Author: Voltaire
First published: 1759
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Rating: ★★★☆☆
I intended to read Candide together with this read-a-long, but instead I finished it the same evening I started it. I know I didn't understand as much of it as I would have if I had read is slowly, but I knew I didn't want to spend the whole month with this book.
As you probably already know, Candide is a satire of the philosophy of optimism, that is, the belief that everything is for the best, and this world is the best of all possible worlds. Voltaire drags his characters through A LOT of horrible life situations to prove otherwise, all this in a very hyperbolic manner.
I have nothing against satire, and I like it when it's well-done, but here it is probably over-done. The things happening to Candide and his co-sufferers are brutal, horrifying and disgusting, and only some of them are funny. Also, a lot of satire is really hard to understand because it's the product of its time. For example, different religious orders and movements are obviously being mocked, but I have no idea what for... But the bits which are funny saved this book a bit for me. I liked the Eldorado part, and I quite enjoyed the character of Martin, who is wonderfully cynical.
In my book:
The main appeal of this novel is that it's really short. If you are able to see some other appeal as well - well, you are probably very high-brow and really into French Enlightenment... I'm not and that's why I didn't really enjoy Candide.
I put this one on my tbr as well. I'm worried that I might have the same reaction as you though. Some books are interesting only for their cultural significance or classic status, rather than contents. We'll see.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I have nominated you for Liebster Award, because I love visiting your blog. If you want to check it out, feel free to visit me here: http://tasseledbooks.com/2014/03/21/liebster-award/
Thanks a lot! That's such an honor! I just hope I'll have some time to participate in the middle of all the craziness that's happening now :)
DeleteI'm going to agree with you--the brevity is the best part of the book. Oh well, at least I'll be able to say I've read Voltaire...?
ReplyDeleteAnd this too. Although I already had been saying I read him.. I don't know why, maybe I had confused Candide with something, but I had been so sure I had read it that I was quite surprised to discover I had not... Well, it's fixed now :)
DeleteI agree with your assessment of Candide. I'm glad you were able to join in the read-along. This is a reread for me. I thought Candide was entertaining but I also thought that the work lacked subtlety. The satire was definitely over-done. It seems weird though to laugh at torture.
ReplyDeleteYes, the cruelty was a problem... Maybe people were so rough back then that it didn't bother them? But for a modern reader some things are horrific.
DeleteSorry to know that you didn't like 'Candide' as much as you had hoped to. I am hoping to read this book sometime this year and I want to see how I like it. I loved the last sentence of the book though - about tending one's own garden. So beautiful and thought provoking and powerful. Hope you enjoy the next book you read, more.
ReplyDeleteToo bad you didn't like it. I thought it was hilarious simply because it was so far "out there." I just kept saying to myself "you've got to be kidding me!" :) I probably need to read it again while keeping in mind what Voltaire's philosophical point was - which I completely ignored the first time around.
ReplyDelete