I was not sure how to do this but here goes with an addenda to my first review...
I have finished Candide a second time and find it even more wonderful. However, readers interested in the book should find themselves a very thorough and professional Annotated Candide by Voltaire to read. There is just so very much going on in this simple little book and it is easy to miss.
Also a note that this is not easy reading, ie, it ain't no Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
The Little Prince. I would place it at a C1 level.
Candide by Voltaire
I am of the belief that one can’t just sit down and read the classics-any or all of them. Rather one needs to wait for the opportune moment to do so. Somewhat akin to a planetary alignment making possible the coming together of an author with my appreciation of him.
So it has taken me quite some time but I have finally come around to Candide by Voltaire and am grateful I waited for it.
I found it a short entertaining picaresque novel that I have already started rereading. For those not familiar with picaresque think of a contemporary graphic action novel with lots of action but no pictures, although the action here is clearly graphic.
There is also, lots to learn from this book when it comes to vocabulary and idioms but all of it really interesting.
So often with the classics it turns out that they don’t ring the bell with me that I hoped they would but this one does and I would definitely recommend people give it a try if they are looking for a different paced book that will entertain. Yes, it was written in 1 7 5 9 (264 years ago) but there is something strangely contemporary to the type of entertainment it offers.
And while on the topic of entertainment, I must mention that this is one of the very few books that I have read by a French author that is not melancoholic. If people out there know of other French titles that entertain rather than sink into melancohlia then please let me know, but for me for now Candide remains unique in its joyful galloping, rollicking movement through a landscape of wars, earthquakes and other assorted tragedies that leaves me certainly wanting more.
Score: 8/10
nb: come to think of it The Iliad is pretty rollicking in its own way, but the author was not French.