The Hare with Amber Eyes by Edmund de Waal

I probably would have enjoyed this book more if I were a late middle aged man who drank claret at dinner parties and watched late night TV programmes about The Arts. As it was, I enjoyed it but, I'll be honest, not as much as I enjoy fiction (I hear your distain my late middle aged friend).
The book is about an inherited collection of 'netsuke' - Japanese carvings traditionally hung from obis - and their historical provenance. It is interesting, I learnt a lot about European history and my vocabulary expanded by about 12.3%. There are so may facts in this book that there is no way I will ever again be the person in a pub quiz who can only answer the questions about celebrity couples. The style is very easy and accessible. The netsuke collection passes through a number of members of a family, all of whom are presented very well and have led very interesting lives. A more than usually entertaining mind improving book but it's still not what you'd call exciting, although the second half is definitely more interesting than the first.