Candide

Candide
Voltaire; 1758


Summary: A flamboyant and controversial personality of enormous wit and intelligence, Voltaire is one of the most intriguing figures of the eighteenth century Enlightenment. His masterpiece is Candide, a brilliant satire on the theory that 'the world is the best of all possible worlds.' The book traces the picaresque adventures of the guileless Candide, who is forced into the army, flogged, shipwrecked, betrayed, robbed, separated from his beloved Cunegonde, tortured by the Inquisition, etc., all without losing his resilience and will to live.


My Review: I got a kick out of this book. I read it for one of my college classes and I found it to be an interesting book full of entertaining characters and hysterical scenes. Voltaire made horrible things that were happening around that time  funny.  I loved the character Candide even though he is quite naive.  He went through so much but  he still remained optimistic and had a passion for life that I truly envy. Some of my favorite quoations are found in this book. Here is one of them. "Optimism," said Cacambo, "what is that?" "Alas!" replied Candide, "it is the obstinacy of maintaining that everything is best when it is worst"  This is a classic book and worth reading and researching. 


Things to Watch Out for: Murder, rape, slavery, sexual references, theft, and oppressions.