Candide oder die beste aller Welten (1759)

I read this after seeing the musical adaptation (which I would also recommend), and I figured they'd made a comedic version of an old book that's hard to get into. Oh, not so. Definitely not so. (Albeit, there's far less singing in the book.) Such a fool I was.

Candide is satire at its finest. Glorious. I don't know if the book is for everyone, but I would suggest that everyone try it and see. ( )

Bráðskemmtileg háðsádeila á hugmyndafræði 18. aldar. Söguhetjan Birtíngur, í þýðingu Halldórs Laxness, upplifir alls konar ófögnuð og hörmungar en heldur sig þrátt fyrir það við löghyggju þessa tíma og bjartsýnisheimspeki sem kennd er við heimspekinginn Leibniz. Sérhver hlutur er til vegna hlutverks síns líkt og nef er skapað til hafa lonníettur á sér. Þannig voru raunverulegar rökfærslur þess tíma. Það er ekki síður skemmtilegt þegar Birtíngur rambar á fyrirheitna landið Eldorado þar sem allt er fullkomið og allir eru jafnir. En einmitt vegna þess eyrir Birtíngur ekki þar. Hann vill fara á heimaslóðirnar og leita að ástinni og hafa með sér ríkidæmi til þess að hamingjusamari og ríkari en allir hinir - sem náttúrulega er tálsýn.
Þetta er í annað skiptið sem ég les þessa bók og skemmti mér jafnvel betur í þetta skiptið. Á örugglega eftir að lesa hana einhvern tíma aftur.
( )

This novel(la?) was a scathing criticism of baseless optimism. In fact, the only character who seemed content throughout is one we meet toward the end who believes that life is a struggle between equally powerful forces of good and evil; thus, he has little hope in anything. Meanwhile, Candide, our protagonist, is a disciple of the idea that all things are ordained to work out, ultimately, for our good.

In the end, Candide is "broken" into reality like a horse is broken into a saddle: constant riding. At length, Candide forfeits his optimism, and ultimately any consideration of such "highfalutin" concepts as 'ultimate good' and 'destiny,' choosing instead to focus his energies on his labor, especially when others try to draw him back into discussing higher truth.

Voltaire's anti-Christian sentiment is apparent throughout, but at least he is subtle with his criticism, unlike certain agnostic/atheistic voices (I'm looking at you, YouTube comments section).

Certainly valuable to read for a few chuckles even if you ultimately disagree with the author's philosophical premise (guilty). ( )

Starts off hilariously funny albeit quite dark, but the humor stays still as the horrors of life continue. Might feel a little disappointing and repetitive by the end but still fair. ( )

Not a fan of that type of humor. ( )