It's a very long time since I read Candide, said by some to be the first novel, first published in 1759. It is 'picaresque' i.e. episodic, so there's no real plot. It's a sarcastic parody of contemporary moralistic French literature and ridicules just about everything that moralists hold dear (e.g. religion, the government, the army etc)
Candide is living in a kind of Eden where he is exhorted to be an optimist by his mentor, Pangloss. But Candide's observations of life are anything but positive, and he sees so much hardship and misery in the world that he rejects Pangloss's maxim "all is for the best in the best of all possible worlds". ( )

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 collection is a good selection of Voltaire's works and a great introduction to the genre. ( )

I listened to an e-audio version of Candide last year, and it was marvelous. I didn't really know what to expect, and confess that one of the reasons I chose it was because it was short. But it was incredibly funny and ridiculous, and I was so glad I chose to listen to it. I'm sure it helped, too, that the narrator was pitch-perfect, but I can't recall his name. It was probably a NetLibrary check-out, perhaps Recorded Books. If you only have the print version, approach it with a sense of whimsy and adventure, and you'll be all set.

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. ( )