The Hare with Amber Eyes - Edmund de Waal

 Sub-title: A Hidden Inheritance

This was a dreamy, meandering book for my first read of the New Year.  The author is a descendant of the Ephrussi Family, a very wealthy banking dynasty that originated in Russia in the mid-1800s and expanded across Paris, Vienna and Britain.  The business was taken over in Austria by the Nazis and the family scattered across the globe. Throughout that timeframe, one of the author's great-uncles collected Japanese netsukes, small, intricate carvings that served as buttons to secure a man's kimono.  Edmund traces the path of these treasures he eventually inherits and along the way unveils the family history.

I loved how he used letters, official records, family stories and reminiscences to weave together the art and family.  I read the version with pictures of the netsukes and family photos that made what would have been a historical accounting into a fascinating, melancholy tale of a time, a place and a family.

The author is a renowned ceramic pottery artist and his eye for art and craftsmanship carries over to his descriptions of the characters and their lives.  I found it a fascinating read.

Published: 2010  Read: January 2022  Genre: Memoir

Plunder - Menachem Kaiser

 Sub-title: A memoir of Family Property and Nazi Treasure

I'd heard of this book from the American Inspiration Author Series that is co-sponsored by the genealogy site, American Ancestors.  The lecture itself suffered from a poor interviewer who was more interested in learning how to write a book then discuss this book (sigh).

I really enjoyed the story when I got the book from the library.  The author's grandfather had attempted to claim his family apartment building in Poland that had been taken during the Holocaust.  Kaiser tells the trials and tribulations he encountered in picking up the trail.  He hires a slightly inadequate lawyer in Poland and travels to see the building.  He discovers one of his ancestors is a revered diarist of a group of explorers seeking Nazi treasure supposedly hidden in subterranean tunnels in Poland.

The story is so much more than seeking retribution.  It is about family stories, historical perspectives, preserving memories and much more.  

Quotes:

"I searched for other marriage notices...Hello, I said to their ghosts."

"The explorers would teach me this lesson a hundred times over: a motivated love can still be love." 

Recommended reading.

Published: 2021  Read: July 2021  Genre: Memoir