- Paperback: 144 pages
- Publisher: Penguin Classic; 1st New impression edition (Jan 1 1947)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0140440046
- ISBN-13: 978-0140440041
- Product Dimensions: 20.1 x 12.8 x 0.9 cm
- Shipping Weight: 227 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (86 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #228,918 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- See Complete Table of Contents
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Amazon.com
Political satire doesn't age well, but occasionally a diatribe contains enough art and universal mirth to survive long after its timeliness has passed. Candide is such a book. Penned by that Renaissance man of the Enlightenment, Voltaire, Candide is steeped in the political and philosophical controversies of the 1750s. But for the general reader, the novel's driving principle is clear enough: the idea (endemic in Voltaire's day) that we live in the best of all possible worlds, and apparent folly, misery and strife are actually harbingers of a greater good we cannot perceive, is hogwash.
Telling the tale of the good-natured but star-crossed Candide (think Mr. Magoo armed with deadly force), as he travels the world struggling to be reunited with his love, Lady Cunegonde, the novel smashes such ill-conceived optimism to splinters. Candide's tutor, Dr. Pangloss, is steadfast in his philosophical good cheer, in the face of more and more fantastic misfortune; Candide's other companions always supply good sense in the nick of time. Still, as he demolishes optimism, Voltaire pays tribute to human resilience, and in doing so gives the book a pleasant indomitability common to farce. Says one character, a princess turned one-buttocked hag by unkind Fate: "I have wanted to kill myself a hundred times, but somehow I am still in love with life. This ridiculous weakness is perhaps one of our most melancholy propensities; for is there anything more stupid than to be eager to go on carrying a burden which one would gladly throw away, to loathe one's very being and yet to hold it fast, to fondle the snake that devours us until it has eaten our hearts away?"--Michael Gerber
Product Description
"Candide" is the story of a gentle man who, though pummeled and slapped in every direction by fate, clings desperately to the belief that he lives in "the best of all possible worlds." On the surface a witty, bantering tale, this eighteenth-century classic is actually a savage, satiric thrust at the philosophical optimism that proclaims that all disaster and human suffering is part of a benevolent cosmic plan. Fast, funny, often outrageous, the French philosopher's immortal narrative takes Candide around the world to discover that -- contrary to the teachings of his distringuished tutor Dr. Pangloss -- all is not always for the best. Alive with wit, brilliance, and graceful storytelling, "Candide" has become Voltaire's most celebrated work.
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Incredible,
By
This review is from: Candide (Paperback)
Candide (optimism), first published in 1759, has a lot to do with destiny, and how everything in preordained. Thus, whatever you do to try to change your life, you cannot possibly change it. If you are meant to meet a specific person, no matter what the situation is, you will run into them.This satire is the most unique story I have ever read; I did not know such stories even existed. The protagonist, Candide, is very optimistic, and believes that everything that happens is for the best. Candide is a classic and should be read by everyone; it is very short and can be completed within a few hours. Read this Bantam Classics's translation of Candide, which I found to be very good.
3.0 out of 5 stars
Candid About Candide,
By Sean K. (United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Penguin Classics Candide Or Optimism (Paperback)
The style of exposition used in this book is reminiscent of The Misfortunes of Virtue by the Marquis de Sade. Voltaire presents a catalog of calamities meant to debunk the belief that our world is perfect, and that everything happens "for the best" according to some divine plan. While there is no doubt that Candide is persuasive in its comical misadventures, the style gets old just as it did in The Misfortunes of Virtue. The story becomes a trite joke that loses its potency with each subsequent catastrophe, so that half way through the novel the reader no longer cares what befalls Candide and begins to pray that some benevolent deity will put him out of his (and our) misery. If I were not so thoroughly desensitized to tragedy, and had I not already come to the philosophical conclusions that Voltaire is trying to lead his reader, than I might have found the novel to be more profound. Still the novel is well written, reads quickly if you ignore the endnotes*, and is fairly entertaining. The worst part of this novel is the numerous jabs that Voltaire throws at his contemporary rivals, which I found to be completely annoying. If the author chooses to use his novel as a means of disseminating propaganda against his opponents so be it, but don't expect it to translate well into a time when you and all those other characters are long since dead. Attacking ridiculous ideas is one thing, but forcing the reader (ME) to endure century old grudges through less than subtle personal attacks is something entirely different. Even after reading the "titillating tidbits" supplied by the annotator -- e.g. "The Journal de Trevoux, founded in 1701, was a Jesuit periodical hostile to Voltaire" or "Gabriel Gauchat, a contemporary critic hostile to Voltaire and the Encyclopedists" -- I still have no clue what or who Voltaire is attacking. * Every time I was compelled to read an endnote just to find out that Voltaire was referencing some long forgotten Frenchmen I wanted to fling the book across the room.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Edutainment, 18th century style,
This review is from: Penguin Classics Candide Or Optimism (Paperback)
Candide is a short satirical work that questions if this world is indeed the best of all possible worlds, as 'Liebniz's disciples' believed. Their uncaring verdict on the loss of lives from the earthquake in Lisbon coupled with their arrogance and lack of tact in the time of suffering was fuel for Voltaire's fire.The book is fairly short and can be read in one sitting; it is laugh out loud funny in some places as the most absurd things happen to the major characters. I read it mostly because I like satire and not to get any particular message out of it. The story is pretty straightforward and I guess it does raise a few questions in the readers mind about what our purpose in this life is, how to find happiness, contentment etc... but it can also be read for the pleasure of 'listening' to one of the wittiest men that has ever lived (or so they tell me). I have not done justice to this book, and you can read longer reviews about it on this site, but I would advice you to read it yourself and then make up your mind. Get the Penguin edition.
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