History

Letters to Camondo

Letters to Camondo

  • Downloads：2525
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-05-13 10:50:56
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Edmund de Waal
  • ISBN：0374603480
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
  • Download

Summary

A tragic family history told in a collection of imaginary letters to a famed collector， Moise de Camondo

Letters to Camondo is a collection of imaginary letters from Edmund de Waal to Moise de Camondo， the banker and art collector who created a spectacular house in Paris， now the Musée Nissim de Camondo， and filled it with the greatest private collection of French eighteenth-century art。

The Camondos were a Jewish family from Constantinople， “the Rothschilds of the East，” who made their home in Paris in the 1870s and became philanthropists， art collectors， and fixtures of Belle Époque high society， as well as being targets of antisemitism―much like de Waal's relations， the Ephrussi family， to whom they were connected。 Moise de Camondo created a spectacular house and filled it with art for his son， Nissim; after Nissim was killed in the First World War， the house was bequeathed to the French state。 Eventually， the Camondos were murdered by the Nazis。

After de Waal， one of the world’s greatest ceramic artists， was invited to make an exhibition in the Camondo house， he began to write letters to Moise de Camondo。 These fifty letters are deeply personal reflections on assimilation， melancholy， family， art， the vicissitudes of history， and the value of memory。

Download

Reviews

Sam ，

Another exquisite piece of writing by De Waal。

James Beggarly ，

Thanks to Netgalley and FSG for the ebook。 When the author， an artist， was making an exhibit at Musee Nissim de Campondo， he decided to write a series of letters across time to Moise de Campondo regarding the house， the extraordinary art he collected that is now on view。 This house， and a series of houses nearby， are great houses built by Jewish families that have come from all over， including Constantinople， where Moise was born， and the Ukraine， where the author’s family comes from （these two Thanks to Netgalley and FSG for the ebook。 When the author， an artist， was making an exhibit at Musee Nissim de Campondo， he decided to write a series of letters across time to Moise de Campondo regarding the house， the extraordinary art he collected that is now on view。 This house， and a series of houses nearby， are great houses built by Jewish families that have come from all over， including Constantinople， where Moise was born， and the Ukraine， where the author’s family comes from （these two families will marry， making the letters that much more personal）。 And in this corner of Paris， these families amass great wealth， collect the great art of the day and give back to France in a number of ways。 Suffering from some antisemitism， the families still felt that they had found a new home for themselves， until the Second World War comes and shatters everything。 And yet this museum remains and it， and this particular family history， haunts the author。 。。。more

Cristina ，

J ai lu ce livre en français。 J ai aimé découvrir la vie de Moise De Camoondo et de ces juifs - camp do， ephrussi， rotchild， lazare。 Pereire， qui ont légué des œuvres artistiques merveilleuses à la France。 Je l ai trouvé très poétique - trop à mon goût car un peu lent。 L édition est superbe avec des photos。 Un très beau livre - pas trop mon style d ou les 3 étoiles

Jill Shaw Ruddock ，

It's a stunningly written tragic story to Camondo， to whom de Waal feels a deep connection。 It is through 58 imaginary letters to Camondo that De Waal tells the story of the man’s life and death， his house， his collections， his world and what became of it。 This new book features several of the people and his journey that we first encountered in Hare with the Amber EyesI think the 2021 book world will be defined by those who have read Letters to Camondo and those who have not It's a stunningly written tragic story to Camondo， to whom de Waal feels a deep connection。 It is through 58 imaginary letters to Camondo that De Waal tells the story of the man’s life and death， his house， his collections， his world and what became of it。 This new book features several of the people and his journey that we first encountered in Hare with the Amber EyesI think the 2021 book world will be defined by those who have read Letters to Camondo and those who have not 。。。more

Mikaela Bichara ，

Author’s way of storytelling is so good， I suggest you join NovelStar’s writing competition， you might be their next big star。tttttttttttt

Paul ，

A strange postscript to the brilliant: Hare With the Amber Eyes。The book feels somehow rushed。 Some quotes are in French， others are not; one quote begins in French and then， after an interruption， finishes in English。At one point， de Waal says that a particular recipe mentioned by de Camondo is almost certainly written about in Proust， but to look it up would be ‘taking research too far。’ This is obviously a ‘funny’ line but it does leave you wondering what this book really is？ It occupies the A strange postscript to the brilliant: Hare With the Amber Eyes。The book feels somehow rushed。 Some quotes are in French， others are not; one quote begins in French and then， after an interruption， finishes in English。At one point， de Waal says that a particular recipe mentioned by de Camondo is almost certainly written about in Proust， but to look it up would be ‘taking research too far。’ This is obviously a ‘funny’ line but it does leave you wondering what this book really is？ It occupies the point between memoir and historical project， and is successful on neither count。 Endless lists， and occasional ‘profound’ sentences give us little in the way of historical or personal revelation。 The book is made up of letters to a man who is long dead。 This gives de Waal a platform to deploy writing of a particular kind。 If， for example， he has written a letter about de Camondo’s living room he will invariably end the correspondence with something like:‘I see， Monsieur， that you are fond of candlesticks。 I too like candlesticks。 I wonder if you ever held a candlestick in your hands and twisted it about， looking for blemishes？ After all， what is a candlestick but a place for light to brighten the darkness？’After a while， one really does want to say: oh Edmund， do stop it。 。。。more

Cavallari ，

This book is exquisite， it is so delicate yet full of the melancholy you can feel within the walls of the Museum Nissim de Camondo， my favorite place in Paris。 Between the lines of the book you can feel the loneliness of Monsieur Moise， the silence of his Hotel， his steps in the cruel silence surrounding him， the heaviness of his sadness。 I am grateful the author addressed his letters to Monsieur Moise， I also imagine to talk with him when I’m visiting his house， we must be grateful for his lega This book is exquisite， it is so delicate yet full of the melancholy you can feel within the walls of the Museum Nissim de Camondo， my favorite place in Paris。 Between the lines of the book you can feel the loneliness of Monsieur Moise， the silence of his Hotel， his steps in the cruel silence surrounding him， the heaviness of his sadness。 I am grateful the author addressed his letters to Monsieur Moise， I also imagine to talk with him when I’m visiting his house， we must be grateful for his legacy and for what he and his family have done for us especially because life wasn’t kind with none of them。 The photos included in the book are pearls。 I strongly suggest you visit the Museum if you have the chance， it is and experience itself， a living testament。 。。。more

Mandy ，

At 63 rue de Monceau lies the Musée de Nissim de Camondo， originally the home of Jewish art collector Moise de Camondo， who left the house and its priceless collection to France after his death in memory of his son who had been killed in WW！。 In spite of this generous gift， the Camondo family， as well as many other wealthy Jewish collectors， were betrayed by the nation that they felt they belonged to and many of them perished in the Holocaust。 Edmond de Waal’s own family were caught up in this b At 63 rue de Monceau lies the Musée de Nissim de Camondo， originally the home of Jewish art collector Moise de Camondo， who left the house and its priceless collection to France after his death in memory of his son who had been killed in WW！。 In spite of this generous gift， the Camondo family， as well as many other wealthy Jewish collectors， were betrayed by the nation that they felt they belonged to and many of them perished in the Holocaust。 Edmond de Waal’s own family were caught up in this betrayal and he has written previously about this in his book The Hare with Amber Eyes。 In this his latest book he writes a series of letters to Moise de Camondo， a result of his research into the house， the family and the collection during which he found himself frequently talking aloud to Moise。 It’s a tragic story and de Waal’s book is a moving tribute to Camondo， to whom he feels a deep connection。 It’s a delightful read， full of wonderful illustrations， and a compelling insight into the family’s world and the lost world of Jewish art collecting。 。。。more

Catherine Jeffrey ，

A beautiful book to read and to handle。 The choice of illustrations were a perfect accompaniment to the text。

T P Kennedy ，

An excellent book。 It's a little like a sequel to the hare with the amber eyes。 The framing device of letters to the Count while moving through his house is very effective。 It draws you in。 At first it seems like an innocent consideration of art and fin de siecle Paris but it becomes apparent it's about so much more。 He considers the place of this family in French society and then follows their fates in World War II。 Having learned so much about them， the spare account of their murders has all t An excellent book。 It's a little like a sequel to the hare with the amber eyes。 The framing device of letters to the Count while moving through his house is very effective。 It draws you in。 At first it seems like an innocent consideration of art and fin de siecle Paris but it becomes apparent it's about so much more。 He considers the place of this family in French society and then follows their fates in World War II。 Having learned so much about them， the spare account of their murders has all the greater impact。 A super read。 。。。more

Arjen Taselaar ，

Beautiful book by Edmund de Waal on the Musée Nissim de Camondo， which opened in Paris a year after its owner， Count Moïse de Camondo， died， in 1936。 Camondo was a banker and art collector， and belonged to a Jewish family from Constantinople who had becomes French。 Like many French Jews of comparable social status - who often intermarried - Camondo believed in assimilation。 The art collection now contained in his museum reflects this by focusing on 18th century French decorative art。 Camondo don Beautiful book by Edmund de Waal on the Musée Nissim de Camondo， which opened in Paris a year after its owner， Count Moïse de Camondo， died， in 1936。 Camondo was a banker and art collector， and belonged to a Jewish family from Constantinople who had becomes French。 Like many French Jews of comparable social status - who often intermarried - Camondo believed in assimilation。 The art collection now contained in his museum reflects this by focusing on 18th century French decorative art。 Camondo donated his house and collection to the state。 Some years later， that same state collaborated with the Nazis in arresting the remaining Camondo family members。 They were murdered at Auschwitz。 De Waal has structured his book as a series of letters， which address topics as collecting， belonging， blending in， dispersal， destruction， and memory。 This small， careful， beautiful， poignant and unsettling book will long resonate and require rethinking and rereading。 。。。more

Adam ，

The opulence was a little beyond my reach。 Fascinating book， a mixture of biography and history that again points to or reminders of other books - The Villa of Delirium， Sebald， Proust， especially the book of paintings featured in the novels， The Faustian Bargain， among others listed by de Waal at the end of the book。 I'll have to catch up with The Hare With the Amber Eyes at some point in the future。 The opulence was a little beyond my reach。 Fascinating book， a mixture of biography and history that again points to or reminders of other books - The Villa of Delirium， Sebald， Proust， especially the book of paintings featured in the novels， The Faustian Bargain， among others listed by de Waal at the end of the book。 I'll have to catch up with The Hare With the Amber Eyes at some point in the future。 。。。more

Ula ，

Edmund de Waal is truly one of a kind。 His style is beautiful， moving and original。 I remember how much I loved “The Hare with Amber Eyes”， his book from 2010。 “Letters to Camondo” is a loose sequel， diving even deeper into the complicated history of not only the author's ancestors but the whole vanished world of Jewish European elite。 It is a strange， intimate book， full of digressions， descriptions of various pieces of art， not finished thoughts - but as a whole it is a masterpiece。It was very Edmund de Waal is truly one of a kind。 His style is beautiful， moving and original。 I remember how much I loved “The Hare with Amber Eyes”， his book from 2010。 “Letters to Camondo” is a loose sequel， diving even deeper into the complicated history of not only the author's ancestors but the whole vanished world of Jewish European elite。 It is a strange， intimate book， full of digressions， descriptions of various pieces of art， not finished thoughts - but as a whole it is a masterpiece。It was very disturbing to see the similarities between the anti-Semitic rhetoric from the beginning of the 20th century and anti-immigration one from our times。 Why the history has to repeat itself？Thanks to the publisher， Farrar， Straus and Giroux， and NetGalley for the advance copy of this book。 。。。more

Manuela ，

I just love everything Edmund de Waal writes about。 His first novel ‘The Hare with the Amber Eyes’ is one of my favorite books and ‘Letters to Camomdo’ is just as good。 De Waal is a Master in writing about the world of decorative arts and their collectors。 It’s a fascinating weave of stories， with the most interesting people and the stories the works tell。 This novel is told in letters and I loved the very descriptive style。 I will probably read this book more than once and I highly recommend it I just love everything Edmund de Waal writes about。 His first novel ‘The Hare with the Amber Eyes’ is one of my favorite books and ‘Letters to Camomdo’ is just as good。 De Waal is a Master in writing about the world of decorative arts and their collectors。 It’s a fascinating weave of stories， with the most interesting people and the stories the works tell。 This novel is told in letters and I loved the very descriptive style。 I will probably read this book more than once and I highly recommend it。 。。。more

Sam Hetherington ，

This is pretty far from what I'd usually read， but， once I got into the rhythm of the writing， this book turned into an intriguing and unique account of a life told though objects。 Instead of approaching this as non-fiction or a story， I found that the best approach was the read LETTERS TO CAMONDO as poetry - let the words wash over you as you pass through rooms filled with porcelain， tapestries and a host of wealthy relations。 A testament to beauty of collecting， preserving and memorialising。 This is pretty far from what I'd usually read， but， once I got into the rhythm of the writing， this book turned into an intriguing and unique account of a life told though objects。 Instead of approaching this as non-fiction or a story， I found that the best approach was the read LETTERS TO CAMONDO as poetry - let the words wash over you as you pass through rooms filled with porcelain， tapestries and a host of wealthy relations。 A testament to beauty of collecting， preserving and memorialising。 。。。more

Steve Streeter ，

Edmund de Waal first came to literary prominence in 2011 with the autobiographical journey of his family history in The Hare With The Amber Eyes。 This book could be considered a companion text as again de Waal breathes new perspectives into his forebears - the Ephrussi-as neighbours of the Count Moïse de Camondo。This book explores the life of the de Camondo family through a series of letters written to the Count from de Waal as he explores the archive of the Count’s life and family。The letters a Edmund de Waal first came to literary prominence in 2011 with the autobiographical journey of his family history in The Hare With The Amber Eyes。 This book could be considered a companion text as again de Waal breathes new perspectives into his forebears - the Ephrussi-as neighbours of the Count Moïse de Camondo。This book explores the life of the de Camondo family through a series of letters written to the Count from de Waal as he explores the archive of the Count’s life and family。The letters are beautiful - poetic in many ways。 As the reader we are given a tour of the house （ which was bequeathed to the French state as a museum）。 The beauty and melancholia pervading through the building is evident as the description of the rooms， furniture and family belongings （ still as they were in 1935）capture the life of the inhabitants over a number of years。 Camondo created a memorial to his ancestors and Parisian life。The letter writing approach to describing the life of the Count and the house is beautifully structured and the manner through which de Waal questions the Count is poignant and sensitive。 The story of the family is tragic and again highlights the brutality of the human and anti-semitism。 As de Waal explores each room and its contents and those who lived there he draws together his thoughts ，”History is happening。 It isn’t the past， it is a continuing unfolding of the moment。 It unfolds in our hands。”And this book highlights how we are all part of an intricate web of living， dying， hoping and loving leaving a legacy of our belongings but ultimately the relationships within our lives- past，present and those in the future ）。This is another exquisitely researched book that opens a window into the life of an extraordinary family。Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance copy 。。。more

Kidlitter ，

A DRC was provided by Edelweiss in exchange for a fair and thoughtful review。Edmund de Waal's hypnotic prose is put to use yet again in a another tribute to the lost generation of early twentieth century highborn European Jews。 In this book， it is the account of the French de Camondos， friends of De Waal's forbears， the Ephrussi。 Count Moise de Camondo， like the Ephrussi， took his family's fortunes and build a series of houses， chiefly on le rue de Monceau， once a center of aristocratic Jewish l A DRC was provided by Edelweiss in exchange for a fair and thoughtful review。Edmund de Waal's hypnotic prose is put to use yet again in a another tribute to the lost generation of early twentieth century highborn European Jews。 In this book， it is the account of the French de Camondos， friends of De Waal's forbears， the Ephrussi。 Count Moise de Camondo， like the Ephrussi， took his family's fortunes and build a series of houses， chiefly on le rue de Monceau， once a center of aristocratic Jewish life。 He filled his homes with 18th century French antiques and art work， some of which are reproduced here， all of which he donated to France in memory of his son Nissim， lost in the First World War。 Le Musee Nissim de Camondo has remained unchanged since 1936， miraculously unscathed through the Nazi occupation。 de Waal wanders through the rooms， writing letters to the Count about his impressions of his treasures， which strike him as how his own ancesters the Ephrassi must have lived。 "Everything is dynastic， a site plan of deadly traps。" At times it can feel like a bit of a laundry list of tchotkes and materialist wallowing， but de Waal's goal is to center the collection as living artifacts of all that was lost in the face of relentless anti-semitism and to try to see beyond the futility of the Count's hopes that his collection could ever truly elevate his family to safe， secure status in France。 Like de Waal's family， the de Comondos suffered terribly with the advent of World War Two， and discovering just exactly what happened to them despite their fortune， education， breeding and generousity to a brutally rejecting France is heart wrending。 de Waal may paint best on his own little piece of ebony， but no one is able to convey better just how objects， however frivolous， can convey a spirit of a person if viewed in a certain light。 He is a master at showing us that view; just as Proust， a close contemporary of the Count's， found the sublime in the often petty or obsessive details of haute bourgeouis Parisian life。 This would be an excellent title to pair with Tom Stoppard's play Leopoldstadt， which mourns a similar family in Vienna。 Read to be educated， elevated if ultimately profoundly depressed。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Letters to Camondo

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Letters to Camondo&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Letters to Camondo&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0