The White Road

Journey into an Obsession

By: Edmund de Waal

Narrated by: Michael Maloney

Length: 11 hrs and 53 mins

Publisher's summary

An intimate narrative history of porcelain, structured around five journeys through landscapes where porcelain was dreamed about, fired, refined, collected, and coveted. Extraordinary new nonfiction, a gripping blend of history and memoir, by the author of the award-winning and best-selling international sensation,The Hare with the Amber Eyes.

In The White Road, best-selling author and artist Edmund de Waal gives us an intimate narrative history of his lifelong obsession with porcelain, or "white gold". A potter who has been working with porcelain for more than 40 years, de Waal describes how he set out on five journeys to places where porcelain was dreamed about, refined, collected and coveted - and that would help him understand the clay's mysterious allure. From his studio in London, he starts by travelling to three "white hills" - sites in China, Germany, and England that are key to porcelain's creation. But his search eventually takes him around the globe and reveals more than a history of cups and figurines; rather, he is forced to confront some of the darkest moments of 20th-century history.

Part memoir, part history, part detective story, The White Road chronicles a global obsession with alchemy, art, wealth, craft, and purity. In a sweeping yet intimate style that recalls The Hare with the Amber Eyes, de Waal gives us a singular understanding of "the spectrum of porcelain" and the mapping of desire.

©2015 Edmund de Waal (P)2015 Random House Audiobooks

Again, author uses words that become poetry in his descriptions.

The journey by the author is both personal and sharing. It paints a picture for the reader to see through his eyes.

A simply fantastic book

I very much enjoyed De Waals writing style! Working in ceramics I am already interested in the topic, so I might have enjoyed it more than some people. But, that being said, The White Road is overall a great book! 5/5 I would read it again.

Marvelous and addictive

I am so pleased with the narrator - I immediately looked up all the other books that he has read. His voice is clear as a bell and the book itself is a delight. I would never have imagined the story of porcelain being quite so fascinating and now I find myself making my way to museums to admire their porcelain collections. I've been reading along with the physical book, which is also a treat because it's broken up into small paragraphs and divided into sections by moments of history or discovery - it's like reading a travel journal.

I will certainly be reading Edmund de Waal's other book, The Hare with Amber Eyes.

Excellent journey!

I loved de Waal's journey through the history of porcelain and I'm not even a potter or collector. He travels to locations around the globe that were the epicenter of porcelain history and thoughtfully reconstructs what it might have been like, based on carefully researched articles and manuscripts. He thinks deeply on the idea of "white" as expressed in porcelain and what porcelain meant in the context of the time and place. It surprised me how much it mattered! He follows the trail of the trailblazers who invent porcelain again and again, we see fortunes rise and fall, and human nature at its best and worst. It's a fascinating journey even if you have no interest in pots at all.

In my mind, Michael Maloney IS Edmund de Waal

I love the story, the history, his obsession. And I’m not that big a fan of his pots. But be nevermind, the book is great.

Don't Give This at Christmas

What would have made The White Road better?

The "Hare" was magnetic with the draw of family, 1890s Paris, Jewish families trading grain and the artifacts of brilliant life. The White Road had no grip; no life derived from the Hare.

What could Edmund de Waal have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

History, personality, emotional investment.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Disappointment