Classic fiction

Candide

by Voltaire

129 pages · First published 1759

Young Candide is taught by the philosopher Pangloss that they live in the best of all possible worlds, a belief that becomes increasingly absurd as war, disaster, exploitation, disease, and betrayal follow him across continents. Candide continues searching for his beloved Cunégonde while each new catastrophe tests the optimistic system he was taught to accept. Voltaire compresses an enormous amount of violence and misfortune into deliberately brisk, comic episodes. The 1759 satire attacks philosophical optimism and institutional hypocrisy while ultimately turning toward the practical value of work rather than grand explanations for suffering.