Candide by Voltaire
"Candide" is a satirical novel that follows the adventures of a young man, Candide, who is living a sheltered life in an Edenic paradise and being indoctrinated with Leibnizian optimism by his mentor. When he is expelled from the paradise for kissing a baron's daughter, he embarks on a journey around the world, witnessing the horrors of war, natural disasters, and human cruelty. Throughout his journey, Candide maintains his optimistic philosophy, despite the constant hardships he faces, ultimately concluding that one must cultivate their own garden, a metaphor for taking control of one's own destiny.
The 61st greatest book of all time
- Published
- 1759
- Nationality
- French
- Type
- Fiction
- Pages
- 100-200
- Words
- 30,000
- Original Language
- French
If you're interested in seeing the ranking details on this book go here
This book is on the following lists:
- 7th on For The Love of Books (For The Love of Books)
- 14th on Top 100 World Literature Titles (Perfection Learning)
- 58th on Pour une Bibliothèque Idéale (Raymond Queneau)
- 80th on The Novel 100: A Ranking of the Greatest Novels of All Time (The Novel 100)
- 91st on The Complete 500: OCLC (OCLC)
- 95th on 100 Best Books (Montana State University)
- 99th on The Top 10: The Greatest Books of All Time (The Top 10 (Book))
- 131st on Our Users' Favorite Books of All Time (The Greatest Books Users)
- 166th on The 500 best books of all time from Culture Café users (Culture Café)
- Best Books Ever (bookdepository.com)
- The Graphic Canon (Book)
- The 100 Greatest Books Ever Written (Easton Press)
- Select 100 (University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee)
- 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die (The Book)
- As if You Don't Have Enough to Read, Best Non-Fiction from the NY Times Writers (New York Times)
- Harold Bloom's The Western Canon (The Western Canon (Book) by Harold Bloom)
- The Guardian's Essential Library (The Guardian)
- Inteliquest's World's 100 Greatest Books of All-Time (InteliQuest)
- William H. F. Lamont’s 100 Best Novels (1947) (archive.org)
- 1000 Novels Everyone Must Read (The Guardian)
- Great Books of the Western World (Great Books Foundation)
- One Hundred Best Books (1916) (John Cowper Powys)
- The 100 Most Influential Books Ever Written (Martin Seymour-Smith)
- The College Board: 101 Great Books Recommended for College-Bound Readers (The College Board, an American not-for-profit organization)
- ZEIT-Bibliothek der 100 Bücher (Die Zeit)
- Världsbiblioteket (The World Library) (Tidningen Boken)
- The New Lifetime Reading Plan (The New Lifetime Reading Plan)
- Masterpieces of World Literature (Frank N. Magill)
- The Book of Great Books: A Guide to 100 World Classics (Book)
- From Zero to Well-Read in 100 Books (Jeff O'Neal at Bookriot.com)