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The Hare With Amber Eyes

The Sunday Times bestselling biography, winner of the Costa Book of the Year award

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The Hare With Amber Eyes

By: Edmund de Waal
Narrated by: Michael Maloney
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**THE NUMBER ONE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER**

**WINNER OF THE 2010 COSTA BIOGRAPHY AWARD**

264 wood and ivory carvings, none of them bigger than a matchbox: Edmund de Waal was entranced when he first encountered the collection in his great uncle Iggie's Tokyo apartment. When he later inherited the 'netsuke', they unlocked a story far larger and more dramatic than he could ever have imagined.

From a burgeoning empire in Odessa to fin de siecle Paris, from occupied Vienna to Tokyo, Edmund de Waal traces the netsuke's journey through generations of his remarkable family against the backdrop of a tumultuous century.

'You have in your hands a masterpiece' Sunday Times

'The most brilliant book I've read for years... A rich tale of the pleasure and pains of what it is to be human' Daily Telegraph

'A complex and beautiful book' Diana Athill

**ONE OF THE GUARDIAN'S 100 BEST BOOKS OF THE 21st CENTURY**


© Edmund de Waal 2010 (P) Penguin Audio 2011

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Critic reviews

[A] wonderful book (Dame Felicity Lott)
In a decade where memoir became the dominant genre, this immensely evocative family history told via the journey through the generations of some Japanese miniature figures stood out (Andrew Holgate)
An evocative narrative of art, inheritance and loss
From a hard and vast archival mass of journals, memoirs, newspaper clippings and art-history books, Mr de Waal has fashioned, stroke by minuscule stroke, a book as fresh with detail as if it had been written from life, and as full of beauty and whimsy as a netsuke from the hands of a master carver. Buy two copies of his book; keep one and give the other to your closest bookish friend.
Part treasure hunt, part family saga, this is the haunting story of a unique collection of Japanese figurines (Sebastian Shakespeare)
If you don't own a copy of The Hare with Amber Eyes, you must obtain one now. It is the perfect book, one you feel compelled to give to everyone you like, to share with them this treasure. (Alexandra Shulman)
All stars
Most relevant
I didnt want it to end. The readers voice was a pleasure to listen to.

Fascinating story

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What did you like most about The Hare with Amber Eyes?

This is a memoire of an entire family - their heritage and progress - and the way artistic things handled by their owners links us together. Special book

What other book might you compare The Hare with Amber Eyes to, and why?

The House by the Lake - Thomas Harding This is another book about a whole family who developed and were then affected by the emergence of the Third Reich

Have you listened to any of Michael Maloney’s other performances? How does this one compare?

Not heard others but will do so

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes. I have already read the hard copy twice. One to keep forever

Any additional comments?

It is a book to treasure. I read the paperback (out first) Then bought the hardback for the photos. Then listened to the audio for the additional pleasure it gave

FANTASTIC

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I loved the reading of this wonderful book. I had read it before and re-experienced it through the narrator

The detail in such a long and complex history

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What did you like best about The Hare with Amber Eyes? What did you like least?

This is the only audible book that I have regularly fallen asleep while listening to and then not been inclined to rewind to the bits I have missed. I forced myself to and made it to the end eventually but I didn't enjoy it much. It did improve as the book went on but I found the story progression to slow for me.

Has The Hare with Amber Eyes put you off other books in this genre?

I don't think this genre holds my attention well enough to consider other books of the same type.

Have you listened to any of Michael Maloney’s other performances? How does this one compare?

The performance was good. It was just the material that he had to work with that I didn't like.

Could you see The Hare with Amber Eyes being made into a movie or a TV series? Who would the stars be?

A lot of the book is very visual, lots of descriptions of objects so may be it would work better as a movie or TV series.

A struggle

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This is an epic novel and I find it baffling that previous reviews have been quite scathing. It roves beautifully through Japan, Vienna, Paris, Odessa and England through the delightful netsuke wrapped up in a human story which has great wealth and great tragedy. Stunning imagery - who can forget the yellow armchair and a journey which is so special to the author. This book is simply lovely and the gentle, modulated tones of the narrator Michael Maloney will wash over you. I found it repaid 2 listens as it covers a lot of ground, historically and geographically with many characters to remember - but that is the beauty of this book. Take your time and bathe in it!

My favourite book of all time

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