in Czechoslovakia was not kept up to the same degree. The swimming pond was allowed to return to its natural state of being surrounded by encroaching reeds. It was no longer swimmable. By 1933 public anti-Antisemitism began to rear its ugly head. There were vocal antisemetic diatribes. In 1933 there were 145,000 Jews in Austria. Of those 59% of all the physicians, 65% of the lawyers, and 50% of the journalists in Austria were Jewish. The economy became terrible with beggars and other poor refugees flooding Vienna looking for work. It was the depression and there was no work. People like the Ephrussis even though they lost most of their fortune were resented and doubly so because they were Jewish. They still lived in their palace on the ringstrasse. Maybe they had fewer servants and vacations, but to the great population of the impoverished and downtrodden who didn't have enough to eat, they were unbelievably wealthy. Like every time in history when bad luck, war or disease befell a population, they blamed the Jews for their predicament. It did not matter that many Jews lost their money and property and were also impoverished by WWI and the depression. They were still blamed for the poverty and hopelessness. In the middle ages when the bubonic plague swept through Europe, the Jews were blamed. Even though Jews died in equal numbers from the disease carried by rats and spread by fleas, the Jews were blamed for it. In some locales they were murdered for it. Irrationality of this belief did nothing to stop the hatred and violence. Similarly Jews were hated and blamed for the economic disaster brought on by the loss of WWI and the Versailles Treaty. The depression followed and the hatred and resentment became even more extreme. In 1933 the Nazi party came to power in Germany. Now anti-semitism became rampant in Austria. Victor had to step down as head of the bank in favor of his Christian partner who held a minority of the shares. At this point the reader wants to shake him by the scruff of his neck and tell him to get out while he still can. Three of his four children have left Austria. Iggy has gone to the U.S. for a career in fashion design. Elizabeth is studying in France. Gisella is living with her husband in Spain. Only the last of their children, Roland is still living with them. When Emmy and Victor married Emmy was 20 years younger than Victor. The marriage was engineered by two wealthy and powerful Jewish families. For Emmy it was not a love match. History indicates that she entertained a few lovers and it is possible that Roland is a result of one of these affairs. However, though Emmy was not thrilled by this pregnancy so long after her third child was born, Victor treated him with acceptance and love. Since Emmy married Victor she was cared for by a loyal and loving maid named Anna. In 1938 Germany annexed Austria and the Nazi Nuremburg laws befell even the rich and powerful Ephrussis. Victor was forced to sell his bank stock for 10 cents on the dollar to his Christian partner. Roland fled to the U.S. before the annexation. After the annexation Emmy and Victor fled to their summer home in Czechoslovakia. The Nazis loot the art collection, tapestries, rugs, silver and china. However, while they are working so hard to catalogue all the finery, Anna who has been assigned a room in the palace smuggles and hides the netsukes from Emmy's dressing room. She hides them under her mattress for the whole of the war.
    Elizabeth at the age of 27 has married a Christian Dutchman named de Waal. He is from a dutch shipping family but he is not rich. Elizabeth was the first female lawyer to graduate from the University of Vienna. She has also earned a Phd. She has published articles and essays in periodicals of note. She writes poetry. She is the brightest of all of Victor's and Emmy's children. She has her father's face with the big Ephrussi nose and dark eyes overhung with heavy eyelids and bushy brows. She was not a beauty and probably did not have many suitors. Perhaps, too her scholarship was intimidating to young men. Elizabeth and her husband were now safely residing in England. After the Nazi annexation of Austria Victor but not Emmy joined them. Elizabeth began attending de Waal's church and she raised her two sons in the Christian faith. One of them, Edmund de Waal's father, became a protestant minister.
    Now the story moves to Tokyo. Iggy Ephrussi enlisted in the military as did his other stateside brother Roland. Because Iggy was fluent in three languages he served in military intelligence. After the war he was recruited by an international company who offered him a post in Japan. Iggy did not want to be in postwar Europe with all the reminders of Naziism. He did not return to see his home in Vienna. He became an executive in Tokyo where he took a young Japanese man as his lover. They made a home for themselves together. Elizabeth traveled to Vienna after the war to see what was left of her home and to determine if any of their collections or property were salvageable. Almost nothing was left and the palace had been turned into military occupation offices. She met with Anna who told her how she saved the netsuke. She was apologetic that it was all she could hide. However, she wanted to be able to preserve something for the family when they returned. Elizabeth was grateful and she returned to England with the netsukes. Later she sent them to her brother Iggy. Iggy had a vitrine built for them and kept them in his Japanese home. On his death bed he bequeathed them to Edmund de Waal now a successful ceramic artist in London. The author explores the history of his bequest in this novel. His language is beautiful and lyrical. It is natural and unforced. I could not put it down. However, I purchased this in the kindle edition. There are numerous photographs in the book . I believe the reader would be better served by an illustrated version of this book.
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  • lectrice anglophone
    5.0 out of 5 stars Magnifique !
    Reviewed in France on 26 October 2013
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    Je suis d'accord avec les autres commentaires. Ce livre est absolument passionnant, traitant comme dit l'auteur " my family... memory,... myself.. small Japanese things". Il pourrait dire aussi l'Histoire car avec ces petits objets, les netsuke, comme guide nous traversons le 19ème et le 20ème siècle: Paris, Vienne, Tokyo, Odessa. L'auteur, artiste céramiste, descend d'une grande famille de banquiers juifs, les Ephrussi originaires de la Russie des Tsars, dont la fortune et les collections sont spoliées par les Nazis. Ces netsuke faisant partie à l'origine de la collection de Charles Ephrussi, critique d'art, collectionneur, mécène, "dandy" fréquentant les peintres, les écrivains et les salons parisiens de "La Belle Epoque" sont sauvés de justesse des Nazis par une femme de chambre autrichienne.
    On ne peut qu'être ému par cette saga familiale même si aucun membre de sa propre famille n'a jamais entretenu une correspondance avec Rilke,(Elisabeth Ephrussi) ou conservé dans sa bibliothèque de précieux incunables (Victor Ephrussi) même si aucun cousin n'a figuré dans un tableau peint par Renoir ou dans l'oeuvre de Proust (Charles Ephrussi)!
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  • tommssen
    5.0 out of 5 stars Phantastische und berührende Einblicke in das Leben Wiens vor 1938
    Reviewed in Germany on 28 December 2013
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    Ich habe das Buch auf Englisch und den zweiten und dritten Teil auch auf Deutsch gelesen, weil es so gut und berührend zugleich war. Das erste Kapitel über das Leben in Paris war phasenweise schon sehr hart und für mich sehr zäh. Aber an alle, die das Buch in diesem Kapitel aufgeben möchten: ES ZAHLT SICH DEFINITV AUS WEITERZULESEN!

    Ab dem zweiten Teil, der das Leben in Wien ab 1900 aus der Sicht einer reichen jüdischen Familie beschreibt wird es hochinteressant. Anhand einer Familie mit allen ihren Charaktären wird die Zeit und das Leben in Wien vor dem Ersten Weltkrieg, die Nachkriegszeit mit den Flüchtlingsströmen und den anderen Folgen des Zusammenbruchs der Monarchie geschildert. Bei den Berichten der Zwischenkriegszeit und vor allem bei den hochdramatischen und erschütternden Vorgängen um den Anschluss Österreichs und das Schicksal der Familie danach, konnte ich mit dem Lesen fast nicht mehr aufhören. Der Autor schafft es die Vorgänge unbeschönigt, aber doch ausgesprochen unprätentiös dem Leser nahezubringen. Das finde ich sehr sympathisch von ihm, wo ihm doch die Ungerechtigkeit sehr nahe gehen muss. Es ist einfach sehr traurig, dass Österreich nach 1945 der Familie Ephrussi und den Tausenden anderen Enteigneten den Besitz nicht restituiert hat, sondern sich auf die "Österreich ist das erste Opfer von Hitler" festgelegt hat. Das hat mein Heimatland damals unfassbar vermasselt und es ist ein Schande, dass diese Position über Jahrzehnte hin nicht hinterfragt wurde.

    Als geborener Wiener brannte ich geradezu darauf, sobald es sich zeitlich ausging zum Palais Ephrussi beim Schottentor zu fahren und mir das Gebäude anschauen. Ich hoffe, dass sich einmal die Gelegenheit geben wird, den Innenbereich zu besichtigen und insbesondere die Cafeteria der dort jetzt ansässigen Casinos Austria. Wer das Buch gelesen hat, weiß warum. Hier wird nichts verraten. ;-)

    Aber auch all die Folgekapiteln tragen zu diesem wahrlichen Meisterwerk eines Buches bei. Phantastisch wie diese ganze Geschichte rund um die 264 Netsuke aufgebaut wurde. Der Autor hat profund recherchiert. Beneidenswert dass er die Möglichkeit dazu fand sich einfach zwei Jahre lang dieser Aufgabe zu widmen mit viel Archivarbeit vorort in Paris, Wien, Tokyo und Odessa.

    Die Übersetzung aus dem Englischen erscheint mir - soweit ich das beurteilen kann - sehr gelungen zu sein. Im englischen Text fällt es auf, wenn viele zutiefst österreichische Ausdrücke im Klartext und völlig authentisch wiedergegeben werden.

    Herzhaft auflachen musste ich beim letzten Satz des gesamten Buches, bei den Acknowledgements. "It is for our children Ben, Matthew and Anna." Edmund de Waal hätte als Engländer seine Tochter wohl auch Anne nennen können. Sehr rührend, dass er sie Anna nannte. :-) Wer das Buch gelesen hat, weiß was damit gemeint ist.

    Abschließend möchte ich ein im Buch erwähntes Zitat von Kaiser Franz Joseph verwenden, dass auch in der Familie Ephrussi ein geflügeltes Wort war und dass meine Stimmung nach dem Buch auf gut Österreichisch wiedergibt:

    "Es war sehr schön. Es hat mich sehr gefreut."
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