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Candide, or Optimism

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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

This Penguin Classic is performed by Ben Lloyd-Hughes, best known for Divergent, Me Before You and The Inbetweeners. This definitive recording includes an introduction by Michael Wood.

Brought up in the household of a powerful Baron, Candide is an open-minded young man, whose tutor, Pangloss, has instilled in him the belief that 'all is for the best'. But when his love for the Baron's rosy-cheeked daughter is discovered, Candide is cast out to make his own way in the world. And so he and his various companions begin a breathless tour of Europe, South America and Asia, as an outrageous series of disasters befall them - earthquakes, syphilis, a brush with the Inquisition, murder - sorely testing the young hero's optimism.

© Michael Wood 2006 (P) Penguin Audio 2021

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I loved this satiric and witty short Voltaire's novel but especially the fantastic performance of Ben Lloyd Hughes. Not only does he have a pleasant voice and a smart British accent, but he also manages to give a particular and sometimes funny accent to each character. In a way this is a dramatized reading by an excellent actor, one that makes Candide all the more amusing and enjoyable.

A superb narration by Ben Lloyd Hughes

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I find the narrators accents hit and miss and overly affected. His general reading voice is good.

Performance

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the story became tiring near the end. I simply wanted the end of it. it was well told, though and I will not be too harsh on the writing's less refined bits based on a 21st century lens. I did find the ideas laid out bare in the introduction quite easy to follow and a fair resolution after all. we must cultivate our garden.
truthfully the book is littered with great quotes and insights I hope to not quickly forget.

impressive narration but I grew tired of the story

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