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The Hare with Amber Eyes
- A Hidden Inheritance
- Narrated by: Michael Maloney
- Length: 10 hrs and 34 mins
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The Hare with Amber Eyes
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Summary
Winner of the 2010 COSTA Biography Award. A total of 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 objects 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.
This audio edition also features an interview with Edmund De Waal from the Vintage Books podcast.
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What listeners say about The Hare with Amber Eyes
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Graham
- 28-10-16
Deeply moving
A deeply moving story that chronicles the resting places of the collection of netsuke. It follows the personal family history and also gives great insight into the society they live in. It took me a little while to get into it, but once captured I was enthralled. I would certainly recommend it.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Lulu von Merveldt
- 31-07-19
Fascinating story
I didnt want it to end. The readers voice was a pleasure to listen to.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
- Hazel
- 07-04-13
Memory
This book is beautiful - a story of a family, European and world history of the last 2 centuries, social attitudes to women, Jews, and others, relationships, art. It is entirely about memory and perception and it's high art. It's a gripping story, accessible while being literary, and very well read. I highly recommend it to anyone looming for something a little different to the normal run of things.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Carole Rooke
- 12-09-14
The Hare with Amber Eyes by Edmund de Waal
Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?
I was trying to read this book for book club and finding it quite impossible until my daughter suggested this audio version. It contains a lot of historical art details and unfamiliar words difficult to pronounce. Michael Maloney read the book with ease so I was able to get to the end unlike the majority of our book club who gave up before half way. A great deal of research has gone into this story and will be of interest to family members in the future.
Would you ever listen to anything by Edmund de Waal again?
No
Which scene did you most enjoy?
Descriptions of life in Japan.
The best bit was getting to end before book club day. It was such a relief .
Thank you Michael Maloney for making it possible.
If this book were a film would you go see it?
No
Any additional comments?
Since listening to this book I have seen netsuke for sale in antique shops which I had not noticed before. Anyone could start to collect them today. I had the impression that the "hare" was going to be the centre of the story, this is not the case it must just have been Edmund's favourite netsuke which he carried in his pocket while doing his family research.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Pam Jolliffe
- 28-05-19
Family of ivory
A very personal story of living your family history. Of wealth , lifestyle, collections but especially that of being a Jew.
Tokyo, Paris , Vienna, England thru three centuries and post war Japan brought to life
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Myview
- 03-03-16
good book love the real life aspect
loved the real life aspect
story very well told
you never know what life will present to you sometimes it is beyond your imaginings
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- DEE21
- 17-09-22
a unique journey into the history of the 20th cent
The author has managed to make a unique and compelling work which blends family history and politics with a loving respect and affinity for the creators of the natsuke.
Following the journey of these beautiful objects the book tracks the radical changes in European Society from the end of the 19th century tq current day, using the framework of his extraordinary family history.
Edmund de Waal is a ceramicist himself with work exhibited at the V&A.The meticulousness and aesthetics which form the creation of his 3D work are clearly applied equally to this beautifully constructed writing. Informed by rigorous research this is a compelling and beautifully narrated audiobook highly recommended!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Keith
- 01-08-15
Authentic, provocative, intelligent family history.
Wide ranging, detailed, innovative history of the last century, from an unusual perspective, which has a powerful intelligence and unsettling tone which the listener will find difficult to ignore. Some might find this family history bleak and pedantic but I loved it for its originality, painstaking research and authentic voice. A must read.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- B. A. Harding
- 11-11-23
beautifully read
i read the book when it first came out.. my 105 year old mother in law loved it and said that it described Paris and Vienna so perfectly of what she experienced in the early 1930’s.
now re reading do i find what a wonderful book it is .. on so many levels.. so soft and delicate.. it should be read or listened to by this remarkable reading.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 04-08-11
The Hare with Amber Eyes
A lovely, absorbing read - portal to a family history both entertaining and relevant. It was a little slow sometimes, but there were some unforgettable word-pictures of scenes and activities far away and long ago which came to life in the telling. I found the narrator's style of speech somewhat prissy, and found at the end that he had mispronounced the word netsuke from beginning to end - why didn't any check in the editing department? The interview with the author right at the end put me right. Altogether very absorbing and entertaining and all credit to the author for his thorough and painstaking research.
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6 people found this helpful