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Summary: Better than a 20 minute phone call
Review: This is one of those few classics that is actually quite entertaining as well as being intellectually stimulating. I laughed out loud many times while reading this. It is a short read, and any one can enjoy it. ...
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Summary: CANDIDE - THE TRUE LOVER
Review: CANDIDE IS ONE THE BEST LOVE STORIES OF ALL TIMES. THE BOOK MADE ME LAUGH, CRY, HATE, BUT MOST ALL LOVE AND SEE THAT TRUE LOVE WILL ALWAYS FIND IT TRUE END. I WAS CAPTURED BY ALL THE CHARACTERS, AND PLACES IN THIS WONDERFUL BOOK. CANDIDE FORBIDDEN LOVE TO MADAME CONGANDE ROYALTY TO THIS COMMONER, CANDIDE. HIS QUEST TO FORGET AND YET BE UNITED TO HIS MOST BELOVED. PROFESSOR PENGLOSS OUT LOOK ON LIFE; THAT WHATEVER HAPPENS IN LIFE IS MEANT TO BE THAT WAY - SETS FORTH THE IDEOLOGY "THAT WE HAVE NO CONTROL OVER OUR DESTINY." COMPARE THAT WITH CONGONDE'S MILITARY BROTHER THAT BELIEVED THAT ONE CAN SET AND CONQUER ONES DESTINY.CANDIDE SHIPWRECKED EXPERIENCE IN ELDORADO WAS JUST GREAT, SHOWING THAT UTOPIA AND UNITY EXIST SOMEWHERE. BUT ALAS CANDIDE CHOSEN COURSE WAS TO LEAVE THIS PLACE OF PERFECT PEACE AND UNITY AND TO SEEK FOREVER HIS TRUE PEACE AND UNITY, HIS BELOVED MADAME CONGONDE. THIS IS A MUST READ BOOK SHORT AND SWEET I RATE THIS BOOK A TRUE CLASSIC HENRY
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Summary: At times interesting, but poorly written.
Review: While Candide is mildly amusing, what shows more than Voltaire's wit is his laziness. He shows nothing while telling everything. A good read for the literarily weak or inexperienced. A few hours worth of yawning for everyone else. There are novels far more deserving of the "Classic" title, if one has the guts to take an honest look and form his own opinion. But let the lemmings have their fun. Those with minds know better.
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Summary: If You Enjoy Satire You Need To Read This
Review: Candide is a satirical novel by French writer and philosopher Voltaire. It was first published in 1759, and describes a series of calamities that befall the naive young Candide and his tutor Dr Pangloss, who parodies the philosophy of Leibniz by maintaining, against all evidence, that all is for the best of all possible worlds. For those that like pholosophy and for those who don't, this is a must read.
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Summary: Philiosophe Shenanigans
Review: Perhaps the most amusingly intelligent Frenchman in history, Voltaire's masterpiece satirizes everything from politics to Liebniz to the Pope. Short, bitter, and hilarious, 'Candide' may not sound as controversial as it once did. Surprisingly, however, it holds up quite well after over two centuries. Intolerance and ignorance are still widespread, and the first step to solving the problem is to see it. Perhaps more people would realize our condition if Voltaire were as publicized as during his lifetime. Even if you where to ignore the social statement, some might get a kick out of the wacky storyline and idiotic characters. Plus, its length makes it a quick read (which is fortunate, as one may want to go over it a few times after laughing hysterically to get the full point).
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Summary: Funny and easy to read
Review: I try to read more now that I have AP English Lit. However, I'm a slow reader, but I finished this book after two sittings. I completed the book; I plowed through an allegorical analysis with a former Eng teacher while I visit my locker, and I find Voltaire's work truly remarkable and timeless.
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Summary: the purpose rings loud and clear
Review: most frequent complaint: it is the same episode over and over. yes, and that is life and never once does voltaire's episodes turn out for the better, but almost always for the more ironic. see life, how it was perceived, and how things have not and will never change.
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Summary: An amazing tale, Voltaire is my hero!
Review: "Candide" by Voltaire is probably the best non-fiction work that I've read in a long time. It serves as a satirical introduction the philosophical problem of evil and as an attack on the philosophy of optimism, which is still adhered to today, although perhaps not like in Voltaire's time. Voltaire eviscerates everyone's sacred cows. He satarizes everything. Nothing is not reduced to rubble by his vitriolic writing. In "Candide" Voltaire intelligently satarizes: Christians, Jews, Muslims, war, authority, religious intolerance and bigotry, free will, determinism, the Bible, priests, imams, monks, France, the Papacy, the Inquisition, the Catholic Church, the Protestants, the Jesuits, the Spaniards, the English, Frederick the Great, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibnitz, the so-called morals of religious figures, as well as optimism, and pessimism. There is no work of fiction that has a better grounding in fact than "Candide." And the final statement of the book, that we must cultivate our garden, is the most universal task put to mankind. It serves as an answer to evil, and as an indictment: Life is a garden, your life is your own garden, YOU must cultivate it in order to reap its benefits. Thus, Voltaire ends his razing of life by endowing it with purpose and meaning. This book is a great adventure in philosophy, satire, religion, and life. It is an easy read, although it can spawn discussions and questions bound to confound almost any theologian. Too bad I can only give it five stars.
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Summary: Satire That Endures
Review: "All is for the best...in the best of all possible worlds." Utopia generally conjures up images of beauty, brilliance and harmony. How is it possible to conceive of the violent and brutal happenings in Candide as "the best of all possible worlds?" Our world is clearly not perfect, so isn't it more logical to conclude that all is not for the best? At least not all of the time? Such are the questions raised in Voltaire's timeless masterpiece of satire, Candide. Candide tells the journey of a young man through the world and the realities he must face, deal with and eventually come to be defined by. During his ventures, Candide leaves behind the naive innocence of his childhood and assumes the status of an intelligent and distinguished man. Candide was born and grew up in the castle of the Baron of Thunder-ten-tronckh, in the land of Westphalia in Germany. Soon after his mentor, the philosopher, Dr. Pangloss introduces him to the idea of extreme optimism, Candide's adventures begin as he is banned from the kingdom for kissing the Baron's beautiful daughter, Lady Cunegund. As Candide travels through Germany, Holland, the New World and the remainder of Europe, he encounters trials and evils of every sort--war, hatred, betrayal, starvation, natural catastrophes of all kinds, in short, any and every evil to which man has ever fallen prey. In the course of his travails, however, one thing becomes outstandingly familiar to Candide; the parallels of events that denote the universality of evil. Finally, coming full circle, Candide settles down to cultivate his own garden and make the best of his own possible world. As with most satire, the characters in Candide exist for one unique purpose rather than being fully fleshed out. Dr. Pangloss is the most notable. Pangloss is not present in most of Candide's adventures but he does provide the theme underlying the whole of the book. He serves to sway Candide with his one, unrelenting optimistic outlook on life. The epitome of Pangloss's philosophical outlook, "Everything is for the best," is assimilated by Candide very early in the story. Being young, sheltered and naive at the time, Candide proceeds to live his life according to this tenet. When faced with a problem he always asks himself what Pangloss would do or say in a similar situation. Candide, however, eventually learns to form his own opinions and concepts and thus the philosophical optimism of Dr. Pangloss is tested and challenged throughout the book. The "Pangloss Effect" is also demonstrated through Candide's experience in El Dorado, Voltaire's fictional utopia. Candide, traveling with Cacambo, his servant, finally discovers El Dorado, the purported "perfect" place. Why would anyone ever want to leave this perfect place, Candide asks himself? His quest had been to prove the theory of optimism of Pangloss and now apparently, he had succeeded. However, all is not what it may seem, even in El Dorado, and Candide is confronted with many ironic and enigmatic questions. As his journeys draw to a close, Candide comes to realize that it is man's almost limitless ability to accept the fate that befalls him and move on to new and better things that allows him to remain sane, happy and productive. In this sense, Candide comes to represent change and development while Pangloss remains the apex of the unchanging and inflexible. While most satire grows stale and dated, Candide remains as fresh as it was when Voltaire wrote it. In the end, as Candide wisely shows us, in the best of all possible worlds, we all tend our gardens as best as we possibly can.
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Summary: Il faut cultiver son jardin...
Review: Makes you laugh and makes you think. Candide: "How can you be sure that they are attempting to rob us, and that they are unhappy? Martin: C'est que j'ai vecu (Because I have lived) Five stars, for the intelligent only.
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