Has anybody read Candide by Voltaire?

Question: Has anybody read Candide by Voltaire!?

As you can tell by my user name, I love Voltaire! But I've never read Candide!. I really want to, but would I be able to handle it enough to actually enjoy reading it!? I'm a 16 year old girl and some other books I've read and liked were Brave New World, 1984, Of Mice and Men, Running With Scissors and Macbeth!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker:

I'm fifteen!. I read it last year, and I really enjoyed it--sounds like we have similar reading tastes!. It's very funny!. Make sure you get a copy with lots of annotations, because otherwise a lot of it may go over your head!. It's not that the story's difficult, but there are a lot of subtle references to Voltaire's time period that would make no sense to anyone without a big background in French and European philosophy, history, and culture!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

I just read it last week -- it's great!. Not something you'll have trouble with, based on your reading list!.

Without a thorough history education, you probably won't recognise a lot of the people being satirised in it (I certainly didn't), but it's still incredibly entertaining and easy to relate to!. Really, really funny!. I can't believe school curriculums force their students to read Shakespeare but ignore this little gem!.

If you want to read it online, it's available here:
http://www!.gutenberg!.org/etext/19942Www@QuestionHome@Com

Yes, you seem to have a good foundation and the passion to read the work will enable you to seek out resources for things you do not understand!.
You can even read it online for free!.
Enjoy the read!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

I read it during junior or senior year of high school!. So I think you can handle it!. It's not very long!.

Enjoy!Www@QuestionHome@Com

Sure, try it!. It's not too long, and if you can handle Macbeth you can handle Candide!.Www@QuestionHome@Com