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adventurous
funny
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death, Slavery, Antisemitism
Minor: Infidelity
adventurous
funny
fast-paced
"A hundred times was I upon the point of killing myself, but still I was fond of life. This is one of the most ridiculous foibles our nature is subject to. For what can be more absurd than to persist in carrying the burden of which we would willingly be eased? To detest, and yet to strive to preserve our existence? In a word, to caress the serpent that devours us, til he has gnawed our very entrails?”
I'm not sure what I was expecting getting into this book, but it has a historical reputation and is often cited as among Voltaire's most notable works. "Candide: or, All for the Best" is arrestingly strange and many times intentionally disturbing in its absurdist satire of Leibniz's philosophical optimism. Voltaire constructs a kaleidoscopic allegory of the many ways human life and society can brutalize the individual, drawing attention in turns to certain irrationalities in the way we think and behave in the face of inevitable suffering.
The titular character is whisked away, sometimes by force, other times by his own quixotic fantasies, across Europe and South America in a series of episodes where he and his comrades suffer intense and constant evils. These are brought on both by his own naïveté as well as by the caprices of others' dogma, malice, or indifference. Each episode seems to demonstrate in a particular way how our illusions about the general goodness of people and life can be subverted. Little by little, the "wisdom" of his treasured friend and metaphysician Pangloss is stripped away until in the end, which arrives rather abruptly, the reader is left to ponder over whether Candide's seemingly insane optimism or his newfound state of humble pragmatism are more valuable in confronting the "slings and arrows" of life.
Perhaps it's the translation or the era it was written, but this classic was challenging for me to get into, let alone to understand well. I wouldn't say I would "recommend" it unless dark 18th French satire really floats your boat.
I'm not sure what I was expecting getting into this book, but it has a historical reputation and is often cited as among Voltaire's most notable works. "Candide: or, All for the Best" is arrestingly strange and many times intentionally disturbing in its absurdist satire of Leibniz's philosophical optimism. Voltaire constructs a kaleidoscopic allegory of the many ways human life and society can brutalize the individual, drawing attention in turns to certain irrationalities in the way we think and behave in the face of inevitable suffering.
The titular character is whisked away, sometimes by force, other times by his own quixotic fantasies, across Europe and South America in a series of episodes where he and his comrades suffer intense and constant evils. These are brought on both by his own naïveté as well as by the caprices of others' dogma, malice, or indifference. Each episode seems to demonstrate in a particular way how our illusions about the general goodness of people and life can be subverted. Little by little, the "wisdom" of his treasured friend and metaphysician Pangloss is stripped away until in the end, which arrives rather abruptly, the reader is left to ponder over whether Candide's seemingly insane optimism or his newfound state of humble pragmatism are more valuable in confronting the "slings and arrows" of life.
Perhaps it's the translation or the era it was written, but this classic was challenging for me to get into, let alone to understand well. I wouldn't say I would "recommend" it unless dark 18th French satire really floats your boat.
funny
reflective
fast-paced
Den var mye morsommere og mer tilgjengelig enn jeg trodde den skulle være. Kunne diskutert den eller jobbet med den i timesvis.
so over the top but a great satirical story of candide moving through the worlds worst cruelties and challenging the naivety of blind optimism.
We must cultivate our garden!
We must cultivate our garden!
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I found this book — despite its brevity — so unreasonably hard to get through. I suppose like most philosophical writing, fiction or not, it’s just so enamored with its point that it offers very little in the way of art.
Read this as a companion to the French Revolution history I’m working on, so it wasn’t my main course, so to speak. But it was a tough appetizer to get through. More than once I fell asleep reading it and a couple times became frustrated with my inability to engage.
Read this as a companion to the French Revolution history I’m working on, so it wasn’t my main course, so to speak. But it was a tough appetizer to get through. More than once I fell asleep reading it and a couple times became frustrated with my inability to engage.
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes