Reading 1001 discussion

I enjoyed this book much more than I expected. I put it on my TBR Takedown list for this year without knowing much about it except that it was French satire. I chose to listen to it on audio simply because I was already reading two long reads, and this was a great choice. I don't know that I have ever read anything in which so many things go wrong, yet the story is told with so much humor. Although I know I didn't get all of the deeper meaning and I wouldn't say I'm in agreement with all of the philosophy, I do appreciate the message of finding satisfaction through the work that you do.

4 stars

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, but somehow the silly and madcap story took me far enough away from those things that I was able to enjoy it.

Read in 2010; This was a fun read even though I wouldn't agree with Voltaire's philosophy and deism. The story is a fun journey tale of Candide. Candide is kicked out of the best possible castle and travels through Europe with his philosopher friends to the Americas, to Eldorado (truly the best possible place) and then back to Europe. Candide pursues his true love only to find her grown ugly by the time he finds her. In the end he decides that work is the only way to avoid boredom, vice and poverty and states "we must cultivate our garden".

I was apprehensive about taking on this book as part of my Random challenge because of its heavy satirical reputation but in fact, although it is quite a satire, it is also a wonderful rump and adventure and the characters are full of life. I found the writing to be very expressive and I laughed out loud many a time. The theme of living in the best of all possible worlds was delightfully deflated by a continuous string of disasters in which even love does not conquer all (and money gets stolen). In the end "we must cultivate our garden", becomes the only option to struggle on and find contentment among all the villainy and indifference of the world.
5 stars

An excellent review of Candide from another 1001 author I thought I would share.
Cheers

https://www.theguardian.com/books/201...

I usually enjoy satire, and this was no exception although I found it to be ridiculously over the top. I’m sure there’s plenty to it if you analyse it, but not all of it with any relevance or significance today. Maybe it’s just me, or I read it at the wrong time, but I found it just ok entertainment and was glad it wasn’t longer.

Leni, it is always good when your 3 star books are very short!
Congrats on finishing your TBR Challenge

Candide deserves the praise! It is a surprisingly entertaining satire of contemporary issues, most of which are, tragically, still worthy of satire. Candide, the hero, as his name implies, is a naive and gullible young German, whose improbable misadventures gradually disabuse him of the idea that “all is for the best in the best of all possible words” which is the optimistic philosophy with which he has been indoctrinated. Voltaire published this novella in 1759, not long after the horrific Lisbon earthquake, which had him questioning the idea of a just God. There were many other recent events incorporated in the story, such as the execution of an English Admiral for cowardice for being too distant from his French counterpart. Candide observes that the French Admiral must have been the same distance away from him but did not suffer the same fate. His story satirises most human failings: greed, lust, cruelty and the corruption of institutions such as religion and government. While reading it one realises that humanity has not changed - there are plenty of contemporary examples of the same issues, although I can’t think of a modern example of a buttock being cut off and eaten!