Bon-Bon

by Edgar Allan Poe

A short-story about a French chef and the devil.

Genres: Short Stories, Classics, Horror, Fiction, Humor, Fantasy, Literature

ebook

First published December 1, 1832

About the author

The name Poe brings to mind images of murderers and madmen, premature burials, and mysterious women who return from the dead. His works have been in print since 1827 and include such literary classics as The Tell-Tale Heart, The Raven, and The Fall of the House of Usher. This versatile writer’s oeuvre includes short stories, poetry, a novel, a textbook, a book of scientific theory, and hundreds of essays and book reviews. He is widely acknowledged as the inventor of the modern detective story and an innovator in the science fiction genre, but he made his living as America’s first great literary critic and theoretician. Poe’s reputation today rests primarily on his tales of terror as well as on his haunting lyric poetry.

Just as the bizarre characters in Poe’s stories have captured the public imagination so too has Poe himself. He is seen as a morbid, mysterious figure lurking in the shadows of moonlit cemeteries or crumbling castles. This is the Poe of legend. But much of what we know about Poe is wrong, the product of a biography written by one of his enemies in an attempt to defame the author’s name.

The real Poe was born to traveling actors in Boston on January 19, 1809. Edgar was the second of three children. His other brother William Henry Leonard Poe would also become a poet before his early death, and Poe’s sister Rosalie Poe would grow up to teach penmanship at a Richmond girls’ school. Within three years of Poe’s birth both of his parents had died, and he was taken in by the wealthy tobacco merchant John Allan and his wife Frances Valentine Allan in Richmond, Virginia while Poe’s siblings went to live with other families. Mr. Allan would rear Poe to be a businessman and a Virginia gentleman, but Poe had dreams of being a writer in emulation of his childhood hero the British poet Lord Byron. Early poetic verses found written in a young Poe’s handwriting on the backs of Allan’s ledger sheets reveal how little interest Poe had in the tobacco business.

For more information, please see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edgar_al...

Reviews

[Francesc · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pierre Bon-Bon es un restaurador con una gran capacidad para la filosofía y para los negocios y el regateo. Pierre es el dueño del café "Le Pebre" y le encanta el buen comer y el buen beber.
Una tempestuosa noche, el diablo le hace una visita sorpresa y le propone un trato macabro.
Relato también titulado "El trato perdido". Con tintes góticos y tenebrosos.

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Pierre Bon-Bon is a restaurateur with a great capacity for philosophy, business and bargaining. Pierre is the owner of the café "Le Pebre" and loves good food and drink.
One stormy night, the devil pays him a surprise visit and proposes a macabre deal.
Story also entitled "The bargain lost". With gothic and tenebrous overtones.

[Jess the Shelf-Declared Bibliophile · Rating 2 out of 5]

A story about a chef meeting the devil. The story itself wasn’t very interesting but I did find interesting how the story talks about the ancient Chinese and Greek believing our stomach was linked to our souls and minds. Gives a lot more suspicious meaning to commercialized foods being systemically de-nutritionalized and becoming basically poison.

[Christy Hall · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bon-Bon is another dark satire that takes on philosophical ideas, including the soul (where it is located, how much a soul can be worth, etc). In addition, Poe plays with the archetypal deal with the devil as the frame for these philosophical discussions.

Bon-Bon is a French chef and restaurateur who fancies himself a philosopher of equal standing to Voltaire, Plato and Aristophanes. One winter night, Bon-Bon finds himself discussing philosophy with the Devil. The Devil has a ledger and green glasses; one assumes the ledger is his way of keeping track of who he comes across in Hell and the glasses allow him to see the soul. In fact, the Devil eats souls and through the night he and Bon-Bon have a rousing discussion about souls, the culinary arts and philosophy. The Devil claims to have eaten the souls of many famous philosophers and compares them to different culinary experiences, not all of them good. Interesting commentary there. Bon-Bon wants to engage the Devil with the hopes of publishing his own philosophical ideas in a book and becoming famous. The Devil is less than impressed by poor Bon-Bon, who has preceded to get obnoxiously drunk. After refusing to eat Bon-Bon’s soul, which Bon-Bon feels equivalent to a soufflé or a stew, the Devil takes his leave. Bon-Bon, feeling affronted, attempts to throw a wine bottle at the Devil’s head and only succeeds in knocking himself out.

I love a good Devil’s deal piece. This one is funnier than most. I love the satire. The discussion of different philosophers and the weight of the soul is thought-provoking and funny at the same time. I would put this story as the equivalent of the story The Duc de L’Omelette - satire, funny, deal with the Devil. Both great stories and different from Poe’s more famous pieces.

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

“If Pierre Bon-Bon had his failings – and what great man has not a thousand? – if Pierre Bon-Bon, I say, had his failings, they were failings of very little importance – faults indeed which, in other tempers, have often been looked upon rather in the light of virtues.”
— Edgar Allan Poe

This short story is one of Poe's best comic stories featuring a verbal interchange between the Devil and a restaurateur Pierre Bon-Bon renowned for his omelets who also believes himself a profound philosopher. The story heavily satirizes a whole list of classical philosophers including Plato and Aristotle, all of which the Devil has claimed to have eaten their souls. When a very drunken Bon-Bon offers the Devil his soul stating it would make a delicious stew the Devil refuses saying he wouldn't take advantage of someone in his "present disgusting and ungentlemanly situation." Bon-Bon in a fit of temper throws a wine bottle at the Devil which misses him and severs the chain holding the lamp up above his head which falls and knocks him out. Well there's a twist for you with the Devil actually turning down a soul especially since it was ungentlemanly to seal a bargain with one who was drunk.

[Bill Kerwin · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Bon-Bon" (1835) is a comic tale, extensively revised, which was first published in the Philadelphia Saturday Courier (December, 1832) as "The Bargain Lost." Whereas the original was merely a brief anecdote concerning the devil and a drunken Italian philosopher, the revised version features a French philosopher instead, one who is also a cook. Since human souls are food for the devil, the change brings with it a few ironies.

I’ve never been particularly fond of Poe’s humorous pieces. I think he usually tries way too hard. But I have to admit this is one of his better comic efforts, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I’ll end with the following monologue of Monsieur the Devil, who discusses the preservation of souls (not for salvation, of course, but for eating), and the advantages of taking possession of the human soul—and consuming it—prior to death, a process which—his Lordship claims—entails no inconvenience to the living whatsoever:

Why we are sometimes exceedingly pushed for provisions. You must know that, in a climate so sultry as mine, it is frequently impossible to keep a spirit alive for more than two or three hours; and after death, unless pickled immediately, (and a pickled spirit is not good,) they will — smell — you understand, eh? Putrefaction is always to be apprehended when the souls are consigned to its in the usual way … there are several ways of managing. The most of us starve: some put up with the pickle: for my part I purchase my spirits vivente corpore, in which case I find they keep very well … Why, sir, the body is not at all affected by the transaction. I have made innumerable purchases of the kind in my day, and the parties never experienced any inconvenience. There were Cain and Nimrod, and Nero, and Caligula, and Dionysius, and Pisistratus,(29) and — and a thousand others, who never knew what it was to have a soul during the latter part of their lives; yet, sir, these men adorned society. Why is n’t there A——, now, whom you know as well as I? Is he not in possession of all his faculties, mental and corporeal? Who writes a keener epigram? Who reasons more wittily? Who —— but, stay! I have his agreement in my pocket-book.”

[Fernando · Rating 3 out of 5]

En "Bon-Bon", Edgar Allan Poe retoma el mito del Fausto e introduce en el relato, como tantos otros autores, creando una particular variante de Mefistófeles o del Diablo, como uno quiera verlo.
Lo grotesco, por primera vez en un cuento de Poe se mezcla con lo humorístico y funciona.
El final queda abierto y no sabemos si el Diablo logra su cometido o no.

[محمد خالد شريف · Rating 2 out of 5]

بون - بون هي قصة قصيرة لا تتجاوز 25 صفحة عن طباخ فيلسوف، يُقابل الشيطان، وتجري بينهما محادثة فلسفية ومُثيرة للاهتمام في فلسفتها، ولكن كان يُمكن للقصة أن تكون أفضل من ذلك بكثير، فأكثر من نصفها ضاع في نقل صفات وأفكار الطباخ، وفقط أصبحت مثيرة للاهتمام عندما دخل الشيطان على الحكاية، وبدأت الحوارات بينهما، للقصة اسم آخر وهو "الصفقة الخاسرة"، وكنت أرى هذا العنوان أفضل للقصة، حيث أنه له دلالة رمزية مرتبطة بنهاية القصة.

[Andrei Tamaş · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pierre Bon-Bon este un filosof de veac XIX la care Poe, caracterizându-l, face aluzie prin "prea puţini sunt oamenii înzestraţi cu o nemaipomenită adâncime de gândire şi care să nu aibă în acelaşi timp înclinare spre băutură". Apoi, Poe face o reflecţie monumentală: "Şi dacă adâncimea de gândire e doar pricinuită şi stimulată de această înclinare, sau mai degrabă dovedită prin ea, iată un lucru gingaş şi greu de hotărât".

Mie această proză scurtă mi-a adus aminte de două mari romane universale, "Doctor Faustus" şi "Maestrul şi Margareta", căci în paginile sale prezintă convorbirea unui filosof cu diavolul în vederea "cumpărării" sufletului în schimbul unui adevăr care are să-l facă celebru. Însă, bineînţeles, Pierre Bon-Bon este un filosof stoic şi "jocul pe degete" este reciproc, însă asta nu-l scuteşte de fatalitatea deciziei sale...

[Mary Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Devil comes to dinner, and the chief is on the menu. I really enjoyed this story mostly because of the devil standing on his dignity at the end. Not the conclusion you would expect.

[Qamar Mohamed · Rating 3 out of 5]

الكثير كان من الممكن حذفه من المقدمة دون أن تتأثر القصة ولكن بالنهاية الحوار بين الشيف الفيلسوف والشيطان كان ممتع للغاية

[Siobhan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bon-Bon is another interesting read from Poe, one that isn’t quite a full two-star rating but was close enough to be rounded up.

At first, I wasn’t sure about this one. It felt like one of those stories where we had unnecessary words and weren’t quite getting to the point. Then, when the discussion started, I found myself entertained. The ending was sudden, but it fit right in with the story. In other words, this one grew on me.

I wasn’t crazy about Bon-Bon, but it was another interesting Poe read.

[Ebster Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

To me, Pierre Bon-Bon is interesting as a character because he's equal parts carnal and intellectual. The descriptions of the devil really freaked me out- in a good way. (especially when he takes of his spectacles)

I think 'showdown' could have concluded better, but how would you expect it to end when you're dealing with satan?

Note:

Is the devil the narrator?

Quotes:

If Pierre Bon-Bon had his failings--and what great man has not a thousand?--if Pierre Bon-Bon, I say, had his failings, they were failings of very little importance--faults indeed which, in other tempers, have often been looked upon rather in the light of virtues.




"Eyes! my dear Bon-Bon--eyes! did you say?--oh!--ah!--I perceive! The ridiculous prints, eh, which are in circulation, have given you a false idea of my personal appearance. Eyes!--true. Eyes, Pierre Bon-Bon, are very well in their proper place--that, you would say, is the head?--right--the head of a worm. To you, likewise, these optics are indispensable--yet I will convince you that my vision is more penetrating than your own. There is a cat I see in the corner--a pretty cat--look at her--observe her well. Now, Bon-Bon, do you behold the thoughts--the thoughts, I say--the ideas--the reflections--which are being engendered in her pericranium? There it is, now--you do not! She is thinking we admire the length of her tail and the profundity of her mind. She has just concluded that I am the most distinguished of ecclesiastics, and that you are the most superfluous of metaphysicians. Thus you see I am not altogether blind; but to one of my profession, the eyes you speak of would be merely an encumbrance, liable at any time to be put out by a toasting-iron, or a pitchfork. To you, I allow, these optical affairs are indispensable. Endeavor, Bon-Bon, to use them well--my vision is the soul."

[Ben · Rating 2 out of 5]

Certainly an interesting concept but Poe's writing style makes it almost interminable to get through. I've noticed that he has a tendency to ramble throughout his writing, needlessly prolonging the dull parts, which in turn leaves hardly any time for the more entertaining aspects within the book.

[A Mig · Rating 3 out of 5]

An original idea turning the expression “food for thoughts” into “thoughts for food”. I enjoyed the discussion between Mr Bon-Bon and the demon despite the quirky 19th century style. Nice twist at the end.

[K. Anna Kraft · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've arranged my thoughts on this short story into a haiku:

"Satan's learned patience,
If souls are like refreshments,
Since tempting ol' Faust."

[Las lecturas de Hanshichi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Resulta difícil imaginar una conversación filosófica seria cuando el interlocutor tiene cuernos, pezuñas y una sorprendente habilidad para desmontar argumentos.

De ese encuentro imposible nace un relato tan ingenioso como divertido, donde el humor y la reflexión caminan de la mano.

Para ello hemos de situarnos bien y pensar que la obra fué publicada en 1832, la extrañeza que puede producir hoy viene de que el autor juega con una figura que en la primera mitad del siglo XIX tenía una carga religiosa mucho más fuerte que la que suele tener para muchos lectores actuales.

No se trata de una historia de terror al uso, sino de una sátira humorística y filosófica. El diablo aparece como un personaje culto, irónico y conversador, más interesado en debatir ideas que en provocar miedo.

El protagonista, filósofo y amante de la buena mesa, es un personaje tan vanidoso como carismático, cuya erudición choca constantemente con la ironía de su peculiar visitante.

A través de diálogos brillantes y llenos de agudeza, la historia explora cuestiones sobre el alma, la moral, el conocimiento y las debilidades humanas, siempre desde una perspectiva satírica y desenfadada.

Destaca la imaginación desbordante, el tono burlón y la capacidad de combinar lo fantástico con la comedia sin perder profundidad.

Breve, accesible y muy entretenida, es una lectura que demuestra que las ideas más serias también pueden contarse con una sonrisa y la maestría de Poe para ponerle una sonrisa al mismísimo Diablo.

[King Crusoe · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you’re a foodie and are basically familiar with the core philosophy of some of the, er, core philosophers of western thought, you will probably get a little more out of “Bon-Bon” than I did. You’ll therefore also probably enjoy it more than I did. That’s not to say “Bon-Bon” goes deep on either of those topics, but if you understand that the main (title) character is a chef and a bit of a wannabe-philosopher, that’s enough to basically get you through the first few pages up until the devil shows up one night and they have a bit of a discussion of sorts.

The first few pages aren’t great, because they take far too long and use far too many words to give you the picture of who Bon-Bon is when what I listed in the prior paragraph is really all you need to know from them. The other details are pretty nebulous. The bulk of the story is about the satire of a Faustian exchange with the devil and the ways that Bon-Bon is made fun of by Lucifer himself. To say more would be to spoil the worth there is to get out of the story.

I like “Bon-Bon”, but, similar to the prior Poe story (“Loss of Breath”), I wish I liked it more. It’s a bit overlong. The set-up is a bit overwrought and even the character exchange isn’t as tight as I feel it ought to pack the punch I think it’s meant to. Not a bad story at all, and one that I think is worth checking out if you’re vaguely into philosophy, but it doesn’t have quite enough total meat on its bones to justify its page count, being the longest of Poe’s 1832 stories.

[Natalie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Another Poe story where the Devil makes a grand appearance. It's a "humorous" story depending on how funny you think Poe is. (Me, not so much.)

A restaurant owner is also a highly regarded philosopher.

Although, mark me, his doctrines were by no means very generally comprehended, still it did not follow that they were difficult of comprehension.

One drunken night he is accosted by the devil and they have a raucous back-and-forth with lots of "witty" quips. I just don't appreciate Poe's humor. I'm dead inside to it. Poe has done me in. I've tried to appreciate his writing, but the more I read, the more numb I become. He's just not as interesting as I imagined he'd be.

[Eye of Sauron · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is exactly my type of humor.

"Indeed! – why it was I who told Aristotle that by sneezing men expelled superfluous ideas through the proboscis."
"Which is – hiccup! – undoubtedly the case," said the metaphysician, while he poured out for himself another bumper of Mousseux, and offered his snuff-box to the fingers of his visiter.

It's a clever satire of academic pretension as well as many prestigious philosophers, although I wasn't a fan of the ending. Too forced of a joke. Everything else, though, was hilarious.

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bourdain gains access to Poe's scribbles in Hell.

[Nicole]

Watch the livestream discussion
https://youtu.be/oa3CtPj-ly8

[Rach ☕ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐Así quedé 🤯

[pandarka · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rozmowa mistrza Polikarpa ze Śmiercią ale to Poe xD

[Juliette · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kocham Alanka ale wtf😭😭

[Louie the Mustache Matos · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is an eye-opening experience to recognize that a favored author has a very human, mean-streak as part of his personality evidenced by his works. In Bon-Bon, which was originally named The Bargain Lost, Poe demonstrates just such a trait of being a bit of a douchebag. The Bargain Lost was the fifth story published by The Philadelphia Saturday Courier printed in the December 1, 1831 edition. Poe had submitted five stories for a writing contest, where he did not win, but all of the stories were good enough to get published. Bon-Bon is about a chef who is also a philosopher that gets into an argument with the devil. The story is meant as a satire on the pretentious nature of philosophers, and mentions Plato, Aristophanes, Hippocrates, and Voltaire by name with an epigraph by Shakespeare where even the Bard may be included as part of the targeted. Imagine the sheer audacity of a new-up-and-coming writer tearing into established "sacred cows" and decrying their work as pompous including Shakespeare in the bargain. IMHO, this is what Poe is doing here and in a rather ostentatious way, as well. I enjoyed the narrative on its face, but even more when coupled with the research in order to enhance my understanding. This story fits with my three criteria for a classic: longevity (older than 50 years), paradigm altering (making a mark on he genre), and exceptionalism (Poe raises some eyebrows here with his irreverence toward the giants of philosophy. 4 very ballsy Grey Geeks or 4 stars in GoodReads-speak.

[Lee Foust · Rating 4 out of 5]

This humorous tale begins as a kind of spin-off of Rabelais' blending of food and text, as the portrait of a French chef-philosopher, who then has a tipsy-to-drunken conversation with His Majesty, the Devil. The surprise ending is totally worth the wait--and the wait is mildly entertaining and quite witty as well.

[This Is Not The Michael You're Looking For · Rating 3 out of 5]

A strange humorous tale (what do you expect from Poe) about a chef/philosopher who has a drunken meeting with the devil and discusses the flavor of souls. I just don't seem to get Poe's humor, although this tale is a bit better than his other attempts at humor that I've read.

[Jonathan Harbour · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very funny tale about a restaurant owner who meets the devil. Poe throws off the reader at first by treating it as a character review. Crafty! Most readers do not know this and ignorantly miss the many enjoyable puns to their loss.

[Rao Javed · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

Well written with highly worn idea pored out in a new way with a fine story line and weak characters. It will be amusing to debate about this story.

[Rex · Rating 2 out of 5]

Another miss for Poe on my read through of his complete works. Once again, I read through his story but the meaning and the humor is lost on me. Maybe this is a pearls before swine moment. Anyway, there is this man named Bon-Bon. He likes to cook and he fancies himself to be metaphysician. This is not to say he is doctor, but a philosopher. One cold night the devil visits Bon-Bon, they break out a couple cold ones, and the devil tells our hero of the souls of all the philosophers he has eaten. I think there may have been some jokes here but I only knew who like three of the fifty philosophers were. The devil also made a joke in Greek that I think I understood (I speak Greek fluently but not natively), but it still wasn’t very funny and I couldn’t get figure out the Greek alphabet on my iPhone to verify my translation. But here goes. The devil told Aristotle that the mind is an instrument (the avlos) Then he realized that was true, so he switched the lambda upside down made it a gamma and told Aristotle that the mind is an ‘avgos’ which I think is an egg, but it’s not how I would have said it. Haha? Anyway, I don’t think speaking Ancient Greek and being familiar with every Greek philosopher ever should be a prerequisite for enjoying a story published in America. I give this story 2 hiccups out of 5.