Reviews for Cousin Pons

The average rating for Cousin Pons based on 2 reviews is 4.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2011-09-03 00:00:00 Hast Vv "No man should marry until he has studied anatomy and dissected at least one woman." When I left the farm at the age of 18 and jerry rigged my battered Camaro into a sputtering, but functional machine that could, by the grace of all that is holy, get me to Phoenix. I might have bore resemblance to Lucien de Rubempre the hero of Lost Illusions. Well, okay, there were some differences. I did not look like a Greek God. I did not have David Sechard as a best friend who lent me his last 1,000 francs for my trip to Phoenix/Paris. I most importantly did not have an aristocratic companion in the form of Madame de Bargeton, the queen of society in Angouleme. (I definitely left the farm on the wrong footing.) As it turns out despite Lucien's advantages his spectacular rise and fall in Paris society far eclipsed my own bumpy yet steady meandering attempt to be successful in the "big city". Drawing from the Folio edition The first hurdle to be cleared by both Lucien and Madame de Bargeton was entry into Parisian Aristocratic society. Madame may have had the proper name, but she had been in the sticks way too long and had fallen behind on the current fashions and the latest affectations. Lucien, though a beautiful manly specimen, wore the wrong clothes. Clothes that were very nice for the country, but were outdated and ragged when compared to the festive clothing worn by the Parisian dandies. In other words both found the other wanting and a detriment to their efforts to fit in to the society they wished to become accustomed too. Madame de Bargeton, in a fit of survival, jettisoned her Greek God. Lucien, even though he had been thinking similar thoughts, was upset over the betrayal(plotted revenge) and quickly found himself mired in poverty. He took up with a bunch of philosophical writers, who despite their superior intelligence or because of it refused to try and be successful. As taken as Lucien is by their high ideals and their comradeship he quickly moves away from their company once he meets the con man Etienne Lousteau. Drawing from the Folio edition Lousteau calls himself a journalist, but really he is a blackmailer, glib tongue seducer, and thief. Lucien meets Lousteau at the moment that he is in a midst of a deal to become editor of a newspaper. Lousteau likes Lucien, more importantly he sees that he can be of use to him, and shows him how to use his pen to make money. He ensnares him in the fine art of reviewing books, taking the best qualities of a novel and negating those qualities by presenting them as weaknesses. He shows him how to receive "bribes" in theater seats in exchange for positive reviews. Lucien, who was a good writer, soon found himself in a position of writing positive and negative reviews of the same book or the same play and taking money from publishers not to eviscerate their latest offering. Etienne and Lucien both are living with beautiful actresses and making a very good living, but their lifestyle far outreaches their pocketbooks and soon each finds themselves on the edge of disgrace. In an act of desperation Lucien forges David's signature on bank loans that have devastating consequences for his friend(brother-in-law)and sister. There are many more subplots that are complicated enough that separate reviews could be composed for each. Balzac does an amazing job juggling the plots without confusing the reader. Each new revelation has far reaching ramifications and I found myself squirming in my seat as each new piece of the puzzle is revealed. Balzac creates a whole host of characters, wonderful characters, some who have bit parts, but have larger roles to play as part of the grander scheme of the world of the Human Comedy. Characters flow in and out of his books. In one book they may have a large role and in another a mere scene. He wrote 92 books that composed the Human Comedy and had sketches for 55 more. He created over 3,000 characters. Balzac is surprisingly funny, with skewering wit and a telescopic eye for human behavior. He was part of the realism movement and the characters of these books are the same people that are serving us coffee, delivering our mail, writing newspaper articles, and lending us money today. People have the same foibles and good qualities as they did a hundred years ago. In the form of Eve, David's wife and Lucien's sister, Balzac also reminds us of those few really special people that we occasionally meet who exemplify what we all wish to be....nice. Balzac I got to say I'm hooked. I am curious to see what happens to more of these characters and in the span of one book I've only met a very few of the characters that Balzac brings to life in the Human Comedy. I must meet the rest. I will read more Balzac. If you wish to see more of my most recent book and movie reviews, visit I also have a Facebook blogger page at:

Review # 2 was written on 2010-10-19 00:00:00 Thomas Wilson (912 From 1001 Books) - Illusions Perdues = Lost Illusions (La Comédie Humaine #38), Honoré de Balzac Illusions is a serial novel, written by the French writer, Honoré de Balzac, between 1837 and 1843. It consists of three parts, starting in provincial France, thereafter moving to Paris, and finally returning to the provinces. Thus it resembles another of Balzac's greatest novels, The Black Sheep, 1842, in that it is set partly in Paris and partly in the provinces. It is, however, unique among the novels and short stories of The Human Comedy, 1799-1850. آرزوهای بر باد رفته - انوره دو بالزاک (امیرکبیر) ادبیات فرانسه؛ تاریخ نخستین خوانش: روز بیست و ششم ماه می سال 1977میلادی عنوان: آرزوهای بر باد رفته؛ اثر: انوره دو بالزاک؛ مترجم: سعید نفیسی؛ مشخصات نشر: تهران، امیرکبیر، 1337، در 744ص، موضوع داستانهای نویسندگان فرانسه، سده 19م این رمان، در آن روزگاران، به بلندای شکوه و بیهمتایی دست یازید، زیرا «بالزاک» هماره دورنگر بودند، و فراتر را از روز جاری را میدیدند؛ ایشان درمییابند، که پایان یافتن دوران قهرمانان، و تحول بورژوایی، باید به معنی آغاز خیزش عظیم سرمایه داری فرانسه باشد؛ «آرزوهای برباد رفته»، حماسه ی «تراژی - کمیکِ» سلطه ی سرمایه، بر اندیشه ها، و تبدیل شدن ادبیات، به کالا است؛ درونمایه ی رمان، برآورده شدن بسیار گسترده ی این روند، سلطه ی سرمایه بر ذهن و اندیشه، و تراژدی نسل پس از «ناپلئون» را، در درون چارچوبی اجتماعی، جای میدهد؛ «بالزاک» بسیار ژرفتر، از اینها را درک کرده است؛ «بالزاک» این فرایند تبدیل ادبیات به کالا را، با تمامی ابعاد و جوانبش ترسیم میکنند و مینگارند: «از تولید کاغذ گرفته، تا باورها، اندیشه ها، و احساسات نویسندگان، همه و همه، به کالا تبدیل میشوند»، و «بالزاک» نیز به ذکر کلی پیآمدهای فکری، و نظری این سلطه ی سرمایه داری، بسنده نمیکنند، بلکه در تمامی میدانها، فرایند واقعی سرمایه داری شدن را، در تمام مراحل، و با همه ی ویژگیهایش، آشکار میسازند تاریخ بهنگام رسانی 21/09/1399هجری خورشیدی؛ ا. شربیانی