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Candide

Voltaire

Start date: September 1, 2015

Finish date: September 30, 2015

Discussion: Short Story/Novella Collection

Why we're reading this: Short Story Classic Read, September 2015

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Short Story/Novella Collection

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What Members Thought

Mar 08, 2019 Kelly_Hunsaker_reads ... rated it really liked it

Shelves: read-in-2019, classics, 1001-books, education

Reviewing this book is next to impossible and I am sure my words will ramble ... I found the book extremely funny, completely outrageous and full of adventure. I got a feeling of Dumas, Cervantes... and specifically The Arabian Nights. I was often charmed by Candide and his overwhelming view that life was the best it would ever be in spite of the crazy number of tragic events. I was surprised to like this book because I generally hate satire and philosophical musings. I know this one is both, bu ...more

7 likes · Like · see review

Dec 26, 2018 Laura rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: gutenberg, french-literature, proofreading, e-books, free-literature, read-2019, fiction-18th-century

I made the proofing of this book for Free Literature and it will be published by Project Gutenberg.

Voulez-vous que je vous dise tout de suite ce qui fait la grandeur de Candide et qui le constitue un chef-d'œuvre à part, un immortel chef-d'œuvre? c'est que jamais dans aucun autre ouvrage n'ont brûlé d'une flamme plus ramassée, plus intense et plus vive les deux passions qui ont été l'honneur de Voltaire, la haine de l'injustice triomphante, et la pitié, une pitié large et généreuse, pour les sou ...more

5 likes · Like · see review

Mar 20, 2008 Laura rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: french-literature, e-books, fiction-18th-century, gutenberg, 1001-books-you-must-read-before-you, philosophy

This book begins with a young man, Candide, who is living a sheltered life in an Edenic paradise and being indoctrinated with Leibnizian optimism (or simply "optimism") by his mentor, Professor Pangloss. The work describes the abrupt cessation of this lifestyle, followed by Candide's slow, painful disillusionment as he witnesses and experiences great hardships in the world. Voltaire concludes with Candide, if not rejecting optimism outright, advocating a deeply practical precept, "we must cultiv ...more

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Sep 30, 2011 David S. T. rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: philosophy, fiction

In a very short book everything bad you can imagine happens to Candide. The notes for this edition did seem to do a good job explaining some of the references from the text.

2 likes · Like · see review

Jan 14, 2011 Thomas rated it really liked it

Shelves: classic, fiction

Long for what it was. Could have made the same point in a third as many pages. Though I agree with the ideal behind the book, I'm not a big fan of using a made up story to try to proove something. seems like a person could make the exact opposite of this book, that supports the opposite point of view. Long and repetitive for the point that he is trying to make. Very long and repetitive. Repetitive.

It did make me laugh out loud a couple of times though. ...more

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