Product Description

When an American mother-of-three finds herself overwhelmed in her new home in Switzerland, a visitor pops up offering to cure her son's asthma, her husband's growing indifference, and her own resentment of life. Is he the village nutter or - as he claims to be - the greatest mind of the eighteenth century? This talkative character wearing kneebreeches and wig is the last straw. Though she begs him to go home, he unpacks his mouldy trunk instead. Slowly V. becomes her warmest friend as they laugh and quarrel, and he teaches her the best lesson of all: how to live life to its fullest.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #95812 in Books
• Published on: 2004-03-18
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 360 pages

From the Publisher
'A Visit From Voltaire' has been longlisted for the Orange Prize for Fiction 2004.

About the Author
Born in Detroit, Dinah Lee Kung worked for twenty years as a reporter in Hong Kong for The Economist, BusinessWeek, International Herald Tribune, and The Washington Post. She now lives in Switzerland with her husband, a veteran of the International Red Cross, and their three children.

Customer Reviews

A really heartwarming, charming and original book
I really, really loved this book. Voltaire comes back to life, not as a spook, but more an affectionate, avuncular nag in wig askew and ink-stained britches. Visible only to the author, his indomitable ego fills the pages with witticisms, verbal sparring and massive intellect. We learn about his life and times - but Kung has given him an entirely consistent, and insatiable appetite to continue his work after his death. With her help, he taps into the internet to lobby for human rights - and despite her efforts to curb his use of her credit card, he dabbles once again in the financial markets. The story is rich in character, dialogue and insight, fleshed out with her own confiding in the ghost about experiences she can't quite leave behind. He ages from a talented but self-centred salon lounge lizard to a frail humanitarian who has seen it all. He drinks gallons of coffee, takes snuff and wears fresh, clean clothes every day. She finds a way to make the best use of her new life in Switzerland and outgrow the vanities of her life before arriving in a small Swiss village.
This is a stimulating novel, rich and uncynical.

the best of all possible reads.
In a world where most authors, other than the avowedly academic, appear to strive to fall within the neat categories of marketing departments, how refreshing it is to come across a book which resolutely, though unconsciously, defies such pidgeonholing.

Informed throughout by a wonderful sense of humour, "A Visit From Voltaire" is by turns a description, both serious and hilarious, of family life in a new and unfamiliar environment; an introduction to 18th Century cultural life; and, via a series of vignettes linking similar events in different times (the Author's and Voltaire's), a comment on political and religious corruption and intolerance.
Above all though, "A Visit From Voltaire" has, at its heart, the development from rocky beginnings of a wonderful friendship between the Author and Voltaire - Voltaire emerges not only as the champion of justice and tolerance that we are all aware of, but as a delightfully idiosyncratic and human character, fully capable of moving between his era and ours, where he finds his ideals still under attack and where his unflagging energy and honesty are still as necessary as ever. Whether adapting to the internet or revisiting old haunts in London, his zest for life is contagious. The development of the friendship between the Author and Voltaire is beautifully handled and I was as sad as the Author when they finally parted. How I wish he had stayed. I had so much I wanted to ask him.
As with all good books, I was inspired to do a number of things - learn more about the man and his century (a very helpful bibliography is provided); renew my contact with Amnesty International; Revisit Bernstein and take a look at my wardrobe.
All this in addition to a wonderful read. How could you resist?

Very funny and accurate, full of wisdom
I really enjoyed the clever juxtiposition of Voltaire's retelling his formidable ups and down,( especially his downs,) to the author facing the frustrations of "exile" with family to this area of Switzerland, her Candide-like hapless befuddlement with her own searching travels and setbacks, and the way each chapter wove together three narrative threads. There was Voltaire's witty recap of his experiences, (sometimes you think he will never shut up) with her trying to make some sense of things, set against a burlesque backdrop of the local village. It isn't always funny, and sometimes a bit of a slow read, but I cried when she learns in the end to accept all the changes, to cultivate her garden. I think this book is quite original, and it really underscores the democracy of the written word. Anybody, no matter how humble, can invite the Greats into their life through books. Wonderful.