Michael Wood

Voltaire

Theo Cuffe

Candide, Or, Optimism

maitha mana

2012: "Our work keeps at bay the three great evils: boredom, vice, and necessity."

2014: I still don't quite get the ending. Although, I love how the book tackles different aspects in different regions (including religions such as Islam too), in my opinion:
a) Candide wasn't being optimistic, he was barely surviving. 
b) It started out kind of depressing but it seems more like an adventure in the end rather than a tragedy. That's probably what Voltaire wanted it to seem as, the clichè 'light in the end of the tunnel'

Wynter

A fast-paced narrative of absurd stories, which reminds me of The Travels and Surprising Adventures of Baron Munchausen that I read earlier this year. In the vein of Swift's A Modest Proposal, it utilizes dark humour to comment on the society's downfalls. I think Voltaire's contemporaries would have enjoyed his satire to the fullest. Optimism is an interesting philosophical work to ponder over, even though I might not get it completely.

Candide, Or, Optimism

Reviews