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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

[close] Short Story Classic Read, September 2015

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Short Story/Novella Collection

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* Short Story Classics
By Bob , Short Story Classics · 1 post · 705 views

last updated Sep 01, 2015 05:35AM

Regret - September 2025
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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

Jan 15, 2018 Andreea rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Third Review
I am back to give it 4 stars. More like 3.5 stars!
I am still thinking about it, ok?

Second Review
Okay, I spent my entire day thinking about this book... and gave it one more star - I still want to reread it though. Candide is a lot of fun and ridiculous. And not all that pessimistic.

First Review
I think maybe I should reread this because it is a short read, but I dragged it over a lot of months just because I didn't make time for it.

So I might get a physical copy (from the library) a ...more

6 likes · Like · see review

Mar 16, 2014 Andrea rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: literature-french, fiction-humor, read-sorted, list-1001-books

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. ...more

6 likes · Like · see review