Product Description

Witty and caustic, Candide has ranked as one of the world’s great satires since its first publication in 1759. In the story of the trials and travails of the youthful Candide, his mentor Dr. Pangloss, and a host of other characters, Voltaire mercilessly satirizes and exposes romance, science, philosophy, religion and government—the ideas and institutions men live by.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #14926 in Books
• Published on: 1991-01-01
• Original language: French
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 112 pages

Review
Satirical novel published in 1759 that is the best-known work by Voltaire. It is a savage denunciation of metaphysical optimism--as espoused by the German philosopher Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz--that reveals a world of horrors and folly. In this philosophical fantasy, naive Candide sees and suffers such misfortune that he ultimately rejects the philosophy of his tutor Doctor Pangloss, who claims that "all is for the best in this best of all possible worlds." Candide and his companions--Pangloss, his beloved Cunegonde, and his servant Cacambo--display an instinct for survival that provides them hope in an otherwise somber setting. When they all retire together to a simple life on a small farm, they discover that the secret of happiness is "to cultivate one's garden," a practical philosophy that excludes excessive idealism and nebulous metaphysics. -- The Merriam-Webster Encylopedia of Literature

Language Notes
Text: English (translation)
Original Language: French

Customer Reviews

Awful translation
While Candide is a great book, this translation (the Dover Thrift Edition) has but one merit, and that is its low cost. Not only does the translator (anonymous) use archaic language to render in English a book that was written in modern French, but he misuses it. While one could make a case for using 'thou' when Voltaire used the informal 'tu', this translator uses it seemingly at random. He reverses the meaning of at least one line and skips several words for no apparent reason. If you want to read Candide, either find a better translation than this or read the original.

Action-packed, hilarious, vulgar ... brilliant!
Francois-Marie Arouet (pen name Voltaire) was one of the greatest thinkers of 18th-century Europe. In his brief novella CANDIDE -- which takes less than two hours to read -- he explains the purpose of human existence, with brilliant observations and witty humor. Voltaire offers up numerous philosophies devised by the greatest minds in history, none of which makes the remotest sense in the crazy, multi-continent, tragedy-ridden misadventures of Candide, his tutor Pangloss, his beloved Cunegonde, and the host of remarkable characters they meet.

To call this novella episodic is an understatement. There is more plot in some paragraphs of CANDIDE than there is in most thousand-page epics. We hear countless tales of injustice, swindle, rape, torture, famine, murder, plague, earthquake, and war, but Voltaire presents them in such rapid-fire understatement that the tragedies become hilarious. (Most notable is the tale of the Old Lady losing half of her backside in a seige.) It is only after Candide and his band of comrades lose vast fortunes multiple times that they happen across a lifestyle that offers a moderate amount of enduring satisfaction...

...but I will not tell you how Voltaire says that you can find happiness and fulfillment. Next time you have a rainy afternoon with nothing to do, let Voltaire explain it himself.

"The best of all possible satires"
What more is there to say about this book? Maybe the best compliment I can pay is that I just finished reading it, again, and I still loved it. This is probably the 4th or 5th time I've done so since I first read it in college. What makes it so great?

Voltaire (or his real name, Arouet) takes many of the institutions of man and ridicules them to a hilarious degree. I began laughing with the very first paragraph and never stopped. Nothing is sacred here - governments, religions, traditions, science - all feel the sting of Voltaire's commentary. And Voltaire plays no favorites. At different times he had something to say about the French, Spanish, Portuguese, English, Germans, Turks, etc. With religion, Voltaire spread the wealth as well. Catholics, Protestants, Jews and even Muslims are not spared. Voltaire went to great lengths to ensure that almost no one escaped his wrath.

The author's basic premise was to state that the world is a terrible place. But the title character, Candide, is an eternal optimist, and he tries to reconcile the evil he sees in the world with what he believes, which is that all that happens "is for the best." As things get worse, he continues to try to find the "silver lining" in the tragedies he witnesses or experiences.

Voltaire's work is a masterpiece and has stood the test of time. It can be read and understood almost as well today as it was when it was produced over 250 years ago. I just can't recommend it enough - "Candide" is the ultimate cynic's handbook!

Five stars.