Candide

Nombre de pages

218

ISBN

2253098086

editeur

Lgf/Le Livre De Poche

Date de publication

1995-09

Description

Political satire doesn't age well, but occasionally a diatribe contains enough art and universal mirth to survive long after its timeliness has passed. Candide is such a book. Penned by that Renaissance man of the Enlightenment, Voltaire, Candide is steeped in the political and philosophical controversies of the 1750s. But for the general reader, the novel's driving principle is clear enough: the idea (endemic in Voltaire's day) that we live in the best of all possible worlds, and apparent folly, misery and strife are actually harbingers of a greater good we cannot perceive, is hogwash. Telling the tale of the good-natured but star-crossed Candide (think Mr. Magoo armed with deadly force), as he travels the world struggling to be reunited with his love, Lady Cunegonde, the novel smashes such ill-conceived optimism to splinters. Candide's tutor, Dr. Pangloss, is steadfast in his philosophical good cheer, in the face of more and more fantastic misfortune; Candide's other companions always supply good sense in the nick of time. Still, as he demolishes optimism, Voltaire pays tribute to human resilience, and in doing so gives the book a pleasant indomitability common to farce. Says one character, a princess turned one-buttocked hag by unkind Fate: "I have wanted to kill myself a hundred times, but somehow I am still in love with life. This ridiculous weakness is perhaps one of our most melancholy propensities; for is there anything more stupid than to be eager to go on carrying a burden which one would gladly throw away, to loathe one's very being and yet to hold it fast, to fondle the snake that devours us until it has eaten our hearts away?" --Michael Gerber

Format

Poche

Auteur

Voltaire

extra1

|Voltaire|Roman en poche

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vendu par Fnac.com

extra3

Roman en poche

categorie

LivresLitteraturePoches littérature française Littérature française

programId

3828

terms

A partir de

attributs

Support / Quantité fournie=1 ;Dimensions et poids / Poids=160 g;Lieu de parution=Paris Cedex 15, France;Livres / Période=Livre édité depuis 1980;Livres / Longueur=17.60 Cm;Livres / Largeur=10.90 Cm;Livres / Epaisseur=1.30 Cm;Classification Decitre 1=Poches littérature française;Classification Decitre 2=Littérature française;Classification Decitre 3=Littérature française;Livres / Format=Poche;Propriétaire=Decitre;Livres Origine=Decitre;Livres / Collection=le livre de poche;Livres / Nb de pages=218 Pages;Date=2000-02-03 00;Disponibilité=Disponible;Classification Titelive Primaire=Litterature Format Poche;Classification Titelive Secondaire=Litterature Romans Poche

theme

Poche

realisateur

Voltaire