I have to say, this book is hilarious. Love it. Candide is like a Billy Pilgrim/Don Quixote hybrid running amok.

You know, I really feel like Don Quixote is a much more developed character. They are both Picaresque (sp?) novels, which definitely gives them a similarity, but I feel while Candide is very very obviously satirical, that Cervantes is much more subtle in his approach. BUT! It could be that his references to people are VERY dated, where as Candide, I know more about the history of the time.

What'd you guys think about the reference to jews, and the references to the clergy in El Dorado, that the clergy weren't needed, etc.