3.27k reviews for:

Candide

Voltaire

3.56 AVERAGE

adventurous funny reflective tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: N/A
Loveable characters: N/A
Diverse cast of characters: N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Lowkey loved
adventurous reflective slow-paced
adventurous mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

this took a year for me to finish but great story

Surprisingly (or maybe unsurprisingly) one of the funniest things I’ve read
adventurous dark funny medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
reflective fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
adventurous funny lighthearted reflective fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: No
adventurous funny lighthearted fast-paced

A friend gifted the book to me earlier this week because it’s one of his favorites. This was such a wild ride: it’s written so well hence the story moves very rapidly which enables Voltaire to tell such a complex journey in just over 100 pages. Pamela Bedore references Candide as a major text in the history of Utopia/Dystopian literature, and I can see why: what starts off as a satire of determinist optimism becomes an investigation of the dark side of Voltaire’s civilization at the time.

It was a lot better than I remember it being in high school, and very good for what it is. It probably wasn't a good time politically for me to read it, since it's a huge downer, but I'm sure cynics the world over will love being proven right as they devour this book.