Reviews tagging 'War'

Candide ou l'optimisme by Voltaire

44 reviews

hindyjoyce's review against another edition

2.75

adventurous dark funny sad tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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it was my first philosophical book…

 i took away a lot and it was a great and entertaining starting point. 

though some chapters really dragged and messed with the pacing of the book. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racial slurs, Slavery, Violence, Antisemitism, Cannibalism, War

pippawig's review against another edition

3.5

adventurous emotional funny hopeful reflective sad fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Sexual violence, Violence, War

bcgalore's review against another edition

3.25

adventurous challenging funny informative medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, Murder, War

Moderate: Racism, Sexism

breaktheshell's review against another edition

3.0

adventurous funny lighthearted fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: No

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

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somewhat funny. tbh there's not much reason to read it if you don't have a solid grasp on enlightenment philosophy, which i don't, and so a lot of the jokes didn't really land. at least it's short?

(the answer to the "Would you say the cast of characters is diverse?" question is "It's complicated" because it is but you will wish it wasn't lol)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Antisemitism, Colonisation

Moderate: War

Minor: Rape, Slavery

yooniereads's review against another edition

3.75

adventurous dark funny reflective fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Racism, Rape, Blood

Moderate: Slavery, War

pamparmi's review against another edition

2.5

adventurous reflective fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, War, Injury/Injury detail

afofie's review against another edition

3.0

adventurous funny reflective fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Murder, Sexual harassment, War

kafe_kona's review against another edition

3.75

adventurous dark funny reflective fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

---

Had to read this for a course and it wasn't my favorite, but I do understand why it was written.

As for the story itself, the characters were all kinda annoying, especially Pangloss. How these characters barely escape death is beyond me.

The journey Candide went through was interesting in itself, though.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, War

Moderate: Death, Antisemitism, Islamophobia, Religious bigotry

Minor: Cannibalism

jana16's review against another edition

3.5

adventurous challenging dark funny hopeful informative reflective fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, War, Injury/Injury detail

erica_palmisano's review against another edition

4.0

adventurous dark funny lighthearted fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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I read this first in college and decided to reread because (a) I was 1 book shy of my goal for 2021 and (b) it was on my shelf, and (c) I liked it the last time I read it. There was more racism than I remembered (typical white lady me), and lots of fast-moving violence, but so much of the writing still made me chuckle and marvel a few times. And "tending one's garden" has more allure than when I was 20. 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Confinement, Gore, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Cannibalism, Abandonment, Colonisation, War