Cousin Pons (Poor Relations 2)

by Honoré de Balzac

Other authorsHerbert J. Hunt (Introduction)

Paperback, 1983

Status

Available

Call number

843.7

Publication

Penguin Classics (1983), Paperback, 336 pages

Description

Mild, harmless and ugly to behold, the impoverished Pons is an ageing musician whose brief fame has fallen to nothing. Living a placid Parisian life as a bachelor in a shared apartment with his friend Schmucke, he maintains only two passions- a devotion to fine dining in the company of wealthy but disdainful relatives, and a dedication to the collection of antiques. When these relatives become aware of the true value of his art collection, however, their sneering contempt for the parasitic Pons rapidly falls away as they struggle to obtain a piece of the weakening man's inheritance. Taking its place in the Human Comedy as a companion to Cousin Bette, the darkly humorous Cousin Pons is among of the last and greatest of Balzac's novels concerning French urban society- a cynical, pessimistic but never despairing consideration of human nature.… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member TrysB

The tale of Cousin Pons is another novel in Balzac's wonderful "Scenes from Parisian Life". It is the sad story of Silvain Pons, a man upon whom Fate did not smile. Despite his travails and woes, he live his life simply and cheerfully without rancor or bitterness. Such pure hearts do exist,

although they are rare.

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LibraryThing member starbox

A superb dark comedy, companion piece to Cousin Bette.
Sylvain Pons is a dear old man, a musician and a poor relation of a titled family, to whom he repairs for gourmet dinners, and by whom he is regularly insulted and disparaged. Pons' overarching interest is picking up valuable antiques for a

song, and he has amassed an amazing collection, which live in the flat he shares with devoted, childlike fellow musician, the German Schmucke. And which is presided over by the rapacious concierge, Mme Cibot...
When Pons falls ill; when those in the vicinity come to realise his 'bric a brac' is worth a mint, and when numerous others get involved...a corrupt doctor and his equally dodgy solicitor chum, the titled relatives who hope to inherit...and certain more lowly locals...a complex web unfolds.
Numerous laugh-out-loud observations on life and personalities

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LibraryThing member Gypsy_Boy

I was eager to read this because it is generally considered the “companion” novel to Cousin Bette which I thought was excellent (and is widely acknowledged to be one of his greatest works). But this story of an older man, shunned by his avaricious relations, was ultimately a disappointment.

Although the elements of a masterpiece are here, I thought the entire book was too formulaic and cliched. Balzac also spends a bit too much time explaining various things and the story regularly loses momentum when he pauses for these explanations. Worse, some explanations proved no real help: because of the way he chooses to tell the story, his explication becomes too dependent on understanding some of the legal and duplicitous machinations of his characters. Plus, I'll admit, I've never been a fan of reading stage directions: don't tell me what's going to happen, show me. Added to that, another major character is so astonishingly naive as to be nearly unbelievable. Balzac's wicked satire and cynicism are intact and he writes wonderfully at times but ultimately, it just wasn't nearly enough for me.

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