Candid about Candide

Last week I read Voltaire's Candide. I knew the general story and the main points about the book, as it was part of some high school literature or history class, but I had actually never read it. We were assigned to read it and I had procrastinated and procrastinated (hell, it's just a wee book, right?) and when crunched for time, I couldn't find the book, whoops! Fortunately I had the 'CliffNotes' version and read that instead.

It's always sort of bothered me that I had never read it, so 25 (cough!) plus years later; mission accomplished! I enjoyed the read. It was funnier than I had anticipated and I now feel honest.

However...

Perhaps it's just the effect of time or some glossing over by an old school curriculum but I didn't recall any mention of the bum-biting monkey lovers when I was in high school. I think that's a detail I would have remembered!

Being the curious sort, I looked up Candide on Wikipedia and along with lots of interesting info there is an illustration of the two naked ladies and their bum-biting monkey lovers that are included in some editions of the book. Alas not the edition I have but here it is in all its erotic buttocksie glory:

Engraving by Jean-Michel Moreau, le jeune

And now it's time for the candid bit.

Somehow that image and feelings aroused by it, nibbled their way through my brain and resulted one night, in one of the most horniest dreams that I have ever had. I won't go into details because actually I don't really remember many; it was all very surreal and, well, dreamlike but, whoa! When I woke I tried for a good hour to return to that pervy paradise but it had evapourated. Sigh... it was lovely while it lasted though.

So, two thumbs up, as it were, for Voltaire's Candide.

;-)