Customer Reviews

Asterix in Switzerland (Asterix (Orion Hardcover))

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

First published in French in 1970 as Astérix chez les Helvêtes,
Asterix in Switzerland was first published in English in 1973.

A visitor from Rome interrupts Varius Flavus, the Roman Governor of Condatum (Rennes), from one of his depraved and revolting orgies.
Quaestor Vexatius Sinusitus has been sent by Julius Caesar, as a Treasurer for the Provinces, to audit the Governor's accounts.
As Flavus has been rather freely crooking the accounts, he poisons the Quaestor to get him out the way.

An ill Sinusitus secretly sends for the Getafix who is a famous healer, and Getafix of course takes with Asterix and Obelix, and our two heroes are sent to Helvetia (Switzerland) to fetch the one thing that can save his charge, the Silver Star (Edelweiss).
Varius Flavus is desperate to ensure that the Quaestor is not saved and sends word to his friend, the equally corrupt Governor of Genava (Geneva) that Asterix and Obelix are to be stopped at all costs.

Once more the author Goscinny writes a witty and satirical adventure, poking gentle fun at the customs of Switzerland, their punctuality and clocks, fondues and Swiss Cheese, yodeling and banks. We get to observe an ancient `International Conference of Tribal Chiefs', almost as useless and hypocritical as the United
Nations of today and even get to meet the famous Michelin man when our friends stop off at a repair station to mend a broken wheel.
Once more a fantastic classic, from the famous Goscinny and Uderzo.

A wonderfully done book in which Asterix, Obelix, and Getafix, must save a roman inspector that has been poisened by an evil roman governor. To save the inspectors life they must travel to the mountains in Switzerland to get a flower that can heal him.

Originally done as a comic in a french childrens' magazine, the Adventures of Asterix the Gaul have grown beyond that small framework and can be enjoyed by peoples around the world. The idea is that in the world of 55BC all Gaul has been conquored by the Romans, except for one small village which holds out against the invaders. The source of their survival is a magic potion brewed by the village Druid which gives the drinker superhuman strength. The Gauls are not waging a war with the Romans, they just go about their lives and after being thumped a few times, the local Romans are more than happy to let them do it.

This is one of my favorites in the Asterix series. In a rare case of helping a Roman, Gettafix is asked to aid a Roman investogator who has been poisoned by the corrupt officials he is auditing. To save his life Asterix must recover a tiny flower known only to grow in Helivita.

The rest is a fun romp through Switzerland pushing all the steroetypes of banks and neutrality and above all cleanliness. This is a particular point of horror to the Romans who like dirty orgies. There are comments on cooking, medical health and depravity, just for good measure.

Along the way potions are drunk, Romans as bashed and friends are made.

There is one thing that I like in this episode more than in any other - drawing! Landscapes of Switzerland in this book truly show Uderzo's talent.

`Asterix in Switzerland' is another delightful Asterix adventure which involves the obligatory Roman bashing and end of adventure feast. But before all of that our heroes have to go to Switzerland to find some edelweiss to make a potion to save the life of a Roman tax collector who has been poisoned by a corrupt Roman official. There are plenty of Swiss references, like their love of cheese, climbing, yodelling, their timekeeping and banks. There are also plenty of play on word gags that Asterix is famous for and humorous names. The animation is great in this book and there are numerous wonderful touches that keep this book enjoyable even after repeated readings. If you are a fan of Asterix then this will not disappoint you and it also makes a good introduction for those new to the series as well.

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One of the finest Asterix books, this one has the unusual feature of having a Roman as one of the good guys. He is a tax collector (of all jobs) who is poisoned by a corrupt Governor, fond of embezzling Rome when not setting up decadent orgies. The ailing taxman, fearing for his life at the hand of the inept Roman doctors, call our indomitable Gauls. Panoramix realizes that in order to save him, he needs a particular flower that grows in the Alps for the antidote. So, Asterix and Obelix have to go to Helvetia (modern day Switzerland) in order to find said flower. As usual in Asterix books, national stereotypes as well as anachronisms abound: the Swiss are fanatical about cleanliness, they already dominate banking, they engage in yodeling, and so forth. It's a fun book, and the fact that Asterix and Obelix are willing to save a nominal enemy, highlights their noblesse.

"Asterix in Switzerland" is the sixteenth Asterix comic, first published in France in 1970. It's a fairly good one, and I liked it.

The Governor of Condatum loves his Roman orgies, and has been taking the taxes for the Roman Empire and putting them in his own savings. A Quaestor from Rome comes to investigate, and the Governor poisons him. Dying, the Quaestor sends for Getafix, who has a reputation for medicine out in Gaul. He, and his friends Asterix and Obelix come to visit him in bed. Getafix can heal the man, but he needs the Edelweiss flower, and the best specimens come from the mountains in Helvetia, so Asterix and Obelix are sent to find it...

It's worth a look for Asterix fans.

Another great story! For those Asterix amateurs, this is one more piece for the collection.

Asterix comics are great historical fiction.
Wonderful illustrations and well written.

Rene Goscinny, Asterix in Switzerland (Dargaud, 1970)

A corrupt Roman official poisons a tax collector, and Getafix is called in to cure him (since the Roman doctors are unable to do anything). Getafix requires an Edelweiss blossom for the antidote, and thus sends Asterix and Obelix off to Switzerland to get it. Another of the books where Goscinny actually tries to fulfill the original idea of using the Asterix books to teach something (geography always was Asterix and Obelix's best subject); it's quite fun in places, but the contrast of the slovenliness of the charges under the jurisdiction of the corrupt Roman and the orderliness of the Swiss tends to wear a little thin. ***