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Amazon.com Review
Political satire doesn't age well, but occasionally a diatribe
contains enough art and universal mirth to survive long after its
timeliness has passed. Candide is such a book. Penned by that
Renaissance man of the Enlightenment, Voltaire, Candide is steeped
in the political and philosophical controversies of the 1750s. But
for the general reader, the novel's driving principle is clear
enough: the idea (endemic in Voltaire's day) that we live in the
best of all possible worlds, and apparent folly, misery and strife
are actually harbingers of a greater good we cannot perceive, is
hogwash.
内容简介
Voltaire's shocking wit and biting portrayal of the eighteenth
century church and aristocracy are now showcased in a new
translation of Candide, a bestseller in its time and essential
reading for a deeper understanding of Voltaire and Enlightenment
thought. Preserving the text's provocative nature as well as its
accuracy, Daniel Gordon has paid special attention to improving not
only the rendering of particular words, but to Voltaire's semantic
overtones by amplifying the book's innuendo, enhancing Candide's
readability and ensuring that readers will not miss bold features
of the story. The introduction places Candide and Voltaire in their
historical context, relating the complexities of Voltaire's life to
the events, philosophy, and characters of Candide, showing
precisely why the Enlightenment is known as the Age of
Voltaire.
作者简介
Voltaire (Fran?ois-Marie Arouet) (1694—1778) was one of the
key thinkers of the European Enlightenment. Of his many works,
Candide remains the most popular.
Peter Constantine was awarded the 1998 PEN Translation Award
for Six Early Stories by Thomas Mann and the 1999 National
Translation Award for The Undiscovered Chekhov: Forty-three New
Stories. Widely acclaimed for his recent translation of the
complete works of Isaac Babel, he also translated Gogol’s Taras
Bulba and Tolstoy’s The Cossacks for the Modern Library. His
translations of fiction and poetry have appeared in many
publications, including The New Yorker, Harper’s, and Paris Review.
He lives in New York City.