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Candide
Candide
Author: Voltaire, Lowell Bair (Translator), Sheilah Beckett (Illustrator)
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 ...  more »
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PBS Market Price: $6.59 or $2.69+1 credit
ISBN-13: 9780553211665
ISBN-10: 0553211668
Publication Date: 5/1/1984
Pages: 128
Rating:
  • Currently 3.6/5 Stars.
 65

3.6 stars, based on 65 ratings
Publisher: Bantam Classics
Book Type: Paperback
Other Versions: Hardcover, Audio Cassette, Audio CD
Reviews: Member | Amazon | Write a Review

Top Member Book Reviews

MasterShake avatar reviewed Candide on + 2 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
Interesting book about discovery in different states of mind.
reviewed Candide on + 28 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
A satirical masterpiece from the master himself: Voltaire. Candide is blown by the winds of fortune every which way, but manages to remain convinced that no matter how inhuman the violence, no matter how senseless the suffering, all things continue to work out for the best.
reviewed Candide on + 13 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
In Candide, Voltaire whisks his young hero and friends through a ludicrous variety of tortures, tragedies and reversals of fortune, in teh company of Pangloss, a 'metaphysico-theologo-cosmolo-nigologist' of unfliching optimism. The result is one of the glories of eighteenth century satire.
reviewed Candide on + 18 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
A classic! Good, quick read.
Read All 21 Book Reviews of "Candide"

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reviewed Candide on + 8 more book reviews
The book helps give you a different perspective of the world and of life. It shows you an evil world from a simpletons point of view who was raised by an optimist. It's the inspiration for Forrest Gump.
reviewed Candide on + 275 more book reviews
"In Candide (Voltaire) whisks his young hero and friends through a ludicrous variety of tortures, tragedies and reversals of fortunes, in the company of Pangloss, a 'metaphysico-theologo-cosmolo-niologist' of unflinching opinion. The result is one of the glories of eighteenth-century satire."
Uyulala avatar reviewed Candide on + 16 more book reviews
I've never enjoyed satire more than I did while reading Candide.
reviewed Candide on
Caustic and hilarious, Candide has ranked as one of the world's great satires since its first publication in 1759. It concerns the adventures of the youthful Candide, disciple of Leibniz.
paigu avatar reviewed Candide on + 120 more book reviews
Funny, ironic satire. If you enjoy subtle, self-deprecating humor, you will love this classic!
sebastiantombs avatar reviewed Candide on + 123 more book reviews
2 tapes, 3 hrs. Read by Michael York. English translation, of course. A classic satire that really is a philosophical treatise.
reviewed Candide on + 11 more book reviews
Rating: 4.5/5

This book comes with footnotes and endnotes to provide context for some of the popular and cultural references in Voltaire's time. This is a fantastic satire of the philosophy of optimism. Although not a popular movement these days, it is still easy to appreciate the mental lashing he gives to followers of optimism.

The story is a frenetic rush from one crazy encounter to the next, with ill-fortune and dispair always growing along the journey. The morale of the story is that everyone is doomed to a miserable existence, but it's a fun read, I swear!
reviewed Candide on + 7 more book reviews
Weird, at times gross, also real crazy. Really good though.
reviewed Candide on + 80 more book reviews
This translation from the fench can be a little stodgy, but if you keep with it, it's actually a great read.
reviewed Candide on + 31 more book reviews
A classic, in original French
reviewed Candide on + 49 more book reviews
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

I REALLY enjoyed this book! The translation is great, and the pictures are just fantastic. I greatly recommend it. :)
reviewed Candide on + 6 more book reviews
This Norton Critical Edition includes not only the text of this famous work but essays of criticism as well.


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