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pbobrit's review against another edition
4.0
First time I had read Voltaire and I enjoyed it greatly. A great read as well as being full of important philosophical insight.
sharpenanother's review against another edition
4.0
A fun re-read since I had forgotten most of it after reading for high school. Funnier, but also more bleak than I remembered. I liked how characters kept showing up in ridiculous ways so you never knew if someone was really dead. Voltaire argues pretty strongly against the idea that this is the best of all possible worlds and that everything goes as best it could. His discouragement of esoteric philosophical debates was like a repeat of Epictetus, and I agree it seems best to not get distracted by some things and focus on 'cultivating your garden' instead.
katepowellshine's review against another edition
4.0
Candide certainly doesn't read like modern fiction, and the satire was so over the top it made the plot difficult to take seriously, but that didn't interfere with my enjoyment of the book.
The ending was a pleasant surprise. After page upon page of cynicism, I truly didn't expect Voltaire to offer advice regarding how to live a happier life, and I was particularly surprised that it was what I would call quite good advice. I don't know much about Voltaire, but I wouldn't be surprised to learn that he studied Zen or Taoism at some point.
The ending was a pleasant surprise. After page upon page of cynicism, I truly didn't expect Voltaire to offer advice regarding how to live a happier life, and I was particularly surprised that it was what I would call quite good advice. I don't know much about Voltaire, but I wouldn't be surprised to learn that he studied Zen or Taoism at some point.
booksavvyreviews's review against another edition
3.0
Perhaps one of the oddest books I've ever read... it was so difficult to follow at times because of its oddities and quite surprised me as to how difficult the nonsense could be to follow. But, I did enjoy it. It's part of my X-Many-Classics-A-Year-Reads --- and my darling mother recommended this to me.
If you're looking for a different read, something out of the normal this would be it [plus..classic! You can boast about having read french lit!]
If you're looking for a different read, something out of the normal this would be it [plus..classic! You can boast about having read french lit!]
rynandri's review against another edition
5.0
Aku baca versi Indonesia, tapi karena aku gabisa akses Goodread web, jadi aku tulis review di sini dulu aja. Ntar2 kalo ada rejeki waktu, ku-update lagi.
Jadi gini. Aku, dan kapasitas literasiku yang dangkal ini baru mengecap sekelumit aja karya-karya yg terlabeli sebagai 'klasik'.
Kebetulan, dalam minggu yabg sama dengan minggu dimana kubaca buku ini, aku baca Litte Women sebelumnya. Jadi agak susah untuk tidak membanding-bandingkan mereka, meski harusnya dua karya itu tidak dibanding-bandingkan. Tapi, karena aku yakin pembaca LW lebih banyak ya, aku rasa dia bisa jadi benchmark untuk amatiran macamku.
Bagiku, LW seperti nasi goreng depot Slamet yang seporsi bisa dimakan bertiga. Enak? Ya enak. Tapi itu nasi goreng, ya gitu itu rasanya. Lagipula kalo kamu makan sebanyak itu sendirian pasti nyampe separuh udah bosen.
Sementara, Candide ini seperti lodeh kothok iwak pe asap yang nuendang, kuentel. Yang masing-masing bumbunya minta unjuk rasa dan makan sesendok kuah aja rasanya kayak perang di mulutmu. Saking padat dan kentelnya, sampe kepikir buat ngencerin pake air panas. Tapi ya gimana-gimana, ini lodeh. Tidak semua lidah suka lode apalagi yang rasa dan teksturnya kayak gini.
Saking 'kuat'nya Candide dan saking sederhananya dia, bahkan orang yang gak paham filsafat pun akan ngos-ngosan. Ngos-ngosan karena dengan pemahaman dangkal pun, orang yang baca bisa dipaksa mikir. Akhirnya mau gak mau akan mikir.
Porsi guyonan, satir dan sarkasnya wow. Untungnya, porsinya dia pas. Hanya 100an halaman. Ga sampe 200 halaman. Coba buku ini tebel, aku pasti langsung nggeblak. Lodeh bersantan kental gaboleh banyak-banyak. Kolesterol tinggi.
5/5 untuk Candide. Gila. Aku akan cari lagi dan baca lagi sastra klasik yang modelan kaya gini.
Jadi gini. Aku, dan kapasitas literasiku yang dangkal ini baru mengecap sekelumit aja karya-karya yg terlabeli sebagai 'klasik'.
Kebetulan, dalam minggu yabg sama dengan minggu dimana kubaca buku ini, aku baca Litte Women sebelumnya. Jadi agak susah untuk tidak membanding-bandingkan mereka, meski harusnya dua karya itu tidak dibanding-bandingkan. Tapi, karena aku yakin pembaca LW lebih banyak ya, aku rasa dia bisa jadi benchmark untuk amatiran macamku.
Bagiku, LW seperti nasi goreng depot Slamet yang seporsi bisa dimakan bertiga. Enak? Ya enak. Tapi itu nasi goreng, ya gitu itu rasanya. Lagipula kalo kamu makan sebanyak itu sendirian pasti nyampe separuh udah bosen.
Sementara, Candide ini seperti lodeh kothok iwak pe asap yang nuendang, kuentel. Yang masing-masing bumbunya minta unjuk rasa dan makan sesendok kuah aja rasanya kayak perang di mulutmu. Saking padat dan kentelnya, sampe kepikir buat ngencerin pake air panas. Tapi ya gimana-gimana, ini lodeh. Tidak semua lidah suka lode apalagi yang rasa dan teksturnya kayak gini.
Saking 'kuat'nya Candide dan saking sederhananya dia, bahkan orang yang gak paham filsafat pun akan ngos-ngosan. Ngos-ngosan karena dengan pemahaman dangkal pun, orang yang baca bisa dipaksa mikir. Akhirnya mau gak mau akan mikir.
Porsi guyonan, satir dan sarkasnya wow. Untungnya, porsinya dia pas. Hanya 100an halaman. Ga sampe 200 halaman. Coba buku ini tebel, aku pasti langsung nggeblak. Lodeh bersantan kental gaboleh banyak-banyak. Kolesterol tinggi.
5/5 untuk Candide. Gila. Aku akan cari lagi dan baca lagi sastra klasik yang modelan kaya gini.
jeffhall's review against another edition
4.0
I first read Candide at a much younger age, and found its historic specificity and extreme satire to be rather dated. What a difference a few years makes! Now on re-reading it well into my adult years, the universal themes are clearer, and the biting satire more on point.
As a philosophical fable, Candide stands the test of time, and manages to speak clearly even in translation a couple of centuries after it was first published. Quite an accomplishment for a slim volume with a fast-moving plot and thinly-developed characters!
As a philosophical fable, Candide stands the test of time, and manages to speak clearly even in translation a couple of centuries after it was first published. Quite an accomplishment for a slim volume with a fast-moving plot and thinly-developed characters!
annagrac's review against another edition
1.0
How on earth is this book considered a classic of the Western cannon? Even allowing for the satirical elements and for the fact that many of the historical allusions go over a modern reader's head, the plot is dreadful, the characters are dreadful, it has no emotional weight, no humour, no real meaning even.
piburnjones's review against another edition
4.0
We read this in 10th grade for AP European History and it was such a struggle. Read it again for a Humanities course in college - in this edition, a better translation - and howled over it. Requires context for both the historical period and the literary style and a willingness to laugh at absurdities.
lilithsumoza's review against another edition
1.0
It's a satire. It makes fun of the age of philosophical thought. It occasionally has words of wisdom. That's all you really need to know about it because otherwise it is not a very interesting read. Sure the plot is ridiculous for a reason and the characters aren't supposed to make you feel attached to them in any way, but there's not much else that would have kept me invested were it not for the fact that I was forced to read this for school. Thank goodness it's a quick read.
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