Candide

By: Voltaire

Narrated by: Andrew Sachs

In this sharp and witty tale, Candide and his tutor Pangloss journey the earth, following the philosophy: All is for the best in this, the best of all possible worlds. This adage, however, is disproved at many turns, with the characters encountering opposition to their outlook. The initially naive Candide realises some of the dark truths of the eighteenth-century world, but could there be any light at the end of the tunnel?

The reader - Andrew Sachs, famous for playing Manuel in Fawlty Towers, is one of Britain's best-love narrators. His talent for accents suits Candide perfectly.

Critic reviews

"The brilliant unabridged narration brings out all the ironies, tragedy and exuberant comedy of this 18th-century classic."

"A classic audio in every sense."

I was completely enthralled!

To my surprise, I loved it! It wasn't what I was expecting, but it was very interesting and I found myself on the edge of my seat waiting for every next word lol.

Well read, very well acted!

Agreeable voice. Even narration. Read with a happy heart and parts acted out just right.

Why the music?

Story was good, narrator, very good; but the musical interludes were too frequent and much too long. The music didn't enhance the experience, but rather seemed out of place

The Existentialist's telenovela

It is a light read that uses events, rather than introspection, to explore a philosophical concept.

Funnier than I expected

If you could sum up Candide in three words, what would they be?

Happily ridiculous adventure.

Any additional comments?

I guess a lot of people read this in school. I hadn't touched it till I turned 30. Didn't know anything about the story and had very low expectations. Fortunately I was delighted and entertained nearly the whole way through. I recommend this situational comedy to anyone that enjoys satire and facepalms.