The Hare with Amber Eyes
| Author | Edmund de Waal |
|---|---|
| Subject | Ephrussi family |
| Genre | Biography |
| Publisher | Farrar, Straus and Giroux |
Publication date | 2010 |
| Pages | 353 |
| ISBN | 978-0-374-10597-6 |
| OCLC | 694399313 |
The Hare with Amber Eyes: A Hidden Inheritance (2010) is a family memoir by British ceramicist Edmund de Waal.[1] De Waal tells the story of his family, the Ephrussi, once a very wealthy European Jewish banking dynasty, centred in Odessa, Vienna and Paris, and peers of the Rothschild family.[1] The Ephrussis lost almost everything in 1938 when the Nazis confiscated their property,[1] and were unable to recover most of their property after the war, including priceless artwork; an easily hidden collection of 264 Japanese netsuke miniature sculptures was saved, tucked away inside a mattress by Anna, a loyal maid at Palais Ephrussi in Vienna during the war years. The collection has been passed down through five generations of the Ephrussi family, providing a common thread for the story of its fortunes from 1871 to 2009.
Reception
The book was described by German literary scholar Oliver vom Hove as an “unprecedentedly precise memory book”.[2] It was reviewed in The Washington Post by Michael Dirda,[3] The Guardian by Rachel Cooke,[4] The Economist,[5] and The International Netsuke Society Journal. [6]
In 2021, The Hare with Amber Eyes was distributed in Vienna as a free book, with a print run of 100,000 copies.
Awards and honours
- 2011 Ondaatje Prize, winner[7]
- 2011 JQ Wingate Prize, shortlist[8]
- 2011 ALA Notable Book
- 2010 Costa Book Awards, winner (Biography)
- 2010 Galaxy National Book Award, New Writer of the Year[9]
- 2010 The Economist, Books of the Year list[10]
Editions
- First UK edition: The Hare with Amber Eyes: A Hidden Inheritance, Chatto & Windus, Great Britain, 2010.
- First US edition: The Hare with Amber Eyes: A Family's Century of Art and Loss, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, New York, 2010. ISBN 978-0-374-10597-6
References
- ^ a b c Gendler, Neal (6 September 2011). "'Hare' chronicles unheard of Jewish family". Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle. Retrieved 2025-06-19.
- ^ Hofe, Oliver vom (October 2021). "Vor zehn Jahren erschienen – und bald als Gratisbuch in Wien verteilt". Wiener Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 2024-10-28.
- ^ Dirda, Michael (September 2, 2010). "Review". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2025-06-19.
- ^ Cooke, Rachel (6 June 2010). "Review". The Guardian. Retrieved 2025-06-19.
- ^ "Review". The Economist. 20 May 2010. Retrieved 2025-06-19.
- ^ Raitt, David (Fall 2010). "Review" (PDF). The International Netsuke Society Journal. 30 (3): 44–46. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-06-05.
- ^ Flood, Allison (24 May 2011). "Ondaatje prize goes to Edmund de Waal". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 May 2011.
- ^ "Wingate Prize 2011". JQ Wingate Prize. 2011. Archived from the original on 2012-02-25.
- ^ "Winners". Galaxy National Book Award. Northumberland County Council. 2010. Archived from the original on 2022-11-23. Retrieved 2025-06-19.
- ^ "Books of the Year". The Economist. 2010. Retrieved 2025-06-19.
External links
Media related to Hare with Amber Eyes (Ephrussi Collection) at Wikimedia Commons
- The Hare with Amber Eyes, author website.
- Edmund de Waal on YouTube, by Random Reads, June 29, 2010.