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Maybe it was the flippant descriptions of rape (I know it's the 1700s but I was so tired) maybe it was how convoluted it got that I couldn't keep track, but I'm so glad it's over. Hope Lenny B improved it!
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
Read it based on a recommendation from a friend. Can't say I appreciated it as much as he did but can't fault the satirical writing quality.
This is one of those books that I'd heard about people reading in English classes, but had never been forced to read myself. I knew the name, but I knew nothing about what the book was actually about. So, when my boyfriend presented it to me as hilarious, I was cautious but intrigued.
Having read it, I can now say he was right. Candide is legitimately a funny book, if you get where Voltaire was going with it. It makes fun of everything and everyone and points out just how silly we can be in our pursuit of a happy life. Some of the descriptions in here are pure comic genius, in my opinion.
Beyond being just funny, though, I think it says some interesting things about life and how people tend to approach it. We see the bad and we lament it. Do we see the good quite as clearly? No. We run around seeking beauty and wealth, when maybe what we should be looking for is simplicity and something productive to do with our time.
In any case, it's a classic that I can definitely recommend. (Plus, it's short, which someone who hasn't read it may not realize, so you could get some serious reading cred - without a lot of effort - for saying that you have it in your repertoire.)
Having read it, I can now say he was right. Candide is legitimately a funny book, if you get where Voltaire was going with it. It makes fun of everything and everyone and points out just how silly we can be in our pursuit of a happy life. Some of the descriptions in here are pure comic genius, in my opinion.
Beyond being just funny, though, I think it says some interesting things about life and how people tend to approach it. We see the bad and we lament it. Do we see the good quite as clearly? No. We run around seeking beauty and wealth, when maybe what we should be looking for is simplicity and something productive to do with our time.
In any case, it's a classic that I can definitely recommend. (Plus, it's short, which someone who hasn't read it may not realize, so you could get some serious reading cred - without a lot of effort - for saying that you have it in your repertoire.)
If Voltaire was alive today I would be a groupie hanging outside his house waiting for him to pick up his morning paper. I would show up naked in his shower or disguise myself as a housekeeper in his hotel to get into his room. I would have his posters plastered all over my room and sheets with his face on the pillowcase and all my favorite quotes on the topsheet. I love Voltaire with the passion of a teenaged girl in heat.
A pretty funny and outrageous portrait which serves as serious public satire.
Candide var rolig och på sina ställen fin, även om den speglar en samtid och en syn på sin omgivning som är cynisk och pessimistisk. Jag hade aldrig läst klart den om det inte var för min litteraturkurs - men så är det nog med många av klassikerna. Kul att ha läst den, och kom igen: låt oss odla vår trädgård!
I did it. And, surprisingly, I enjoyed it.
I mean, I like old books, so maybe it’s not surprising. This was my first philosophy book. Is it appropriate to say I found it funny? I can see how Voltaire and Swift got along. There were definite hints of Gulliver and “A Modest Proposal” here.
I won’t nitpick the believability since it’s philosophy and it’s not the plot that matters. As my husband reminded me, Jesus’s parables have no plot either, so Voltaire gets a pass. I’m glad I read it!
I mean, I like old books, so maybe it’s not surprising. This was my first philosophy book. Is it appropriate to say I found it funny? I can see how Voltaire and Swift got along. There were definite hints of Gulliver and “A Modest Proposal” here.
I won’t nitpick the believability since it’s philosophy and it’s not the plot that matters. As my husband reminded me, Jesus’s parables have no plot either, so Voltaire gets a pass. I’m glad I read it!