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Candide, or Optimism

Voltaire

Candide, or Optimism

Paper book: €16.99

Digital: €4.99

Original publication
1759
Pages
296
Difficulty
Medium
Genres
Philosophy, Humor
Moods
Have a laugh, Think it through, Escape it all
Translated from
French

Book summary

Brought up in a castle in Westphalia, young Candide learns from his tutor Pangloss that “all is for the best in the best of all possible worlds”. Thrown out for kissing the lovely Cunégonde, he makes his way through war, the Inquisition, the Lisbon earthquake and the American colonies.

At every disaster, Candide repeats his master's lesson, and Voltaire mocks, with fierce humour, those who want to explain everything. His phrase about “the best of all possible worlds” has stayed in everyone's memory.

Its very short chapters and biting irony make it a tale that is easy to read in the language you are learning.

The plot

Een leraar die overal een verklaring voor heeft. In een kasteel in Duitsland vindt leraar Pangloss voor alles een goede reden. Zijn jonge leerling Candide gelooft hem. Maar Candide moet al snel vertrekken, en de wereld…

The world of the book

Van Europa naar Zuid-Amerika. Het boek verschijnt in 1759. Vier jaar eerder trof een zware aardbeving Lissabon, in Portugal. Heel Europa vroeg zich toen af of de wereld wel goed in elkaar zat.

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