What are you doing next Thursday night, August 13th at 7:00 P.M.?  I hope you’ll be at Lisa’s for a wonderful discussion of a riveting book, The Hare with Amber Eyes by Edmund De Waal.

The Ephrussis were a grand banking family, as rich and respected as the Rothschilds, who “burned like a comet? in nineteenth-century Paris and Vienna society. Yet by the end of World War II, almost the only thing remaining of their vast empire was a collection of 264 wood and ivory carvings, none of them larger than a matchbox.

The renowned ceramist Edmund de Waal became the fifth generation to inherit this small and exquisite collection netsuke. Entranced by their beauty and mystery, he determined to trace the story of his family through the story of the collection.

A marvelously absorbing synthesis of art history, detective story and memoir. A nimble history of one of the richest European families at the turn of the century. Remarkable.

Do get the book and come to the discussion at Lisa’s.  If you need directions, e-mail Jo at 911jot@gmail.com.