Candide and Zadig
Candide Have you ever been so maddened by a single sentence that you decided to write a book? Leibniz is famous for his claim that we live in “the best of all possible worlds”, after the Lisbon earthquake which killed somewhere between 12,000 to 50,000 people Voltaire rejected this claim. In large part this book is a parody of this optimism. Candide the main character grows up in a sheltered privileged life where his tutor Pangloss teaches him that he lives in the best of all possible worlds. After a series of events our naïve hero is kicked out into the real world and is almost immediately kidnapped by Bulgarians and pressed into service. Leading to one of my favorite scenes where in Voltaire’s dark comedic tone is captured. ...