Love Voltaire Us Apart: A Philosopher's Guide to Relationships

by Julia Edelman, Hallie Bateman (Illustrator)

Overview

What would Kant's sexts look like? How would Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir break up? What would Confucius think of Tinder?
Love Voltaire Us Apart is a hilarious spoof relationship guide with a philosophical edge, made up of philosophers' love letters, advice columns and breakup letters.
From Confucius learning the Golden Rules of dating to Simone de Beauvoir considering bangs after breaking up with Jean-Paul Sartre, comedy writer Julia Edelman views the love lives of prominent philosophers through a clever and contemporary lens. She points out that Margaret Fuller is the "Carrie" of transcendentalism, and Nietzsche will always find a way to make a bad breakup infinitely worse.
"Getting Meta(Physical)—Who is Your Philosopher Crush?" is the only quiz you'll need to find your soul mate, and "How To Know if Your Man is Writing a Manifesto" will show you how to avoid losing your relationship to imminent revolution.
Based on Edelman's New Yorker article, "Excerpts from Philosophers' Breakup Letters Throughout History", Love Voltaire Us Apart is funny, smart, refreshingly original, and brought to life with charming illustrations by Hallie Bateman.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781785781360
Publisher:	Icon Books, Ltd. UK
Publication date:	10/06/2016
Sold by:	Bookwire
Format:	eBook
Pages:	144
File size:	8 MB

About the Author

Julia Edelman grew up in New York. She studied film theory and philosophy at McGill University. Her work has appeared in The New Yorker, New York magazine, McSweeney's Internet Tendency, VICE, Cosmopolitan, Playboy, CollegeHumor and the Believer. She lives in Brooklyn.
Hallie Bateman is a Los Angeles-based writer and illustrator. Her work can be seen on halliebateman.com

Editorial Reviews

"I 'Kant' recommend it highly enough!" Beth Newell, Reductress

"Love Voltaire Us Apart is eerily reflective of my own existential romantic limbos I often find myself ruminating. It is comforting to read a book which captures the modern love dilemma with minimalist insight and humor!" Reggie Watts

"I absolutely loved this book. But in a totally Platonic way. I guess what I'm trying to say is that if I were trapped in a cave and the shadows on the wall were of this book, I probably wouldn't want to leave the cave." Existential Comic

"I'm not an expert on philosophers, but I am an expert on messing up relationships — luckily, Julia Edelman's Love Voltaire Us Apart hilariously covers both." Pat Cassels, Full Frontal with Samantha Bee

"Julia's book is further proof that even the greatest minds throughout history probably had no idea what they were doing." Lane Moore, Tinder Live

"Expand your mind, increase your sex appeal, and laugh yourself silly with Julia's great new book." Bill Oakley, The Simpsons

"Love Voltaire us Apart is so non-stop hilarious it enrages me..... Even the footnotes are highly entertaining. To sum it all up, I believe it was the great philosopher Descartes who said: I think therefore am I right ladies?" Andy Kindler

"Good news! If you're serious about philosophy, Julia's book might help soften your concept of love. And if you're the romantic type you'll certainly end up learning a thing or two about the philosophical. The better news? Both lessons will make you giggle. A lot." Lesley Arfin, Love

"This book combines all my favourite things: crushes, French literary theorists, and the illustrations of Hallie Bateman. Reading it is like having your smartest friend take you out for too much wine during a break up, plus there is a portion that re-imagines The Wedding Singer with Sartre in the role of Adam Sandler. A real delight." Monica Heisey, Broadly

"Can the love of wisdom make us wise about love? Has any philosopher come close to answering this question? From the transcendental X to XOXOXO, Julia Edelman deftly explores loving, lusting, and lamenting from Aristotle to Žižek." Jan Mieszkowski, Labors of Imagination

"This absolutely hilarious book is marvelously silly and deeply smart. It's also got lovely illustrations! Love Voltaire Us Apart will make you laugh in an embarrassing snorty fashion in public. It will also make you sound smarter at cocktail parties and academic orgies. Read it and love it - and yourself, dammit." Sara Benincasa, Real Artists Have Day Jobs

"Not only is this book very funny, it made me feel better that even people way smarter than me are total disasters when it comes to their love lives. The mix of philosophy, dope art and laughs would be a great gift for my ex-husband — I'll talk it over with my Jungian therapist first." Alison Bennett, You're the Worst

"I accidentally learned a lot about philosophy and dating from this book! Julia Edelman's writing is always super funny and also manages to be, in turns, wistful and silly and wise. Hallie Bateman illustrates the mad ideas and brilliant jokes contained in Love Voltaire Us Apart in a perfectly hilarious and spooky way. I know that Kant would be proud." Maeve Higgins

"Julia's book is an impressive showcase of humor and wit on a notoriously self-serious subject. I can only imagine how much more I would have enjoyed it if I had actually paid attention in philosophy class." Chase Mitchell, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon

"Julia's rollicking blend of philosophy and modern romance made me laugh so hard I had hemlock coming out of my nose whilst reading the entire book." Sam Grittner, Internet Action Force

"It turns out the early philosophers weren't just talking to hear themselves talk. They were imparting wisdom that I may apply to my Tinder selection process. The only thing this book is missing is nothing. Is that deep? Who said that first? I hope it was me." Abbi Crutchfield

"In Love Voltaire Us Apart, Edelman uses the universal truth that all dating is horrible, combined with humor to give the reader insight into the philosophies of these thinkers and doers without the 1,100 word essays on what they meant by 'I like Gala Apples for breakfast.' Truly a delight to read" Yassir Lester, Girls

"With warmth and whimsy, Edelman breathes new life into the often too-somber philosophical canon. Bateman's expressive illustrations compliment perfectly for a playful and thoughtful book."Matt Lubchansky, The Nib

"Whether you love to love, love to hate, hate to love, love Must Love Dogs, hate Must Love Dogs, love Ten Things I Hate About You, hate one thing about Ten Things I Hate About You, or all of the above, you'll love Love Voltaire Us Apart. It's much, much funnier than this blurb." Wendy Molyneux, Bob's Burgers

"[A] satirical look at relationships with a philosophical twist."Flavorwire

"If life gives you a B.A. in philosophy, this book seems to say, make philosopher's stone soup." Carina Chocano

From the Publisher