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kyrajade's review against another edition
3.0
Candide - 4/5. Candide reminds me of all the other stupid young male characters I like (Julien, Dorian, Holden)
Micromegas - 3/5. Super entertaining, loved the following lines:
'"We have more than enough matter," he said, "to do a lot of evil, if evil comes from matter, and more than enough spirit, if evil comes from spirit. Are you aware, for example, that at this very minute there are a hundred thousand lunatics of our species in hats busy massacring - or being massacred by - a hundred thousand animals in turbans, and that almost everywhere on Earth that is how we have gone on since time immemorial?"'
Zadig - 3/5. Interesting tale, all of the stories share a theme of hopes being dashed and questioning divine authority.
What Pleases the Ladies - Skipped because I don't like reading in verse!
The Ingenu - 3/5. I liked this more for the historical context surrounding it which made it interesting.
The White Bull - 3/5. Pretty obvious plot but combined myth and religion in interesting ways.
Micromegas - 3/5. Super entertaining, loved the following lines:
'"We have more than enough matter," he said, "to do a lot of evil, if evil comes from matter, and more than enough spirit, if evil comes from spirit. Are you aware, for example, that at this very minute there are a hundred thousand lunatics of our species in hats busy massacring - or being massacred by - a hundred thousand animals in turbans, and that almost everywhere on Earth that is how we have gone on since time immemorial?"'
Zadig - 3/5. Interesting tale, all of the stories share a theme of hopes being dashed and questioning divine authority.
What Pleases the Ladies - Skipped because I don't like reading in verse!
The Ingenu - 3/5. I liked this more for the historical context surrounding it which made it interesting.
The White Bull - 3/5. Pretty obvious plot but combined myth and religion in interesting ways.
lindapatin's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
mattperry25's review against another edition
5.0
If, after 257 years, your satire of human nature and contemporary Europeans can still make a 7th grader laugh, you know you did something right. I recently finished reading this book with one of my students, and he thought it was hilarious from the first page. The sheer absurdity of the situations in which Candide, his teacher Pangloss, and other characters constantly find themselves is funny enough, but their stubborn refusal to see the world differently despite their many setbacks and tragedies is what really gets you chuckling. No matter how many new people he meets whose hardships have been worse than his, Candide can’t entirely shake his optimism—or, as the philosophical fashion of the time was called, Optimism. Pangloss has indoctrinated him with the belief that “This is the best of all possible worlds,” and, though he has several moments in which he begins to doubt the validity of this idea, Candide does not fully discard it until the last page, when he finally decides to eschew philosophy altogether for hard work.
Candide is an enduring take-down of dogma, egoism, and superficiality. It critiques society in general, religion, war, colonialism, various justifications for social hierarchies, criticism itself, love, lust, celibacy, philosophy, and the myriad other ways in which human beings hurt, demean, and fracture themselves and their communities. It’s brilliant, still relevant after two and a half centuries, and, yes, very funny.
Candide is an enduring take-down of dogma, egoism, and superficiality. It critiques society in general, religion, war, colonialism, various justifications for social hierarchies, criticism itself, love, lust, celibacy, philosophy, and the myriad other ways in which human beings hurt, demean, and fracture themselves and their communities. It’s brilliant, still relevant after two and a half centuries, and, yes, very funny.
poisonenvy's review
challenging
funny
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
hperks18's review
funny
informative
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
hankspecter's review
adventurous
challenging
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
Interesting nd somehow fully stories with some historical background
theoverflowingbookshelf's review against another edition
3.0
A funny satire that seems super bizarre and absurd (but that’s the point)! While i found myself confused and sometimes rolling my eyes at the antics that Candide and Co. get up to, it's still a pretty funny book. This is a quick read that will have you questioning the stupidity of society back then and maybe even how you view life right now.
lev0001's review
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0