264 wood and ivory carvings, none of them larger than a matchbox: potter Edmund de Waal was entranced when he first encountered the collection in the Tokyo apartment of his great uncle Iggie. Later, when Edmund inherited the 'netsuke', they unlocked a story far larger than he could ever have imagined... The Ephrussis came from Odessa, and at one time were the largest grain exporters in the world; in the 1870s, Charles Ephrussi was part of a wealthy new generation settling in Paris. Marcel Proust was briefly his secretary ...
Read More
264 wood and ivory carvings, none of them larger than a matchbox: potter Edmund de Waal was entranced when he first encountered the collection in the Tokyo apartment of his great uncle Iggie. Later, when Edmund inherited the 'netsuke', they unlocked a story far larger than he could ever have imagined... The Ephrussis came from Odessa, and at one time were the largest grain exporters in the world; in the 1870s, Charles Ephrussi was part of a wealthy new generation settling in Paris. Marcel Proust was briefly his secretary and used Charles as the model for the aesthete Swann in Remembrance of Things Past. Charles's passion was collecting; the netsuke, bought when Japanese objets were all the rage in the salons, were sent as a wedding present to his banker cousin in Vienna. Later, three children - including a young Ignace - would play with the netsuke as history reverberated around them. The Anschluss and Second World War swept the Ephrussis to the brink of oblivion. Almost all that remained of their vast empire was the netsuke collection, smuggled out of the huge Viennese palace (then occupied by Hitler's theorist on the 'Jewish Question'), one piece at a time, in the pocket of a loyal maid - and hidden in a straw mattress. In this stunningly original memoir, Edmund de Waal travels the world to stand in the great buildings his forebears once inhabited. He traces the network of a remarkable family against the backdrop of a tumultuous century. And, in prose as elegant and precise as the netsuke themselves, he tells the story of a unique collection which passed from hand to hand - and which, in a twist of fate, found its way home to Japan.
Read Less
Add this copy of The Hare With Amber Eyes: a Hidden Inheritance to cart. $0.99, very good condition, Sold by More Than Words rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Waltham, MA, UNITED STATES, published 2011 by Picador USA.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Very Good. Good. All orders guaranteed and ship within 24 hours. Your purchase supports More Than Words, a nonprofit job training program for youth, empowering youth to take charge of their lives by taking charge of a business.
Add this copy of The Hare With Amber Eyes: a Hidden Inheritance to cart. $0.99, good condition, Sold by More Than Words rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Waltham, MA, UNITED STATES, published 2011 by Picador USA.
Add this copy of The Hare With Amber Eyes: a Hidden Inheritance to cart. $1.27, good condition, Sold by Your Online Bookstore rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Houston, TX, UNITED STATES, published 2011 by Picador.
Add this copy of The Hare With Amber Eyes: a Hidden Inheritance to cart. $1.27, good condition, Sold by Orion Tech rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Arlington, TX, UNITED STATES, published 2011 by Picador.
Add this copy of The Hare With Amber Eyes: a Hidden Inheritance to cart. $1.27, good condition, Sold by Zoom Books Company rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Lynden, WA, UNITED STATES, published 2011 by Picador USA.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Book is in good condition and may contain underlining or highlighting and minimal wear. The book can also include library labels. May not contain miscellaneous items (toys, dvds, etc). We offer 100% money back guarantee and fast customer support.
Add this copy of The Hare With Amber Eyes: a Hidden Inheritance to cart. $1.51, good condition, Sold by Good Books Will Follow rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Blue Springs, MO, UNITED STATES, published 2011 by Picador USA.
Add this copy of The Hare With Amber Eyes: a Hidden Inheritance to cart. $1.85, good condition, Sold by The Maryland Book Bank rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from baltimore, MD, UNITED STATES, published 2011 by Picador USA.
Add this copy of The Hare With Amber Eyes: a Hidden Inheritance to cart. $1.99, very good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Atlanta rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Brownstown, MI, UNITED STATES, published 2011 by Picador.
Add this copy of The Hare With Amber Eyes: a Hidden Inheritance to cart. $1.99, very good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Reno rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Reno, NV, UNITED STATES, published 2011 by Picador.
Add this copy of The Hare With Amber Eyes: a Hidden Inheritance to cart. $1.99, very good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Baltimore rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Halethorpe, MD, UNITED STATES, published 2011 by Picador.
Excellent, riveting book, a little slow at the beginning but then you can't put it down.
carol w
Oct 18, 2012
pictures worth thousands of words
A wonderful page-turning historical story, newly illuminated by masses of photos and maps and documents. I don't own two copies of many books, but this duplicate is so worth it!
Susan G
May 3, 2012
More than biography
The author traces his inheritance of a netsuke collection back to the ancestor who first acquired it. In so doing he tells us of the lives of those who have owned it, and of the times and places in which they lived. The collection amazingly survived even a Nazi incursion into the very house where they were displayed, though much else was destroyed; it was preserved by a German woman who was loyal to this Jewish family.
bleakbird
Dec 1, 2011
My favorite book this year!
This is fascinating, beautifully written and sensitively observed. I am giving it to those I love the most.
Reginald R
Jul 8, 2011
Art & history
This is not jjust all about netsuke, a collection of which the author has inherited, but an excellent historical narrative, after a Parisian episode, of what life was like in Austria, and Vienna in particular, before and after the dissolution and dismemberment in 1918-19 of th Austro-Hungarian Empire, and later, in 1938-39, of the Nazi political, cultural and economic takeover of the country. The Jewish predicament during all these dramatic happenings is espeacially well presented.
