Candide

Author: Voltaire
After I finished reading The Last Symbol, I needed another book, but didn't have a chance to pick anything up.  We were headed out of town and I thought I'd have some time to read.  I didn't want to take what I was reading at the time, The Power of Pause, because I wanted something different.  We have quite a few books around the house including a bunch of "classics" that we've acquired over time.  I've attempted to read a few of them in the past, but really struggled to get into them.  I needed something though and Candide looked short enough that I didn't think it would be too much of a commitment.

Needless to say, I didn't have the time while out of town that I thought.  So foolish of me thinking I'd have time for myself while on vacation with my boys.  Not that I'm complaining.

Anyway... Candide was more dense than it appeared.  It was easy enough to read as far as the language went, and it contained numerous historical references and footnotes, which were interesting at times.  It was odd in how the timeline of the book raced and paused.  One sentence would be describing a conversation about the struggles of life and the next would say something like "Candide and his company arrived in Portual two months later."  Huh?  What just happened to the conversation.  I can't say I got anything from the book other than the satisfaction of having finished one of the "classics" that's been sitting on my shelves.