Family History

In "The Hare with Amber Eyes," Edmund de Waal is ostensibly in search of a collection of Japanese art but in reality he is in search of his family's history. While tracing the journey of the netsuke collection through various family owners and locations through the years, Edmund uncovers the lives and fates of distant ancestors starting with Charles Ephrussi who was the original owner of the netsuke collection. The reader experiences the unfolding history of this large and prominent family as Edmund discovers letters, journals and newspaper clippings about his family.

As Edmund's story progresses, what was the original object of his hunt began to fade in importance in comparison to the family history that he was discovering at the same time. He imagines the opulent surroundings that the netsuke collection found itself in Charles' suite of rooms in his family's large mansion in Paris. The...