The Hare with Amber Eyes
A Hidden Inheritance
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The Hare with Amber Eyes
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Narrateur(s):
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Michael Maloney
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Auteur(s):
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Edmund de Waal
À propos de cet audio
The Ephrussis were a grand banking family, as rich and respected as the Rothschilds, who “burned like a comet” in 19th-century Paris and Vienna society. Yet by the end of World War II, almost the only thing remaining of their vast empire was a collection of 264 wood and ivory carvings, none of them larger than a matchbox.
The renowned ceramicist Edmund de Waal became the fifth generation to inherit this small and exquisite collection of netsuke. Entranced by their beauty and mystery, he determined to trace the story of his family through the story of the collection. The netsuke—drunken monks, almost-ripe plums, snarling tigers—were gathered by Charles Ephrussi at the height of the Parisian rage for all things Japanese. Charles had shunned the place set aside for him in the family business to make a study of art, and of beautiful living. An early supporter of the Impressionists, he appears, oddly formal in a top hat, in Renoir’s Luncheon of the Boating Party. Marcel Proust studied Charles closely enough to use him as a model for the aesthete and lover Swann in Remembrance of Things Past.
Charles gave the carvings as a wedding gift to his cousin Viktor in Vienna; his children were allowed to play with one netsuke each while they watched their mother, the Baroness Emmy, dress for ball after ball. Her older daughter grew up to disdain fashionable society. Longing to write, she struck up a correspondence with Rilke, who encouraged her in her poetry.
The Anschluss changed their world beyond recognition. Ephrussi and his cosmopolitan family were imprisoned or scattered, and Hitler’s theorist on the “Jewish question” appropriated their magnificent palace on the Ringstrasse. A library of priceless books and a collection of Old Master paintings were confiscated by the Nazis. But the netsuke were smuggled away by a loyal maid, Anna, and hidden in her straw mattress. Years after the war, she would find a way to return them to the family she’d served even in their exile.
In The Hare with Amber Eyes, Edmund de Waal unfolds the story of a remarkable family and a tumultuous century. Sweeping yet intimate, it is a highly original meditation on art, history, and family, as elegant and precise as the netsuke themselves.
©2010 Edmund de Waal (P)2011 Macmillan AudioI learned so much
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To understand why so much was risked to save this collection, the scene of the children being allowed to play with one netsuke while their mother dressed conveys their preciousness. In the context of children in a wealthy home with servants, who rarely saw their mother, this detail heightens the objects’ emotional value.
The author, Edmund de Waal, inherited his family’s collection of 264 netsuke — along with threads of a story about how they were greatly treasured — and grew curious. I’m so glad he decided to share his discoveries on his quest to uncover the whole story.
At first, I misheard the word “vitrine” — the elegant glass cabinet that holds the netsuke — as “latrine,” which gave me a good laugh and reminded me how essential context can be when listening to audiobooks. The word comes from the French vitre, meaning “pane of glass,” an origin that perfectly suits these delicate treasures displayed behind it.
As for the audiobook itself, the chapters are simply numbered 1–38, with no further details. The Kindle version, by contrast, includes a preface and 37 named and numbered chapters grouped into eras. It also features a family tree and maps. I feel gypped that my audiobook didn’t at least contain the table of contents and the family tree as a PDF accompaniment — they would have greatly enhanced my listening experience.
Tip: If you have a moment, look at the preview of the Kindle illustrated version — there are pictures of some of the netsuke, giving insight into the charm of these wee objects.
Below is a listener’s guide I created in the absence of a table of contents (chapter numbers correspond to the Kindle version, as the audiobook chapters are misaligned):
Preface
Lays the context for how Edmund came to possess the 264 wee netsuke, handed down through generations.
Part One Paris 1871–1899
Chapters 1–11
Covers the early rise of the Ephrussi family in Paris. Builds appreciation for the charm and meaning of the netsuke in family lore.
Part Two Vienna 1899–1938
Chapters 12–23
Explores the family’s prominence in Vienna and the looming shadow of anti-Semitism that begins to threaten their world.
Part Three Vienna, Kövecses, Tunbridge Wells, Vienna 1938–1947
Chapters 24–29
Follows the family’s displacement during the war years.
Chapter 28 “Anna’s Pocket” tells of the daring rescue of the netsuke before they fall into Nazi hands (chapter 29 in the audiobook).
Part Four Tokyo 1947–2001
Chapters 30–34
After the war, the netsuke travel to Japan with Edmund’s great-uncle Iggie. The collection finds a new life in Tokyo, becoming a bridge between cultures and generations. Edmund later visits, reconnecting the family’s stories across continents.
Coda Tokyo, Odessa, London 2001–2009
Chapters 35–37
Brings the story full circle as Edmund inherits the netsuke himself. He reflects on their journey from Paris to Vienna to Tokyo to London — a meditation on memory, inheritance, and the endurance of art and family through upheaval.
Edition details below refer to the Audible audiobook I listened to:
The Hare with Amber Eyes: A Hidden Inheritance
Written by: Edmund de Waal
Narrated by: Michael Maloney
RELEASE DATE 2011-06-14
FORMAT Unabridged Audiobook
LENGTH 10 hrs and 39 mins
PUBLISHER Macmillan Audio
©2010 Edmund de Waal (P)2011 Macmillan Audio
264 netsuke
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