"If something isn't aesthetically pleasing or interesting, doesn't require skills I do not have, and makes a stupid point stupidly, I don't appreciate it as art. That doesn't make me a philistine. It makes me a non-rube."

--Jonah Goldberg

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

The One with Candide

121. Title & Author: Candide, Zadig, and Selected Stories by Voltaire (351 pages)
Genre: Fiction--Classic Literature
Completed: 31 October 2009

Summary & Review:
This volume contains numerous fictional satirical stories by Voltaire including his most famous, Candide. The stories are organized chronologically and include, among others, Ingenuous, Plato's Dream, and The World As It Is.

After Candide my interest in this book really declined. I am not particularly a fan of Voltaire's writing style, but that could be due to a poor translation. Also, a lot of these stories seemed to have been incredibly era-specific to Voltaire's lifetime, so a lot of what was once biting wit didn't really carry the same power today.

Rating: 6.0
Posted by at 11:11 AM

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