This is one of the best books I have read in the last year. It is a fascinating story of a fascinating and talented family over the course of a century and all true. If you are interested in art, 19th and 20th c. European or Japanese history, it covers all of them. It is a true story written by well known English potter about his own family. I could not put it down and then my Mother could not put it down either. A bit difficult to categorize but a great book.

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Excellent read! The 'netsuke' wood & ivory carvings, a treasured collection of the Jewish Ephrussis family - reverent, then a mystery. The book will take the reader on a historical adventure from London, Paris, Vienna, Tokyo; as well as through a Jewish family's genealogy; & accounts of WWI & WWII; the fall of the Ephrussian family empire. A page-turner. Don't miss reading the book!

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This book was somewhat hard to read. I didn't realize that it would swing so far from the beauty of all the artwork of the story to hatred of Jews and Nazi destruction.

The narrative of the small Japanese carvings did make me want to go out and find one to touch.

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So beautifully written I want to stop and reread the pages to soak up the experience again. Edmund de Waal's lyrical style is sensitive, probing and thoughtful. An intelligent piece. I am transported into the 19th Century world of Paris and 20th Century Vienna and start to feel, touch and smell the world as it might have been.

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