Juvenal once said, "It is difficult not to write satire", meaning that even if he put ink to paper with different intentions, his worldview would press him on in one direction. He and Voltaire would have got along famously, I suspect. ( )

Talk about witticism and humor. The latter, rather subjective, mixes well on the former, thus forming a wondrous work called satire.

From the most stretched, overly-exaggerated scenarios and happenings, Candide, the open-minded philosopher, greatly influenced by his revered adviser Pangloss, who thinks that 'all is for the best', which happens to be the same title of the novel, are both comical at most. The story revolves on his topsy-turvy experiences, his dubious ponderings on the truth, and his eventual disagreement to his great teacher.

This book, which is considered a classic, is perhaps not a classic since it's creation. Voltaire probably doubt that this would be one of the most profound and critically-acclaimed work in the history of literature. It is not probably in the league within the profound works of Homer, Virgil, Cicero, and the greatly-jeered Milton, which the book greatly mocks its pretentious quality, this book surmounts the greatness of content through the use of wit and satire.

This fast-paced satire is easy, concise, and greatly entertaining. Every chapter is a new adventure, and there are underlying comments regarding the real-world problems and perhaps analogous content, but it is the sole purpose of making such a satirical literature. ( )

Miellyttävän helppolukuinen, suhteellisen mielenkiintoinen ja muutenkin mukava kirjanen. En minä osaa tästä paljon muuta sanoa kuin että kannattaa lukea. ( )

9/10
To give a brief introduction, Leibniz was an Enlightenment-era philosopher whose mantra could be simplified to ‘This is the best of all possible worlds.’ Now, anyone who has stepped outside the bounds of their homes knows that this is not the case. Another philosopher of the same era, Voltaire, seemed to be infuriated with it – Candide was written to attack Leibnizian optimism and ridiculed government, military, religion, money, and the concept of honour itself.
When things seem to be getting better, Candide jumps to an entirely new plotline which makes you lose hope. That, to me, is Voltaire’s genius. He leaves no holds barred in his unrelenting attack on optimism, so much so that each person takes for granted the horrors of our existence, even when confronted with it first-hand. Cunégonde’s caretaker narrates the act of her buttocks being eaten by slavers for survival with an astounding lack of interest in the matter. Candide, the eponymous character, undergoes almost every calamity possible – ranging from being thrown out from his residence to nearly being hanged and even narrowly escaping from cannibals. There are dozens of such tales scattered across the text, and at some point, I just started laughing at Voltaire’s ‘show, don’t tell’ philosophy – this novella might be the best example of the phrase I’ve ever seen.
Although abrupt, the ending felt perfect – primarily because of what it took for Candide to realise that we cannot always view the world through rose-tinted glasses – it helps to have a sense of realism, however tiny. Philosophy apart, Candide is a beautiful read, and it deserves its place in the Western canon. ( )

An incisive satire. There are horrific and fantastical sections but often a modern parallel comes to mind making this work as relevant today as when it was published in 1759. I have to admit I was more impressed the first time I read it about 50 years ago. ( )