Candide (ou l'optimiste) grows up in the baron's castle under the tutelage of the scholar Pangloss. While there, he falls in love with the baron's daughter, the Lady Cunegonde. When expelled from the castle, Candide finds himself meeting an army, witnessing a battle, even finding El Dorado, and making acquaintances and friends along the way.
There is a common misconception that classics are harder to read than modern novels, but I'm slowly realising that actually, the classics are somewhat funnier to read than contemporary ones, because they're so utterly random and out-of-pocket at times. At least, this is definitely the case with Candide. It's a classic that you have to read once in your life and in fact isn't very hard to get through (I finished it in less than two days). Also, it's a good book to throw casually into a conversation because it sounds intellectual when in fact, could be a children's book.
In each chapter (the chapters are incredibly short and I love it), Candide finds himself on a new adventure, each as exciting and random as the last. His main aim is to return home and to find his beloved Cunegonde after losing her multiple times for different duties or under the pressure of his enemies. I found that they were entertaining and moved on fast enough, so I wasn't bored of the build-up nor left unsatisfied.
Voltaire is considered one of the most influential thinkers in the history of the West, as a key figure of the Enlightenment period. Candide, while a satirical novella, still deals with certain concepts in humorous ways - of philosophy, religion, and optimism (hence the title). His main aim is actually to satirise and attack the notion of Optimism brought about by Leibniz, a German philosopher, and Candide's journey is a clear mockery of this notion. I like that Voltaire highlights the difference in learning about philosophy in a classroom, versus actually experiencing these things play out in real life - Candide witnesses the horrors of war, torture, the power of gold, etc., first hand.
However, I expect that because of the different times, the actual concepts that Voltaire writes about have little importance on us today. A reader in the 18th century would probably gain more from reading it, since the issues were relevant then. Now, it is read more for historical importance and its satire than anything else, though I still find it interesting to see the underlying philosophical concepts that Voltaire plays with.
Something that I both disliked and found absolutely hilarious however, is the ending, so I would highly recommend reading it if just for that. I'm not sure if I should spoil it for you, though I think this makes it seem a bigger deal than it is - you find that Candide does not actually have that much love for Cunegonde after all (although he remarks that despite this, at least she makes good pastries).
All-in-all, Voltaire's Candide is a good read if you're stuck in a reading slump, or need a good book to pass a weekend by, and to laugh at its strange remarks.
“It is love; love, the comfort of the human species, the preserver of the universe, the soul of all sentient beings, love, tender love.”