Reader discussion: Candide

Public reader discussion about Candide in the WeRead Catalog by Voltaire.

My Top 40 of French Novels and Novellas

By MountainWatches1985

After reading French novels for more than 30 years, I figured I should finally put together a list of my personal all-time favorites. I’m counting novellas too, but not short stories. If a book is part of a series or cycle, I only grabbed one title. Most of the authors are French, but I’m also including French-language writers from Belgium, Switzerland, and a few other places. - Émile Zola — *Thérèse Raquin* (1867) - Stendhal — *Le Rouge et le Noir* (1830) - Victor Hugo — *Les Misérables* (1862) - Françoise Sagan — *Bonjour tristesse* (1954) - Jean-Paul Sartre — *La Nausée* (1938) - Guy de Maupassant — *Boule de Suif* (1880) - Jules Verne — *Le Tour du monde en quatre-vingts jours* (1872) - Honoré de Balzac — *La Maison du Chat-qui-pelote* (1829) - Amélie Nothomb — *Stupeur et tremblements* (1999) - Georges Simenon — *Maigret tend un piège* (1955) - Albert Camus — *La Peste* (1947) - Marcel Pagnol — *L’Eau des collines* (1963) - Maryse Condé — *Ségou: Les Murailles de terre* (1983) - Louis-Ferdinand Céline — *Voyage au bout de la nuit* (1932) - Gustave Flaubert — *Madame Bovary* (1856) - Victor Hugo — *Notre-Dame de Paris* (1831) - Émile Zola — *Germinal* (1885) - Marcel Proust — *Du Côté de chez Swann* (1913) - Marguerite Duras — *Moderato cantabile* (1958) - Jules Verne — *Vingt Mille Lieues sous les mers* (1870) - André Malraux — *La Condition humaine* (1934) - Éliette Abécassis — *La Répudiée* (2000) - Voltaire — *Candide* (1759) - Alexandre Dumas — *Le Comte de Monte-Cristo* (1846) - Milan Kundera — *L’Identité* (1998) - Honoré de Balzac — *Eugénie Grandet* (1833) - Amélie Nothomb — *Métaphysique des tubes* (2000) - Georges Simenon — *Les Fiançailles de Monsieur Hire* (1933) - Gaston Leroux — *Le Fantôme de l’opéra* (1910) - Émile Zola — *Au Bonheur des Dames* (1883) - Victor Hugo — *Quatrevingt-treize* (1874) - Annie Ernaux — *L'Événement* (2000) - Denis Diderot — *Jacques le Fataliste et son maître* (1796) - Charles-Ferdinand Ramuz — *La Grande Peur dans la montagne* (1926) - Raymond Queneau — *Zazie dans le métro* (1959) - Pierre Choderlos de Laclos — *Les Liaisons dangereuses* (1782) - Hector Malot — *Sans famille* (1878) - Sébastien Japrisot — *L’Été meurtrier* (1977) - Boileau & Narcejac — *D’entre les morts* (1954) - Simone de Beauvoir — *Tous les hommes sont mortelles* (1946)

Was Candide by Voltaire the most important book ever written?

By bluewindow

I’ve been arguing about this a lot with friends lately, just with everything going on in the world right now. For me, Candide by Voltaire is still one of the biggest books ever, and I feel like its message matters more than ever. But I know not everyone sees it that way. Curious what you all think—are we better off trying to stay optimistic, or is it more honest to just deal with all the disasters right in front of us?

Any thoughts on Candide by Voltaire?

By brownTower22

This book is awesome. I picked it up for the first time in high school and it’s honestly been one of my favorites ever since.

Is the name 'Cunegonde' in Candide a pun using Persian words?

By rapidfern7

I feel kind of silly even typing this, but I just got stuck on something. I picked up Candide again after a long time, and right away the name “Cunegonde” jumped out at me. I went looking around and people have said it might be some kind of dirty pun in French and Latin about female anatomy. But then I couldn’t stop thinking that maybe it’s not that, and that it could actually be coming from Persian word mashups instead. The way it would line up (especially if you think about gendered wording) would basically point to something like a “fat lady” type phrase. I’m not fully convinced, and I can’t tell if I’m forcing it, but it feels like it might fit better with the context. Also, I saw that Voltaire reportedly knew Persian and had translated things from Saadi, and that there were already ideas floating around about connections between Persian and French—so maybe the same kind of correspondence is at play here. I don’t know… it just seemed interesting enough to share, even if it sounds a little juvenile.

So I'm obsessed with reading lists and syllabi from good MFA/English courses...

By Bookish_Cocoa68

I really like the whole idea of getting to read books picked by really good teachers and authors. I’ve already stumbled across a couple of things—like the Columbia MFA course descriptions and some Goodreads lists where authors share their favorite books. But honestly, I’m pretty bad at tracking stuff down online. Can anyone point me to anything similar?

Candide by Voltaire in a Word Cloud

By putty_sky

I’m kinda curious—what did you use to make this word cloud?

What is a book you think everyone needs to read at least once in their life?

By CloverReads

Mine is Candide by Voltaire. I feel like it still applies no matter when you read it—like it has this way of making you think about people, society, and what happiness even means. I also like how it keeps pushing this idea of staying hopeful even when things are awful, and it kind of pokes holes in a bunch of the big philosophical ideas people had back then. The whole story is basically this string of messed-up adventures, and it makes you see how unfair and ridiculous life can be, with all the hypocrisy and injustice showing up. I genuinely love it—one of my favorite books ever.

Books where you were blown away by the final words/paragraph/page?

By brightbutton

I read The Witch Elm by Tana French a while back, and I can’t stop thinking about the very last paragraph. I actually went back and reopened it just to copy it down. Overall I thought it was a really good psychological thriller—maybe a bit preachy in places—but still an easy, solid read. I don’t think it would’ve stayed in my head for long if the ending hadn’t hit me so hard. It felt like the whole story was kind of nudging you toward whatever that final takeaway about the main character is, and the way it landed was just… wow. So now I’m curious—what other books have people read and still been stuck on after the final lines? Like, what had the best closing words, and what made it click for you (without ruining it for everyone)?

England or European Cross-country roadtrip novels.

By ComfortRoast

Just reread *Three Men in a Boat* and it still felt really fresh. Can someone recommend some fun road trip novels that are set across England or in Europe? Ideally light and easy, but I’ll take any genre as long as it’s not one of those super sad, depressing tearjerkers. Thanks!

The three greatest 18th Century French writers

By BookmarkBalance1999

My copy of *Candide and Other Stories* has a blurb that says Voltaire’s one of the three best 18th-century French writers, which seems like it’d mean he’d be in the top few in Europe too. But I can’t figure out who the other two are. I’m guessing Rousseau might be one, but I’m not really sure.

Candide

By gauzily

Candide (Voltaire) is honestly such a great little novel—funny and kind of light in a way, but also pretty dark and hopeless. I don’t know why, but I found that mix really soothing. I loved the constant poking at religious institutions too, like all the greed and hypocrisy and intolerance, and then the way it goes after Leibniz and even Alexander Pope and their whole ideas about theodicy. My favorite line isn’t the “we must cultivate our garden” one (which I do get, but it didn’t fully land for me). I actually liked the old woman’s quote more—the whole stubborn, hang-on-to-life energy, even with everything falling apart. Basically: “I have wanted to kill myself a hundred times, but somehow I am still in love with life…” I’m down to talk about the book if anyone wants to.

What book completely shattered any and all concepts of reality that you had?

By field_simple

For me it was Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead (I know, it’s a play). It got me stuck for like a year and a half wondering if I’d ever actually made any real choice in my whole life. I’m only just now starting to feel like maybe I do have free will again and that I can make conscious decisions. Curious what other books ended up making reality feel like it fell apart for people after you finished them.

[Spoilers] Voltaire's "Candide": What to make of the ending?

By Thunder-Justly29

I get why it could feel “efficient” when everyone chips in and calls it a kind of family thing, but then Cunegonde isn’t attractive anymore and Candide might be stuck with a shrewish wife for life. So… is that actually a good ending or a bad one? I’m not sure.

Candide by Voltaire

By Patient_Bear1993

I picked up the book over the summer just to see what it was like, and I honestly can’t tell what the main point is. Candide goes through all this awful stuff, basically ends up in a rough downfall, just to try to get back to his love, Cudgeone. And from what I gather, Voltaire is using the whole trip to poke at a bunch of the big problems of the day—like injustice and theology and all that. I just don’t really get what message he’s trying to land.

Recommendations for character building classics?

By Jar

Hey all. The last year’s been rough for me, and I kinda feel like I need some outside perspective and direction—like, just help thinking through stuff. So I figured I’d try reading some classics. What helped you most when things were tough? And are there any classics that really changed how you see life? So far I’ve read: - **Buddenbrooks** — I actually liked it a lot, especially the parts with Tony. - **The Master and Margarita** — I really enjoyed the cat, and the story overall, but I kept getting lost on what was going on, mostly because I didn’t know much about Russia at the time. - **Perfume** — honestly kind of messed up, but still really interesting. - **Angela’s Ashes** — I loved this one and couldn’t stop reading it.

Best translation of Voltaire’s Candide?

By orbitriver80

I’m reading the Alma Classics edition translated by Sander Berg, and it feels a bit too modern for my taste—like it’s been simplified. It’s not that it’s bad, I just didn’t expect something so stripped-down for a French classic. Does anyone know any good recommendations instead, or should I just stick with this translation? I’m just worried some of the original charm/beauty might be missing. Thanks!

How do you read satire properly?

By folio-needle

I picked up Vonnegut in October and I’m already four novels in, and I really do enjoy it. I just can’t shake the feeling that I’m not getting it all the way—like I’m not fully in on what the “joke” is, or I’m missing the smaller stuff he’s getting at. Sometimes it even feels like I’m reading into themes that might not actually be there. I had a harder time with *Slapstick*, too, beyond the obvious points about things like equality and loneliness. I’ve read satire before, though. *Candide* was way easier, and satire in other formats doesn’t trip me up as much. But with books—especially Vonnegut—everything feels a lot more challenging than I expected, and I do like that part. I just want to know what I should be doing differently so I can understand more of what he’s trying to say. So basically: any tips on how to approach reading satire so you actually catch the author’s message? Would love to hear any advice. Thanks!

I can't believe there is so much anti-Semitism in many classic novels/plays.

By MidnightEclipse7

I keep noticing this weird pattern in stuff like *The Picture of Dorian Gray*, *The Merchant of Venice*, and *Candide*—why is there at least one greedy Jewish moneylender type in each of them? In *The Great Gatsby* the Jewish character isn’t a moneylender (I think), but he’s still kind of shown as sleazy/greedy. Even in Candide, it seems like the moneylenders are all Jewish. At least, that’s what I remember from what I’ve read.

Voltaire’s ‘Candide’

By DeepTicket

Has anyone here read Candide? I’m kind of stuck on which version to pick—should I go with Theo Cuffe’s English translation or James Fowler’s?

Just finished Candide. Similar books?

By Bathtub_Velvet53

Just finished Candide and I honestly really enjoyed it. This was my first Voltaire book though, so I’m wondering—are his other books kind of like this one? If anyone has recommendations for similar reads, I’d love to hear them :)