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Candide
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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
...more
Paperback, 129 pages
Published
January 1st 1991
by Dover Publications
(first published 1759)
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Rik
This book is a classic! A treasure of 18th-century satire. You're either a troll or a troglodyte. Go and read the Hunger Games again.
Micaela
I'd go with something like Catch-22, highly entertaining, absurdist and filled with black humor.
Community Reviews
Showing 1-30
- Bonjour, M. Candide! Bienvenue au site Goodreads! Qu'en pensez-vous?
- It's OK, we can speak English. Pour encourager les autres, as one might say.
- Eh... super! I mean, good! So, what do you make of twenty-first century Britain?
- Vraiment sympathique! I am reading of your little scandale with the expenses of the Houses of Parliament. It is a great moment for la démocratie. Now there will be des élections, the people will be able to choose better representatives, we will see that the country ha ...more
- It's OK, we can speak English. Pour encourager les autres, as one might say.
- Eh... super! I mean, good! So, what do you make of twenty-first century Britain?
- Vraiment sympathique! I am reading of your little scandale with the expenses of the Houses of Parliament. It is a great moment for la démocratie. Now there will be des élections, the people will be able to choose better representatives, we will see that the country ha ...more
Voltaire's novel introduces the reader to Candide, a wide-eyed, calm and slightly bland young gentleman who resides at Castle Westphalia and who believes in the philosophy that "everything in the world is for the best." One of the first scenes is filled with two emotional opposites for Candide who first gets to kiss his love, Cunegonde behind a screen, only to then be kicked out of the castle, literally, by the Baron of Thunder-ten-Tronckh.
Here then begins Candide's incredible, fantastical adve ...more
Here then begins Candide's incredible, fantastical adve ...more
Slightly disappointed with the next-Gabriel Garcia Marquez, I took on this classic in one sitting.
&...
J***S!
Where has this one been all my life? I adore "Candide" because it is rife with adventure, it is a speedy read, and at the very end you experience a vortex of feelings and NOVEL concepts. It transcends literature itself.
Compare this to Dante. To Shakespeare. I could not help but smile at all the awful misadventures of our poor fool. This is made for someone, like me, who thinks "The Alc ...more
&...
J***S!
Where has this one been all my life? I adore "Candide" because it is rife with adventure, it is a speedy read, and at the very end you experience a vortex of feelings and NOVEL concepts. It transcends literature itself.
Compare this to Dante. To Shakespeare. I could not help but smile at all the awful misadventures of our poor fool. This is made for someone, like me, who thinks "The Alc ...more
"Candide" is an accessible masterpiece which demonstrated to the world Volatire's genius as a satirist. The eponymous Candide is a young man tutored by an optimist who is convinced according to the cause and effect philosophy of Leibniz and perhaps is best summarized in Voltaire's leitmotif that human beings live in the "best of all possible worlds." Alexander Pope rather laughably made the same outrageous claim in his "Essay on Man" in which he writes, "Everything that is is right." How can thi
...more
“If this is the best of possible worlds, what then are the others?”
If the world was created to drive us mad, as one character in "Candide" suggests, it is quite well suited for its purpose and running like a fine-tuned machine. If, on the other hand, everything is for the best in this best of possible worlds, as the optimist philosopher Pangloss claims in admiration for Leibniz' idea of a benevolent, planning, organised deity, the above question is fair and scary. What are the other worlds like, ...more
If the world was created to drive us mad, as one character in "Candide" suggests, it is quite well suited for its purpose and running like a fine-tuned machine. If, on the other hand, everything is for the best in this best of possible worlds, as the optimist philosopher Pangloss claims in admiration for Leibniz' idea of a benevolent, planning, organised deity, the above question is fair and scary. What are the other worlds like, ...more
I dedicate this review to my dear friend Roger, a writer of inspiring reviews. This is in great part in answer to your question: "Do you ever read anything light?"
Roger made me think: what major literature work, as nothing less would do!, that I read would fit the definition of light? Of course, Candide came up front to my mind. And what makes Candide so brilliant and hilarious? Not one think, but various factors combined:
1. Remarkable characters: a hopelessly naïve protagonist, for whom you ha ...more
Roger made me think: what major literature work, as nothing less would do!, that I read would fit the definition of light? Of course, Candide came up front to my mind. And what makes Candide so brilliant and hilarious? Not one think, but various factors combined:
1. Remarkable characters: a hopelessly naïve protagonist, for whom you ha ...more
Jul 18, 2009
K.D. Absolutely
rated it
liked it
·
review of another edition
Recommended to K.D. by:
501 Must Read Books; 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die (2006-2010)
panglossian - adj. characterized by or given to extreme optimism, especially in the face of unrelieved hardship or adversity.If an English word came from a book's character, that must be something. If the book was written and first published in the 18th century and many people still read it up to now, that must be really something.
I thought Voltaire's Candide was a difficult boring slow long read. Wrong. Exactly the opposite. It's an easy, very entertaining, fast-paced and short (only 100 page ...more
970. Candide, Francois Marie Arouet de Voltaire
Candide, is a French satire first published in 1759 by Voltaire, a philosopher of the Age of Enlightenment. The novella has been widely translated, with English versions titled Candide: or, All for the Best (1759); Candide: or, The Optimist (1762); and Candide: Optimism (1947).
It begins with a young man, Candide, who is living a sheltered life in an Edenic paradise and being indoctrinated with Leibnizian optimism by his mentor, Professor Pangloss. T ...more
Candide, is a French satire first published in 1759 by Voltaire, a philosopher of the Age of Enlightenment. The novella has been widely translated, with English versions titled Candide: or, All for the Best (1759); Candide: or, The Optimist (1762); and Candide: Optimism (1947).
It begins with a young man, Candide, who is living a sheltered life in an Edenic paradise and being indoctrinated with Leibnizian optimism by his mentor, Professor Pangloss. T ...more
Zounds! This book is wildly entertaining and I giggled all the way through Candide's awful adventures. Who would have thought that murder, rape, slavery, sexual exploitation, natural disaster, pillaging, theft, and every other oppression imaginable could be so funny?
Here's some pretty good insight from the old woman with one buttock:
"I have been a hundred times upon the point of killing myself, but still I was fond of life. This ridiculous weakness is, perhaps, one of the dangerous principles im ...more
Here's some pretty good insight from the old woman with one buttock:
"I have been a hundred times upon the point of killing myself, but still I was fond of life. This ridiculous weakness is, perhaps, one of the dangerous principles im ...more
I loved Candide! It is such a brilliant satire on the ideas observed through the glass of rosy eyed philosophy. “All is for the best in the best of all possible worlds”!!!
Candide, a young fellow, believes that whatever happens is for the best, courtesy his tutor Dr. Pangloss. The writing covers a number of unfavorable happenings and incidents, which should have been sufficient enough to let him abandon the colored glasses. But voila! Our man Candide is one optimist! He continues believing even ...more
Candide, a young fellow, believes that whatever happens is for the best, courtesy his tutor Dr. Pangloss. The writing covers a number of unfavorable happenings and incidents, which should have been sufficient enough to let him abandon the colored glasses. But voila! Our man Candide is one optimist! He continues believing even ...more
This is a truly hilarious satire which starts with poor Candide being kicked out of the castle where he was born and brought up, after he falls in love with the baron’s daughter, Cunegonde. Then his troubles begin, and he ends up travelling all around the world looking for his beloved.
Candide experiences trial after trial, each one as bad and as far-fetched as the last. However, the way in which these trials were described did not make one feel too sorry for him; the story had more of the feel o ...more
Candide experiences trial after trial, each one as bad and as far-fetched as the last. However, the way in which these trials were described did not make one feel too sorry for him; the story had more of the feel o ...more
Feb 18, 2008
Chris
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
everyone.
While fruitlessly searching for something decent to read, I invariably come across a ton of acclaim for total hacks being labeled as ‘master satirists’. God that pisses me off, especially since none of those books are worth a damn, and while the authors wrongly think they have something interesting or unique to say, the thing that really disheartens me is that someone out there agrees with them. For each of these books, there should be a simple label affixed to the front cover that reads ‘Not As
...more
"In the castle of Baron Thunder-ten-tronchkh in Westphalia, there once lived a youth endowed by nature with the gentlest of characters. His soul was revealed in his face. He combined rather sound judgment with great simplicity of mind; it was for this reason, I believe, that he was given the name of Candide."
I have to admit straightaway that in my youth, I was most like the naïve and often foolish Candide, believing in the teachings of the optimistic Dr. Pangloss that "all is for the best". Thou ...more
I have to admit straightaway that in my youth, I was most like the naïve and often foolish Candide, believing in the teachings of the optimistic Dr. Pangloss that "all is for the best". Thou ...more
Oct 26, 2018
Mohammed-Makram
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
literature
و كان يريد أن يعرف كيف يصلون للرب في إلدورادو فقال العجوز الطيب و الحكيم و المحترم: نحن لا نصلي له فليس لدينا ما نطلبه إليه فلقد أعطانا كل ما يلزمنا و نحن نشكره باستمرار.
فشعر كانديد بالفضول ليرى الكهنة فجعل كاكامبو يسأل أين يكونون؟ فضحك العجوز الطيب و قال: يا أصدقائي نحن جميعا كهنة. إن الملك و كل أرباب العائلات يرتلون الأناشيد و الحمد لله باحتفال كل صباح و يرافقهم خمسة أو ستة آلاف موسيقي.
ماذا؟! ليس لديكم رهبانا يعملون و يحكمون و يأتمرون و يحرقون الناس الذين يخالفونهم الرأي؟!!!
في أجواء تشبه أ ...more
من الأدب الساخر بطلها يدعى كانديدوترجمتها حسب ما قرأت هي الساذج
تقوم الرواية على فكرة أن العالم ملىء بالشر وإن الإنسان عليه أن لا يسرف بالتفاؤل ولعلها فعلا كما ظن جاك جان روسو كانت الرد على رسالته التي وجهها إلى فولتير والتي تنتقد النظرة التشاؤمية التي يكتب بها فولتير وإن كان يظن أن فولتير لم يطلع على تلك الرسالة مع إن كل الدلائل تشير لعكس ذلك ، ينتقد فولتير هذا العالم الممتلىء بالقسوة فالكل في هذه الرواية يبدو شريرا .. كما إنه لا توجد قوانين أخلاقية تجمع بين البشر ..بل المنفعة والأنانية والسل ...more
All is for the best in the best of all possible worlds…
And following this sententious wisdom Candide embarks on the quest of his life.
His adventures begin with war… Wars bring glory to those who are on the winning side… Especially to the monarchs and their generals… As for the rest, they may ...more
And following this sententious wisdom Candide embarks on the quest of his life.
Never was anything so gallant, so well accoutred, so brilliant, and so finely disposed as the two armies. The trumpets, fifes, hautboys, drums, and cannon made such harmony as never was heard in Hell itself.
His adventures begin with war… Wars bring glory to those who are on the winning side… Especially to the monarchs and their generals… As for the rest, they may ...more
In only about 100 pages, Voltaire says more than your average 7 book series... Which would be great if most of what he talked about wasn't dated into irrelevance. So unless you're a French scholar, appreciating his satire seems unrealistic. Combine that with the speed at which the plot moves, and keeping up with Candide is definitely a chore. Truly enjoying his adventure seems like a privilege only possible for the super-educated.
At one time, Candide was a must-read. But, for the average person ...more
At one time, Candide was a must-read. But, for the average person ...more
Aug 07, 2012
Mike Puma
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
2012,
french-author
3.5 stars rounded up for its Classic-ness.
Everyone knows this story, don’t they? A gentle-hearted and dimwitted pretty boy has his life turned upside-down, repeatedly, and in the most reprehensible ways—not just him, everyone he knows or admires or loves—all for the love of a woman* whose name is, presumably, premised on a joke, a pun, for female genitalia.
Yes, folks, a charming little picaresque which, in addition to being an extended opportunity for risqué jokes, afforded Voltaire a much-ne
...more
Para Um Mundo Melhor
Pontualmente, cada Acontecimento é a resultante dum conjunto de premissas que causaram a inevitabilidade do seu Acontecer.
Tudo está bem como está pois nada poderia estar onde não está.
Donde se conclui que Tudo está o Melhor Possível.
Note-se que, o que está aqui em causa não é a Imutabilidade do Todo.
Esta Filosofia apenas preconiza que qualquer alteração ao nível do que acontece, pressupõe uma investigação prévia da conjuntura responsável pelo Acontecimento.
Só a criação dum c ...more
Pontualmente, cada Acontecimento é a resultante dum conjunto de premissas que causaram a inevitabilidade do seu Acontecer.
Tudo está bem como está pois nada poderia estar onde não está.
Donde se conclui que Tudo está o Melhor Possível.
Note-se que, o que está aqui em causa não é a Imutabilidade do Todo.
Esta Filosofia apenas preconiza que qualquer alteração ao nível do que acontece, pressupõe uma investigação prévia da conjuntura responsável pelo Acontecimento.
Só a criação dum c ...more
Not bought this book last time we visited Foyles; since it was lying around, I couldn't resist the temptation to read it again. You can read Candide any number of times. A particularly fine passage which I had forgotten, from the Eldorado sequence:
Cacambo expliquait les bons mots du roi à Candide, et quoique traduits, ils paraissaient toujours des bons mots. De tout ce qui étonnait Candide, ce n'était pas ce qui l'étonna le moins....more
Cacambo explained the king's witty remarks to Candide, and, althou
This is quite a remarkable book – a satirical attack on the notion that we live in the best of all possible worlds and that therefore all that happens in such a world invariably happens for the best. Voltaire is supposed to have written the whole thing in barely three days – a rather productive half-week.
What I found particularly interesting here was the discussion of war – how the horrors of war are presented in such an off-hand way and almost invariably the utter inhumanity of what is describe ...more
What I found particularly interesting here was the discussion of war – how the horrors of war are presented in such an off-hand way and almost invariably the utter inhumanity of what is describe ...more
بعد أن يطوف كانديد بلاد العالم ويرى أفعال وشرور البشر يتأكد أنه لا شيء يسير على ما يُرام
نص ساخر يحكي فيه فولتير أحداث ومفارقات مضحكة ليتساءل عن وجود الانسان ونظرته للحياة
ويسخر من التفاؤل وينتقد الأحوال السياسية والدينية والفكرية السائدة
نص ساخر يحكي فيه فولتير أحداث ومفارقات مضحكة ليتساءل عن وجود الانسان ونظرته للحياة
ويسخر من التفاؤل وينتقد الأحوال السياسية والدينية والفكرية السائدة
ساده لوح
رمان کاندید، حاصل حدود سی سال تحقیق و بررسی ولتر از ادیان و مکاتب و فرهنگ های گوناگون و مشهورترین داستان اوست. ماجرای داستان منحصر به یک محدوده جغرافیایی نیست. علاوه بر کشورهای مختلف اروپایی، داستان در برّ جدید و نهایتا در ترکیه امروزی خاتمه می یابد.
ولتر در این رمان، طیف وسیعی از افکار فلسفی و دینی رایج در زمان خود را منعکس می سازد. وی این رمان را در پاسخ به جهان بینی مثبت گرای لایبنیتز نگاشته است.
نکته ای که همه جا به چشم می خورد، خرافات ستیزی ولتر و تنفرش از اصحاب کلیساست. البته او شمشی
This book does not stick so well in my memory in either a negative or positive way, but I think this comes from the book being a mixture of two things which I could not feel more differently about: allegory and satire.
The first I find to be as silly and pointless as Aesop or Passion Plays. Characters in an allegory are oversimplified symbols, and so cannot comment on the nature of actual human beings. The style is already so firmly affixed to cultural states and norms that it cannot really say a ...more
The first I find to be as silly and pointless as Aesop or Passion Plays. Characters in an allegory are oversimplified symbols, and so cannot comment on the nature of actual human beings. The style is already so firmly affixed to cultural states and norms that it cannot really say a ...more
ولتر یک فیلسوف دئیست. معتقد به وجود یک خالق برتر که در عملکرد مخلوق خود دخالت نمی کند.
در جای جای رمان این باور رو به اندازه نشون میده.
و با این باور جهان رو به زوال می دونه و این که بهترین جا برای زندگی نیست و نقدهای کوبنده ای به ساختار قدرت در فرانسه، کلیسای کاتولیک، سنت ها و ...فرود میاره.
نتیجه گیری ولتر در پایان این هست که با همه ی اینها باید مزرعه ی خود را بارور کنیم!
قلم ولتر موجز و به دور از هر گونه اضافه گویی هست که بسیار این نکته لذت بخش بود.
جان مطلب رو به بهترین شکل در 180 صفحه بیان کرد.
در جای جای رمان این باور رو به اندازه نشون میده.
و با این باور جهان رو به زوال می دونه و این که بهترین جا برای زندگی نیست و نقدهای کوبنده ای به ساختار قدرت در فرانسه، کلیسای کاتولیک، سنت ها و ...فرود میاره.
نتیجه گیری ولتر در پایان این هست که با همه ی اینها باید مزرعه ی خود را بارور کنیم!
قلم ولتر موجز و به دور از هر گونه اضافه گویی هست که بسیار این نکته لذت بخش بود.
جان مطلب رو به بهترین شکل در 180 صفحه بیان کرد.
If you can imagine a smooth blend of the Book of Job, Dante's Inferno, Cervantes' Don Quixote and Butler's Erewhon, with the addition of a heavy dollop of extra absurdity, you are getting close to the nature of Candide. That absurdity is what makes the tale funny and without it, it would be an unpaletable concoction.
There is a good deal of social and political satire, something I often find to be a little weak; it's easy to point and laugh, harder to say what might be better. Voltaire, does howe ...more
There is a good deal of social and political satire, something I often find to be a little weak; it's easy to point and laugh, harder to say what might be better. Voltaire, does howe ...more
Γνήσιο τέκνο του Διαφωτισμού, ο «βασιλιάς» Βολταίρος, στο Καντίντ μας χαρίζει όλα αυτά που ένα "φωτισμένο" μυαλό της εποχής, πρέπει να μας χαρίσει.
Το Καντίντ είναι λοιπόν ένα φιλοσοφικό παραμύθι, με την προσπάθεια του δημιουργού του να αφυπνίσει το αναγνωστικό κοινό του διάχυτη.
Ο αγνός του ήρωας, ο υπεραισιόδοξος Καντιντ γίνεται έρμαιο των καταστάσεων, χωρίς όμως να χάνει ποτέ την ελπίδα του, φανερή προσπάθεια του Βολταίρου να στιγματίσει την μακάρια αισιοδοξία των σύγχρονων του.
Ο πόλεμος, ο φαν ...more
Το Καντίντ είναι λοιπόν ένα φιλοσοφικό παραμύθι, με την προσπάθεια του δημιουργού του να αφυπνίσει το αναγνωστικό κοινό του διάχυτη.
Ο αγνός του ήρωας, ο υπεραισιόδοξος Καντιντ γίνεται έρμαιο των καταστάσεων, χωρίς όμως να χάνει ποτέ την ελπίδα του, φανερή προσπάθεια του Βολταίρου να στιγματίσει την μακάρια αισιοδοξία των σύγχρονων του.
Ο πόλεμος, ο φαν ...more
François-Marie Arouet better known by his nom de plum Voltaire. During the French Englightenment he was a renowned author of a multitude of books covering a wide array of topics from history to science. But Voltaire is best known as a scathing satirist. His strong views on the established Catholic Church, and his advocacy of freedom of religion, freedom of speech, and separation of church and state caused him to become famous but also a controversial figure. This caused him to have to frequently
...more
Για να δανειστώ από τον πρόλογο του βιβλίου, Βολταίρος την σήμερον ημέρα; Γιατί όχι, θα απαντήσω! Αυτό το βιβλίο αποδείχθηκε πολύ διασκεδαστικό και ευκολοδιάβαστο, μια πραγματική αποδομητική σάτιρα της εποχής του Βολταίρου. Βέβαια ο σύγχρονος αναγνώστης θα πρέπει να έχει υπόψιν του το ιστορικό και φιλοσοφικό πλαίσιο το οποίο στόχευε ο Βολταίρος και σε αυτό βοηθούν ο πρόλογος και το εισαγωγικό σημείωμα του μεταφραστή. Τέλος για όσους θέλουν να εντρυφήσουν περισσότερο στο έργο το αναλυτικό επίμετρ
...more
Romanzo filosofico pubblicato nel 1759, mescola l’elemento fantastico con la riflessione filosofica. Trenta capitoli per ironizzare sulle filosofie ottimistiche e in particolare sul pensiero di Leibniz, il sostenitore dell’armonia dell’universo e della tesi che quello in cui viviamo sia il migliore dei mondi possibili nonostante l’esistenza del male dovuta all’imperfezione umana, male giustificato con l’idea che da una male individuale possa derivare un bene collettivo o che il male presente fac
...more
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Guardian Newspape...: October 2018 - Candide | 17 | 18 | Oct 14, 2018 10:30PM | |
| HMSA Summer Reading: Book Review: Candide | 1 | 1 | Mar 10, 2018 08:40AM | |
| Around the Year i...: Candide, by Voltaire | 3 | 13 | Jan 28, 2018 02:41PM | |
| LER FAZ BEM: Cândido ou o Optimismo | 3 | 4 | Mar 19, 2017 03:09PM |
Complete works (1880) : https://archive.org/details/oeuvresco...
In 1694, Age of Enlightenment leader Francois-Marie Arouet, known as Voltaire, was born in Paris. Jesuit-educated, he began writing clever verses by the age of 12. He launched a lifelong, successful playwriting career in 1718, interrupted by imprisonment in the Bastille. Upon a second imprisonment, in which Francois adopted the pen na ...more
In 1694, Age of Enlightenment leader Francois-Marie Arouet, known as Voltaire, was born in Paris. Jesuit-educated, he began writing clever verses by the age of 12. He launched a lifelong, successful playwriting career in 1718, interrupted by imprisonment in the Bastille. Upon a second imprisonment, in which Francois adopted the pen na ...more
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“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 more stupid 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?”
—
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“Fools have a habit of believing that everything written by a famous author is admirable. For my part I read only to please myself and like only what suits my taste.”
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