Candide and Other Stories (Oxford World's Classics) - Softcover

Voltaire; Pearson, Roger

3.93

4,863 ratings by Goodreads

9780192834263: Candide and Other Stories (Oxford World's Classics)

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0192834266 ISBN 13: 9780192834263

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 1998

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`If this is the best of all possible worlds, then what must the others be like?'

Candide, published simultaneously in five European capitals in 1759, became an instant bestseller and is now regarded by many as one of the key texts of the Enlightenment.

A master story-teller, Voltaire found the philosophical tale the perfect vehicle for his preoccupations with evil, human folly, and intolerance. He combined often wildly entertaining action with profoundly serious sense, parodying the traditional chivalric and Oriental tales with which his public
was more familiar.

This brilliant new translation of five of the major stories - Micromegas, Zadig, The Ingenu, and The White Bull, as well as Candide - is accompanied by a full introduction and notes which are indispensable to the modern reader.

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Review:

Candide, the wittiest and best-loved book of a genius who is still unequaled in his ability to spin art out of philosophy, became a huge bestseller in Europe after it was published in 1759. Voltaire, skeptical of the systems of philosophy that were floated about to explain the workings of the world, used this satirical story about the optimist Candide and his friend Dr. Pangloss to interrogate and discredit the philosophies and approach more closely the truth about human life, suffering, and happiness in the real world. Now, the short novel Candide is considered one of the most important texts of the enlightenment.

From the Inside Flap:

"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.

"From the Paperback edition.

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