Candide and Other Stories (The World's Classics)

by Voltaire

Other authorsRoger Pearson (Translator)
Paperback, 1990

Status

Available

Call number

FIC A3 Vol

Publication

Oxford University Press

Pages

329

Description

Candide is the most famous of Voltaire's 'philosophical tales', in which he combined witty improbabilities with the sanest of good sense. This edition includes four other prose tales - Micromegas, Zadig, The Ing--ecirc--;nu, and The White Bull - and a verse tale based on Chaucer's The Wife of Bath's Tale,: What Pleases the Ladies. - ;'If this is the best of all possible worlds, then what must the others be like?'Young Candide is tossed on a hilarious tide of misfortune, experiencing the full horror and injustice of this 'best of all possible worlds' - the Old and the New - before finally accep

Description

Candide is the most famous of Voltaire's "philosophical tales," in which he he combined witty improbabilities with the sanest of good sense. First published in 1759, it was an instant bestseller and has come to be regarded as one of the key texts of the Enlightenment. What Candide does for chivalric romance, the other such in this selection--Micromegas, Zadig, The Ingenu, and The White Bull--do for science fiction, the Oriental tale, the sentimental novel, and the Old Testament.

Collection

Barcode

3934

Language

Original language

French

Original publication date

1759

Physical description

329 p.; 7.3 inches

ISBN

0192817302 / 9780192817303

User reviews

LibraryThing member MeredithYvonne
One of the classics, it's a bit tough to get through as everything is a metaphor for something else, but it's an interesting read.
LibraryThing member kanadani
This classic is a must read if you enjoy satire. It's funny and clever; an interesting read at face value and an intriguing read when read in-depth. This version of the translation is good and the notes are really helpful for decoding some of the metaphors and allegories. All in all, this
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collection is a good selection of Voltaire's works and a great introduction to the genre.
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LibraryThing member LisaMaria_C
Voltaire is a famous philosopher of the Enlightenment, and Candide his most famous work. It's very short, less than a hundred pages, and the edition I read filled out the book with three other novellas, Zadig, Ingenu, The White Bull and a short story Micromegas. Although Candide is the most
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celebrated work in the book, it wasn't necessarily my favorite--but I did find it amusing. Candide is a satiric send-up of Leibniz's theory of optimism through Candide's mentor Dr. Pangloss, who believes we live in "the best of all possible worlds" even in the face of increasingly insane disasters. I thought particularly funny the "genealogy of syphilis" where Pangloss traces the lineage of his infection back in a "direct line from one of Christopher Columbus's shipmates." I also rather loved the iconoclastic and grumpy twitting of classics by Pococurante. I might not agree with his lambasting of Homer and Virgil (though I though he was dead on about Milton) but I agreed with his principle that "Ignorant readers are apt to judge a writer by his reputation. For my part, I read only to please myself. I like nothing but what makes for my purpose."

The short story Micromegas deals with giant visitors to Earth from the star Sirius and the planet Saturn and scoffs at humans' self-centeredness. I think I loved Zadig the most though. The opening gives a nod to 1,001 Arabian Nights and tells the story of Zadig of Ancient Babylonia. He offers up a deduction early on that would make Sherlock Holmes proud and enough wisdom to make Solomon feel abashed. I loved the irreverence of Ingenu (in another edition known as Master Simple). In it a young man raised by the Huron Indians in Quebec confounds others with his reactions to things French, particularly on religious matters. Being convinced to convert to Christianity, for example, he goes about trying to find someone to circumcise him, since that's obviously what the Bible requires, then insists the only way for him to be baptized is in a river, and refuses to recognize the authority of the Pope. The White Bull is also quite fun, as involved are just about every animal who had a role in the Bible--particularly the serpent from Eden whose dialogue with a Princess seems to spoof Milton.

The stories aren't what I expected from what the introduction called "fables of reason" meant to elucidate philosophy. They're not at all dry or inaccessible and were quite fun with lots of lines I'd be tempted to quote if there weren't so many that were wise, witty and striking. These short satires reminded me quite a bit of Swift's Gulliver's Travel only with less bathroom humor and more good-natured.
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LibraryThing member stillatim
I confess I didn't read all of the stories here, but the three earlier tales (Candide, Micromegas and Zadig) are all well worth while. Zadig in particular is the kind of thing I dislike- Arabian-Nights inspired strings of deeds aren't really my cup of tea- and yet it went down reasonably well.
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Micromegas is fine, but there's not much reason to read it instead of Gulliver's Travels. The main attraction, on the other hand, really is a doozy.

'Candide' actually shocked me, which is impressive, because I usually roll my eyes at 'shocking' books (I'm looking at you, Will 'let's have a main character fellate a dead dog' Self), but Voltaire's fairly simple descriptions of war and war-crimes are, for whatever reason, still very moving. You'll get plenty of intellectual stimulation too- a 'perfect' plot that gets shredded by actual events, human folly and evil, and one of the all time great closing lines. I imagine I'll find myself re-reading Candide many times. Not so much Zadig or Micromegas.
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LibraryThing member JVioland
I did not find "genius" when I read this book. I was disappointed. Everyone at one time praised Voltaire as being some sort of god that he tried to replace with reasoning. Maybe they favored his philosophy and therefore favored what he wrote. An optimistic hayseed confronts reality and is shown how
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stupid his attitude is in the real world.
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Rating

½ (166 ratings; 3.9)

Call number

FIC A3 Vol
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