"Candido" è una critica feroce all'ottimismo fedele e incrollabile, alla cieca ottusità di chi si ostina a voler credere che tutto vada nel migliore dei modi anche quando le cose non potrebbero andare peggio; una divertente quanto tagliente satira contro la immotivata insistenza di chi si ostina a credere di vivere "nel migliore dei mondi possibili", contro i giudizi a priori. Viaggiando, Candid... read more
Description:
Political satire doesn't age well, but occasionally a diatribe contains enough art and universal mirth to survive long after its timeliness has passed. Candide is such a book. Penned by that Renaissance man of the Enlightenment, Voltaire, Candide is steeped in the political and philosophical controversies of the 1750s. But for the ge
Political satire doesn't age well, but occasionally a diatribe contains enough art and universal mirth to survive long after its timeliness has passed. Candide is such a book. Penned by that Renaissance man of the Enlightenment, Voltaire, Candide is steeped in the political and philosophical controversies of the 1750s. But for the general reader, the novel's driving principle is clear enough: the idea (endemic in Voltaire's day) that we live in the best of all possible worlds, and apparent folly, misery and strife are actually harbingers of a greater good we cannot perceive, is hogwash.
Telling the tale of the good-natured but star-crossed Candide (think Mr. Magoo armed with deadly force), as he travels the world struggling to be reunited with his love, Lady Cunegonde, the novel smashes such ill-conceived optimism to splinters. Candide's tutor, Dr. Pangloss, is steadfast in his philosophical good cheer, in the face of more and more fantastic misfortune; Candide's other companions always supply good sense in the nick of time. Still, as he demolishes optimism, Voltaire pays tribute to human resilience, and in doing so gives the book a pleasant indomitability common to farce. Says one character, a princess turned one-buttocked hag by unkind Fate: "I have wanted to kill myself a hundred times, but somehow I am still in love with life. This ridiculous weakness is perhaps one of our most melancholy propensities; for is there anything more stupid than to be eager to go on carrying a burden which one would gladly throw away, to loathe one's very being and yet to hold it fast, to fondle the snake that devours us until it has eaten our hearts away?"--Michael Gerber
Book Description Candide is the story of a gentle man who, though pummeled and slapped in every direction by fate, clings desperately to the belief that he lives in "the best of all possible worlds." On the surface a witty, bantering tale, this eighteenth-century classic is actually a savage, satiric thrust at the philosophical optimism that proclaims that all disaster and human suffering is part of a benevolent cosmic plan. Fast, funny, often outrageous, the French philosopher's immortal narrative takes Candide around the world to discover that -- contrary to the teachings of his distringuished tutor Dr. Pangloss -- all is not always for the best. Alive with wit, brilliance, and graceful storytelling, Candide has become Voltaire's most celebrated work.
"I have wanted to kill myself a hundred times, but somehow I am still in love with life. This ridiculous weakness is perhaps one of our more stupid melancholy propensities, for is there anything more stupid than to be eager to go on carrying a burden which one would gladly throw away, to loathe one’s very being and yet to hold it fast, to fondle the snake that devours us until it has eaten our hearts away?
"Come! your presence will either give me life or kill me with pleasure."
Fools have "
“"Candido" è una critica feroce all'ottimismo fedele e incrollabile, alla cieca ottusità di chi si ostina a voler credere che tutto vada nel migliore dei modi anche quando le cose non potrebbero andare peggio; una divertente quanto tagliente satira contro la immotivata insistenza di chi si ostina a credere di vivere "nel migliore dei mondi possibili", contro i giudizi a priori. Viaggiando, Candido si renderà conto attraverso varie disavventure che la realtà non è affatto così perfetta come veniva dipinta dal suo maestro, il filosofo Pangloss; dopo una lunga serie di peripezie per raggiungere il suo scopo, infatti, si scoprirà (assieme a tutti gli altri) ancora più infelice di prima, traendo una lezione e una massima di vita dalle sue esperienze. Attualizzando il tutto, si può notar” read more
Banaanipalmu added this to a list 2 years, 9 months ago
"In 1930, U.S. Customs seized Harvard-bound copies of Candide, claiming obscenity. Two Harvard professors defended the work, and it was later admitted in a different edition. In 1944, the US Post Office demanded the omission of Candide from a mailed Concord Books catalog. "
Explore
Join Listal
Movies
TV Shows
DVDs
Music
Books
Games
Lists
Reviews
Images
11 comments
Memorable Book Quotes Part 2
Banned, Burned, Censored