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Candide and Zadig

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Candide and Zadig

By: Voltaire
Narrated by: Clive Chafer
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These two classic coming-of-age stories by Voltaire parody the romanticism of his day with the ruthless wit that has made him the undisputed master of social commentary.

Candide, which is alternately titled Optimism, is a merciless satire and expos├® of the ideas and institutions men live by. In this philosophical fantasy, the na├»ve Candide comes to witness and to suffer such misfortune that he rejects the philosophy of his tutor, Dr. Pangloss, who claims that "all is for the best in this best of all possible worlds."

Zadig is the story of another optimist—young, rich, beautiful, and engaged to a woman he loves. When his early hopes and assets are destroyed, he embarks on a journey that will systematically explore science, religion, and the military, contributing to each, betrayed by all. Through these trials, he will eventually win the kingdom of Babylon.

(P)2011 Blackstone Audio, Inc. Anthologies & Short Stories Classics Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Short Stories Witty
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Critic reviews

“This most popular of Voltaire’s works is a masterful satire on the follies and vices of men, particularly the belief embodied by Pangloss that ‘all is for the best in this best of all possible worlds.’ The author, through the outrageous misadventures of his hero, disproves this theory utterly, taking to task all of man’s most prized institutions: science, philosophy, religion, government, and romance.”

(Masterpieces of World Literature on Candide)

“The wittiest and best-loved book of a genius who is still unequaled in his ability to spin art out of philosophy…Candide is considered one of the most important texts of the enlightenment.”

(Amazon.com Editorial Review)
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Most relevant
Written in yee oldie English I am not denying it was hard going but I am glad I took the trouble to listen to some of Voltaire’s work.
Unlike some of the reviews I did get used to Clive Chafer’s narration.

Worth a Listen

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Really really interesting funny and very rested to Sherlock Holmes . I hate you are word counting and making me Review

Ddd adduce and Zadie

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The performance resulted in me stopping early. review needed fifteen words so here they are

poor performance

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I expected more from Voltaire.
what we have is an overly drawn out, somewhat ludicrous, medieval farce, satiring Leibniz' Theodicy of "The best possible world".

Not helped by a dreadfully dreary and robotic narration.

"Ivanhoe" for philosophers.

Disappointingly dull and aged yarn.

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What disappointed you about Candide and Zadig?

The narrator saps the joy from the piece, making it unlistenable to

What did you like best about this story?

I've been told it's very good and seemed funny

Who might you have cast as narrator instead of Clive Chafer?

Interesting question; probably Johnathan Cecil, he'd get the comedy just right

The Narrator Saps the Joy

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