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A review by jonfaith
Cousin Pons by Honoré de Balzac
4.0
Death, it is often said, is the end of a journey, but few people know how apt this simile is in Paris.
Much like Tolstoy's Ivan Ilyich, Cousin Pons is a meditation on mortality. Balzac's portrait is more cynical than mournful. The warmth of affection between the two friends is effaced by the calculating menace of those surrounding them. The structures of jurisprudence and medicine appear predatory. Despite that, there is Pons and his faithful Schmucke. There is much to admire and empathize in these two bumblers. I found Balzac's portrayal as always brilliant. Despite the pun, this could be no country for (poor) old men. There are a number of ill placed slurs lingering about. I find that disturbing but not a fatal flaw. Read Jim Paris' review
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/65897463
Much like Tolstoy's Ivan Ilyich, Cousin Pons is a meditation on mortality. Balzac's portrait is more cynical than mournful. The warmth of affection between the two friends is effaced by the calculating menace of those surrounding them. The structures of jurisprudence and medicine appear predatory. Despite that, there is Pons and his faithful Schmucke. There is much to admire and empathize in these two bumblers. I found Balzac's portrayal as always brilliant. Despite the pun, this could be no country for (poor) old men. There are a number of ill placed slurs lingering about. I find that disturbing but not a fatal flaw. Read Jim Paris' review
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/65897463