This is a wonderful book on many levels. De Waal immersed himself in his family's wanderings, both voluntary and forced, parallelled by the acquisition and movements of 264 Japanese netsuke.

Where is home?

Both the Ephrussi family and the netsuke are, finally, citizens of the constantly changing borders and interactions of the world.

The writing itself is special; de Waal is a man who loves words and knows how to use them. He is especially good at creating a sense of place--Proust's languid Paris, the gathering darkness of Nazi Vienna, the reinvention of post-war Japan.

We just left the 20th Century; we think we know it well. Yet the history of this one family sharpens familiar events and settings, and weaves the increasingly global community into a frayed patchwork of intersecting lives. Continuously crossing in influence and impact, they (and we) struggle to find unity and balance, to eliminate the need for being branded or branding anyone as "other".

There are so many angles from which to view these stories. The author admits he could just keep going ang going, branching out to embrace much much more. That he was able to choose and condense his travels and research into this beautiful and coherent whole amazes me. I myself can't even focus my own ideas; they are moving all over the place, all over the world, all over humanity.

Just read it.