Publisher's Synopsis
In a corrupt, immoral, unethical world, the main character -Amir- asks his older friend -Atef- to accompany him on a journey to current day Istanbul to search for Voltaire's Candide, who is supposed to be cultivating his garden in Anatolia. Why Candide? Because he had conquered an evil, dishonest world before, so he would be able to do it again. Atef knows that Amir is ill, so he goes along, as he has nothing to lose; a retired widower who was idle, and disenchanted by the January 2011 Egyptian revolution. In Istanbul, they meet with a Lebanese expatriate, Ali, who leads them across the Bosporus to current day Anatolia. To their great astonishment, they encounter a "Darwish" who had a neighbor who fits the description of Candide, who never ages! Unfortunately, he just left Turkey in search of "true believers" who embrace other faiths, and chose Malaysia as it comprises multiple religions amongst its people. In Kuala Lumpur, they are now sure Candide exists, but he travelled east to Thailand.
The journey then takes us to Bangkok, then to Budapest, where they meet with a blind woman; Sisi, a musician who plays her violin in front of their hotel. She agrees to escort them in their search, for a daily fee. As a local priest informs them that Candide left for Prague, she agrees to travel with them. The journey leads us next to Vienna, to Germany, to Paris, then to Rome. At the Vatican, they meet with the Pope, and they see Candide and his wife Cunégonde standing next to him. However, he -once again- escapes them. The Pope and his clergymen advise them to travel to the deserts in Egypt to find their "true believers" amongst the monks in the desert.
Would they finally find Candide in Egypt, where they started from, or would Candide continue to elude them?
