
Reviews

A very fun, absurd story that I don't believe was ultimately one that conveys its final message -- it feels like a bit of a departure, if that was the true "goal" -- but is great all around nonetheless.
Voltaire certainly knows how to create misery, and he makes his titular Candide go through plenty of it. Not just him, either: Candide will be joined by many sidekicks, love interests, rivals, and plain passersby who'll go through the wringer alongside him. Nobody is spared, except for ne'er-do-wells who we never see again; but in Voltaire's hyper-accelerated nightmare-world, they surely died some awful death as well.
This book is just fun. It's only ~100 pages and while you may think that should make it a quick read, it's certainly a dense few pages. Every line is filled with character or charm, the prose is lovely, and the conversations and philosophy is stuff to really consider (or, at the very least, laugh at). Despite being short, it took me a couple days to read this because I really did want to take my time and savor it; right from the fist chapter I knew I had a winner and that Voltaire's comedic style is seemingly timeless.
I am VERY happy to have checked this out and I'll gladly dig further into Voltaire's other works. I highly recommend it.

When it comes to "Candide," or as I like to call it, "an adventure of a down bad man," I was initially skeptical about enjoying a comedy from another era. I worried it wouldn't resonate with modern humour. However, I was happily proven wrong. This classic had me laughing out loud with its absurd yet hilarious storyline. Candide and his companions stumble into insane misfortunes and equally crazy strokes of luck. Beyond the humour, Voltaire weaves in profound philosophical insights, reminding readers not to take life too seriously, as nothing is permanent. As Voltaire himself might suggest, "All is for the best, in the best of all possible worlds.”

Funny!

What a funny man

reverse barry lyndon. really satisfying end.

may 5th, 2018: damn, why did i rate this book so low. i swear, i gotta thank the existence of this book and the author for being the sole subject of the open essay for ap lit. that’s not why i bumped up the rating from a 2 to 3 stars. because i had to study over the novels i’ve read over the year for this essay, i learned more about the book and it made me learn a bit more. maybe not judge the entire book as soon as you finish it?

Voltaire's philosophy in a novella. Quite graphic but entertaining.

** spoiler alert ** Candide is possibly the funniest book I've read that was written before the nineteenth century. For that, I commend it. I uproariously giggled several times throughout the book because of the satirical humour that was so carefully placed by Voltaire. Personally, I'd recommend this book to anyone who can laugh at misfortune and at tons of naivety. However, I did have trouble with its childishness at a point - everyone who dies eventually comes back. Ruins the story often.

Very fun, brash, unfair to Leibniz.

An effective satire for sure...


First off shout out to Le_fino , because i only picked up this book after it popped up on my feed and i saw you gave it 5 stars.. so yeah i totally rate your reviews highly. Candide is basically a character who could rival the Baudelaire children in the unfortunate stakes. After certain matters causes him to get ejected from his home Candide falls (i say "fall" because these adventures found him no matter what he did) into numerous adventures which test his optimistic take on the world and people in general. Like most old ass books classics, the fear is it might be highly difficult to understand, what, with the dead english and penchant for characters to speak in riddles get philosophical just to convey a point. but, even though Candide did have a few philosophical speaking moments, the book was mainly an easy, enjoyable, humorous read, spiced up with some wickedly gruesome parts. I'd definitely read more of Voltaire's work.

เรียกว่าหนังสือเปลี่ยนชีวิตก็ได้มั้ง เรายืมก็องดิดด์ (สนพ.ผีเสื้อ) มาอ่านตอน ม.3 มั้ง นานมากๆละ เปิดโลกมากกกก รู้สึกว่าตลกและสนุกมากๆ อเมซซิ่งที่คนเรามันสามารถวิพากษ์-เสียดสีสังคมได้ตรงใจเราทั้งๆที่เขามีชีวิตอยู่ก่อนเราเป็นร้อยๆปี แถมยังอยู่คนละประเทศอีก 5555 ความรู้สึกนั้นมันคงไปจุดประกายอะไรบางอย่างให้รู้สึกว่าน่าจะเรียนรัฐศาสตร์หรืออะไรเทือกนั้นได้นะ จน fast forward หลายๆๆๆๆปี ก็กลายเป็นตัวเราในทุกวันนี้ค่ะ 555555

<< Je ne lis que pour moi. Je n'aime que ce qui est a mon usage. >>

I actually kind of liked it!

Pop Sugar Challenge: - a book over 100 years old

Quite boring, but I'll give a star for the character who hated everything and was miserable

güzel bir aziz nesin romanıydı.

Read this for my lit class! I really enjoyed it. I wasn't sure if I would, but honestly, it's pretty great. Made me laugh a lot, very interesting historical context surrounding it, and surprisingly enough, the 1500 word essay I had to write about it was actually decent. I didn't get sick of looking up quotes to cite. Very amusing, and the prose isn't too hard to follow compared to other classics. If Voltaire existed in the 21st century, he would have thrown a whole lot of shade at our current society, and the idea entertains me a lot.

Ouvrage programmé au lycée. Dont le sens ne m'était révèle que quelques années plutard. Les notions primaires philosophiques morales et éthiques, traitant du bien et du mal, de la relativité, et autres... Je ne pourrai jamais oublié l'autodafé et le spectacle sanguin dont Pangloss avait était victime. Nous en avons autant rit que pleuré en écrivant nos dissertations... La vieille et Paquette... Certains noms qu'on n'oublie jamais !

Such a great read! Witty, funny, so full of sarcasm and adventure. I loved the overall message and the themes laced throughout this book and written so satirically I was giggling to myself throughout it. Highly recommend.

Écrit durant le genre philosophique. Remet en cause la société et la religion.

I'M DONE! I'M DONE! YES! FINALLY. Now to sparknote it and write an essay yay

I always wanted to read Voltaire, though this is not what I wanted or imagined. In short, it was fun for the first 12 pages. Then it just got annoying
Highlights

"You are very hard of belief," said Candide.
"I have lived," said Martin.
Life's Souring of Disposition

This ridiculous foible is perhaps one of our most fatal characteristics; for is there anything more absurd than to wish to carry continually a burden which one can always throw down? to detest existence and yet to cling to one's existence? In brief, to caress the serpent which devours us, till he has eaten our very heart?
Burden of Life