CANDIDE or Optimism - Voltaire

With 'Candide", Voltaire bumptiously skewered the fashionable misinterpretation of the Doctrine of Philosophical Optimism, unerringly offending Kings, scientists, fanatical's, publishers, journalists and even Priests; composed in a mere three days, "Candide" capacity to amuse, disgust and surprise endures today, roughly ninety thousand days later.

Its been a long time since I have read a book that has made me laugh out loud, not once but several times in a reading.  This is the book I have been waiting for my entire life.

I read it twice on Sunday, the first time as a straight read, and laughed, the second time I read it to look a bit deeper into who and what Voltaire is sticking it to and I laughed just as hard the second time.

From the Introduction by Michael Wood.

The word optimism, first used in print in 1737, represents a philosophical position, a claim that in spite of errors and appearances God's creation is as good as it could be, and Voltaire's subtitle glances at just this doctrine.  But the young Candide looks on the bright side when he can, and not one of his many moments of discouragement can prevent his innate cheerfulness from returning.

Included in the many disasters that befall Candide, his true love and companions as they travel the world, there is murder, body cavity searches, cannibalism, bestiality, many raping's, many beatings , battles and dismemberment's, all the while being hilarious.

As the rear cover states about the book " The satirical scourge of 1759" and reading it its no wonder it has has many trying to ban it seize it and ignore it.

As for one upmanship, here two of the female characters engage in some banter over who had suffered the most.

" Alas my good woman... unless you have bee raped by two Bulgars, been stabbed twice in the stomach, had two castles demolished, had the throats of two mothers and two fathers slit before your eyes, and watched two lovers being flogged in an auto-da-fe, I really cannot see that you have the advantage over me."

As it turns out the above example was simply not even close to what the old lady endured. The old woman's tale of suffering is told in the most brilliantly understated way and very very funny.

Love this and it will be read many times more, its only 94 pages and can be dipped into  for a laugh and a look at humanity with its vanities. " Lets eat Jesuit, lets eat Jesuit."