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3.56 AVERAGE
3.56 AVERAGE
adventurous
funny
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I wish his and her entire family would’ve actually died
4.5/5
“Oh, Pangloss!" cried Candide, "thou hadst not guessed at this abomination; it is the end. I must at last renounce thy optimism."
"What is this optimism?" said Cacambo.
"Alas!" said Candide, "it is the madness of maintaining that everything is right when it is wrong.”
An enjoyable read! My appreciation for it was handicapped by not knowing that it was a response to Leibniz's Optimism.
“Oh, Pangloss!" cried Candide, "thou hadst not guessed at this abomination; it is the end. I must at last renounce thy optimism."
"What is this optimism?" said Cacambo.
"Alas!" said Candide, "it is the madness of maintaining that everything is right when it is wrong.”
An enjoyable read! My appreciation for it was handicapped by not knowing that it was a response to Leibniz's Optimism.
fast-paced
A valid and understandable critique of optimism but the writing is dry and hard to get through. Would have liked it more if it was longer and more fleshed out. Less racism would also be a big improvement!
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This book is so French. I think it's still a very valid analysis/rumination on society and how people interact, and how suffering is and has been essentially inescapable throughout human history; but throughput it all, we must cultivate our garden.
it was pretty funny. it got worse as it went along though. and the ending was pretty bad. i felt like voltaire ran out of ideas and was just like "and uh..everyone who was dead isnt dead anymore. and they live in boredom. oh. and cunegonde? the whole point of this book? yeah shes ugly now. but shes good at making pastries. the end!"
i know it’s a satire but it was too philosophical and mid.
adventurous
dark
funny
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I’m really starting to think I just hate satire?
In all seriousness though I thought this was solid up until the end, mostly because I think it’s hard to write something like this with a prescriptive ending, but also because without a clear definition of labor (labor of love vs work) I can’t make a good judgement call.
In all seriousness though I thought this was solid up until the end, mostly because I think it’s hard to write something like this with a prescriptive ending, but also because without a clear definition of labor (labor of love vs work) I can’t make a good judgement call.
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
By parodying Leibniz, Voltaire parodies all the philosophers who want to say the world is better than it actually is. No serious philosophy can exist without dealing with the seemingly senseless magnitude of human suffering, lest it be comical at best or complacent with evil at worst. Unfortunately, Voltaire’s conclusion bears little promise. We cannot agree on practical rather than theoretical matters (especially if the formet depend in some way on the latter) and least of all productive labor (as Marxism and its detractors have proved for the last few hundred years). Nevertheless, the work is terribly funny, certainly the funniest I’ve read in a while.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape, Slavery, Murder