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natalie_is_reading's review
4.0
I had no idea what this book was going to be. It had a pretty cover and pictures and I thought it was going to be a historical fiction adventure-y book. It took me at least three tries to figure out what the back of the book said, and apparently it’s a memoir? I thought, “okay, that’s fine, I was hoping for a quick read but I can slog through a non fiction”. This book was definitely not a slog though! It was actually so interesting and very hard to put down! I didn’t expect to enjoy it so much as it wasn’t really a “story”- it was definitely history, but I loved reading the long descriptions of all the objects and rooms of this family. I found myself caught up on “where are the netsuke now?” and “what’s going to happen once ww2 starts?” “what’s happening with this side of the family?” And I just kept turning pages! It was beautiful and captivating and so incredibly full of history and information but still lovely to read!
missburgaodelmar's review against another edition
5.0
Fantastic! A historic journey through the life of one of the European's richest families with art as the nexus. Beautifully written and enjoyable.
sivujaselaten's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
4.5
thesaggingbookshelf's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.0
book_concierge's review
4.0
Book on CD read by Michael Maloney
When his great uncle Iggie died in 1994, Edmund de Waal inherited a collection of 264 netsuke. The tiny Japanese wood and ivory carvings had long fascinated him and he wanted to know more about how they came to be in this collection. Thus began a search back through the archives of history, and family lore, to discover a family banking dynasty dating back to the nineteenth century in Paris and Vienna. At one time the family was every bit as prominent and wealthy as the Rothschilds. But by the end of WW2, the collection of carvings – which has been hidden by a servant – were all that remained of their vast holdings.
What a wonderful biography of a family this is. Told with eyes wide open, but with a great deal of love and respect, de Waal takes the reader back through time and breathes life into the history of not just his family, but of art, culture, politics, and war. Though I was listening to the audio, I kept picking up the text to look at the pictures, and how I wish there had been more of them!
The audio book is capably narrated by Michael Maloney.
When his great uncle Iggie died in 1994, Edmund de Waal inherited a collection of 264 netsuke. The tiny Japanese wood and ivory carvings had long fascinated him and he wanted to know more about how they came to be in this collection. Thus began a search back through the archives of history, and family lore, to discover a family banking dynasty dating back to the nineteenth century in Paris and Vienna. At one time the family was every bit as prominent and wealthy as the Rothschilds. But by the end of WW2, the collection of carvings – which has been hidden by a servant – were all that remained of their vast holdings.
What a wonderful biography of a family this is. Told with eyes wide open, but with a great deal of love and respect, de Waal takes the reader back through time and breathes life into the history of not just his family, but of art, culture, politics, and war. Though I was listening to the audio, I kept picking up the text to look at the pictures, and how I wish there had been more of them!
The audio book is capably narrated by Michael Maloney.
aya_the_papaya's review
4.0
An interesting and well-told family history of sorts, losely following various artifacts through the lineage of a self-built rich Jewish family down several generations through WWII and to the modern day. Fairly engaging, though a bit verbose at times for me.