A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole
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Book Reviews of A Confederacy of Dunces
Book Review: There is no one like Toole's Ignatius [P 1981]
Summary: 5 Stars
Sometimes, it is not what you read in the novel, but what is written about the novel or novelist that tells you the full story. This is one such book where the "rest of the story" delivered in the foreward and on the internet help explain the novel.
This lumbering New Orleans resident protagonist is a cretin named Ignatius Reilly has problems with his "valve" and mouth which make the reader laugh and cry on almost every page. His mother-son confrontations are merely verbal jawings, but of tenacity of Mommy Dearest. The barbs between babe and mom are cutting, and Walter Percy's (author of The Moviegoer - another New Orleans tale of a sad sack) revelation that the author's mother posthumously tendered the manuscript to him with pride - you knew this could not be autobiographical. And, that God Percy lost out in trying to evade Mother Toole's request that he read the manuscript. "Over the years I have become very good at getting out of things I don't want to do. And if there was something I didn't want to do; this was surely it: to deal with the mother of a dead novelist and worst of all, to have to read a manuscript that she said was GREAT, and that, as it turned out, was a badly smeared, scarcely readable carbon." The rest is history.
And, the dialogue flows. Ignatius introduces us to black janitors, white liberals, homosexual cross-dresser, high school pornographers, strippers with birds, undercover cops who work the mens rooms, and more. And, that is in the first few pages - or so.
New Orleans is seedy, maybe seedier here than in Blanche Dubois's worst days in Tennessee Williams's New Orleans. Being a tourist with jingle in your pocket in that city may be fun. Being broke in New Orleans, we learn, is not a life of fruit and plenty for the locals.
And, as Ignatius spirals downward in his plunge to despair and ridicule, we learn that he sees little, if any, light at the end of the tunnel. Ignatius opines about how others think he should be put into the loony bin:"They would try to make me into a moron who liked television and new cars and frozen food. Don't you understand? Psychiatry is worse than communism. I refuse to be brainwashed. I won't be a robot!" This frustration later leads to passages concerning suicide. And, such depression he knew. Wikipedia states: "It was during what is assumed to be a trip back to New Orleans that Toole stopped outside Biloxi, Mississippi, on March 26, 1969, and committed suicide by running a garden hose from the exhaust pipe in through the window of the car in which he was sitting."
The oratory of the overeducated underachieving Ignatius reminds me of the gifted lip from Walter Matthau's Willie Gingrich of Billie Wilder's The Fortune Cookie. Ignatius is a bumbler like Kingsley Amis's Lucky Jim (Penguin Classics). He is a slob like another Walter Matthau special - Oscar Madison. But, this is not a parallel figure. This complex and unique character, which I believe to be close to the heart of the author, is one of fiction's great gifts.
Book Review: Brilliance in hidding
Summary: 5 Stars
The words often found between the torn and tattered pages of waterlogged books are seldom those of pure brilliance, and not pure as in real, but pure as in straight from the depths of the earth spring water pure. In John Kennedy Toole's Confederacy of Dunces, pure brilliance cannot describe the literature present. Artistic views and ideals flow from the pages like a waterfall, sticking in the depths of the readers' brain, forever more, till death do you part.Brilliance is proclaimed in the first paragraph of the first page, with the eloquent and detailed description of the main character.
" A green hunting cap squeezed the top of the fleshy balloon of a head. The green earflaps, full of large ears and uncut hair and the fine bristles that grew in the ears themselves, stuck out on either side like turn signals indication two directions at once. Full pursed lips protruded beneath the bushy black moustache and, at their corners, sank into little folds filled with disapproval and potato chip crumbs. In the shadow under the green visor of the cap Ignatius J. Reilly's supercilious blue and yellow eyes looked down upon the other people waiting under the clock at the D. H. Holmes department store, studying the crowd of people for signs of bad taste in dress."
It is inconceivable that anyone would not want to read this book. A modern day Don Quixote, Ignatius proclaims his fame early in the book, making a scene regardless of his actual actions. He is accused of being a `vagrant' by an Officer Mancuso, and after an on foot chase scene through the streets of the French Quarter, New Orleans, Ignatius' mother, a blatant alcoholic, hurdles her car into the side of a building after a little too much of grandpa's old cough medicine, and sends Ignatius out onto the street.
How a person like Ignatius could ever survive in the world today is by all means, implausible. He appears to have a knack for finding just the wrong place to be at just the right time. He is a failure at alphabetizing anything, and could never sell any kind of food if his life depended on it, because regardless of how bloated he becomes, he seems to never stop eating. He somehow finds his way to a strictly gay party, attempts a speech, is hurled into the street, and becomes the mantle piece of an illegal-deal crack down. How one person, especially someone such as this, could ever get themselves into these kinds of situations is most likely the only unbelievable part of this book.
But the brilliance is not in Ignatius, although he pertains to be the smartest character in the book. The driving forces behind this book are the supporting characters. Many books today have main characters that develop throughout the book, also known as a round character. In these books, the supporting characters are the ones that always stay the same, a flat character. Toole had the audacity to flip the system, and play with it. Ignatius J. Reilly on page 394 is the same Ignatius J. Reilly as the one on page 1, aside from a few more bruises, physically and mentally. Mrs. Trixie, Mrs. Reilly, Mr. Levy, Mrs. Levy, Officer Mancuso, and Gonzalez all become different people, because of Ignatius. This talented and artistic style of writing is sure to bring about new and creative styles that no one will be able to resist.
Book Review: This is a book that will make you smile.
Summary: 5 Stars
Of all the novels I have read, I consider John Kennedy Toole's A Confederacy of Dunces to be one of the best (and certainly the funniest). I thoroughly enjoyed reading this novel, laughing myself silly at times throughout this zany story. The situations that Ignatius put himself (and others) in were classic and unpredictable.
In my opinion, it's very easy to understand why this novel won a Pulitzer Prize. The character descriptions were brilliant; I could picture someone I knew for every character in the story. Toole's prose made me feel as if I were standing next to Ignatius during his adventures, and I could almost feel the frustration and anger of those who became his "victims." Every character's appearance and personality was described in specific details, as well as the surrounding scenery. The humor used was ingenious, both in content and timing, even at the risk of being stereotypical.
My favorite part of the story came when Ignatius forged the letter to Abelman's Dry Goods. I think it reminded me of that mischievous side of myself, and perhaps suggesting that I myself might do such an act. The contents of the letter was enough to keep me laughing , but then I imagined the look on the faces of Abelman, Levy, and Gonzalez upon reading this letter themselves, and that fueled the fire! Yes, it can be said that I got carried away with this book.
On the negative side of the book, I thought that some of the letters written by Ignatius were alittle long winded and not relevant to the story. Perhaps Toole thought it was important to reinforce this character's mind set to the reader. However, it seemed to me that this was accomplished by the colorful description of behavior throughout the story. In addition, I think that it's safe to say that in this day and age of being "politically correct," this novel probably wouldn't currently win a Pulitzer. I base that on some of the stereotypical character and language depiction, especially with Jones. This novel was placed at a time when racial segregation was still prevalent (which probably explains why it wasn't an issue to the Pulitzer committee). However, even if a current author made a racial degrading reference to a character set during that period, it probably would not acceptable to the current standards.
I really enjoyed taking this adventure with Ignatius. I feel the story was well written, painting a vivid picture in my mind about who exactly we (as the reader) were dealing with. I only wish the ending had turned out with more substance. I felt myself wondering how Ignatius was going to get out of the forgery mess, or if his mother was going to marry Claude, or even if Levy Shorts would be successful. Ironically, I feel this way about Toole himself. It disappoints me that an author with such a gift for writing, would tragically ends his life at such a young age. This inspired me to do some research (see attached), but information on him was very scarce. The biggest tragedy of all (I think), is that we will never enjoy any new works from this talented artist, nor will we know where Ignatius is today. However, this doesn't stop me from keeping a sharp lookout for a large goofy-looking guy, wearing a green hunting cap.Book Review: If you like the Simpsons, you'll LOVE this
Summary: 5 Stars
I'm not going to lie: almost every time I have ever been forced to read a book or story for any sort of class, I end up hating the book, just because I start to associate it with my teachers, or just school in general, two things I've never particularly liked. However, Confederacy of Dunces, which I had to read for one of my classes at Cornell University my freshman year did not suffer this fate at all; it is by far one of the funniest, most innovative books I have ever read in my life and would recommend it to anybody who considers his or herself funny. As an avid Simpsons viewer, I was delighted to see the tremendous (no pun on Ignatius' size intended) similarities between main character Ignatius T. Reilly and Star Trek geek, the famous Comic Book Guy from the Simpsons. Both characters consider themselves to be geniuses, surrounded by a confederacy of dunces, are disgusting goliaths, are extremely rigid in their actions, and the thing I find funniest, speak in such an outdated and complex way! I the case of the Comic Book Guy this means commanding Lisa by saying, "Answer me these questions three," instead of speaking to her in normal order, or Ignatius whining, "My olfactories are already beginning to send out distress signals," instead of saying, "This place smells." The similarities continue: both characters live in towns filled with complete idiots, Homer exemplifying the dunces of Springfield, and Ignatius' mother, a prominent fool in Ignatius' world. Despite the fact that everyone around them is a complete "mongloid" as Ignatius would say, the hilarious thing is that these men are no less like children than Lisa or Bart Simpson: Ignatius still lives at home and relies on his mother for food and financial help, Comic Book Guy is obsessed with his comic book facts that have little value to anyone, both are unbelievably out of shape and often helpless because of this (in one episode, Comic Book Guy rips the back of his pants ice skating, and can do nothing, and Ignatius is limited in his actions throughout the novel), and the list continues. The most amazing thing about these similarities is the fact that John Kennedy Toole wrote this book nearly a half-century before Comic Book Guy ever made it into the world. That a character from a novel so long ago, can have a clone in one of the world's funniest shows of all time shows how hilarious of a character Ignatius is. Senses of humor change: watch Leave it to Beaver, and you might just have to kill yourself, and no doubt people from that era would be horrified at some of the things we find funny today. As well as being a great comedy with parallels to the Simpsons, the story itself is an intricate and well written series of carefully interwoven lives that affect each other in small but important ways until a fantastic and fitting ending that leaves you wanting much, much more. I recommend this book to everyone: it will have you rolling because of Ignatius' ridiculous antics, and devouring each page to find out what kind of problem he will end up in next. Read this book, if you've got a sense of humor!Book Review: Once Upon A Time In New Orleans
Summary: 5 Stars
Born in New Orleans in 1937, John Kennedy Toole earned degrees at Tulane and Columbia Universities and was pursuing a teaching career when drafted in 1961. He thereafter returned to New Orleans, where he wrote the novel A CONFEDERACY OF DUNCES. Although the novel received initial interest from the publishing industry, it was ultimately rejected--and the failure of the book fueled Toole's depression. Toole committeed suicide in 1969, leaving the unpublished manuscript in his mother's New Orleans home. When she discovered it, Thelma Toole began a campaign on behalf of the novel that resulted in a 1980 publication. Instantly hailed by critics, it won the 1981 Pulitzer Prize, has sold millions of copies, and is generally considered one of the great comic masterpieces of the 20th Century.
DUNCES focuses on the life of Ignatius J. Reilly, a paranoid hypocondriac of gargantuan proportions who spends his life in a bedroom of his mother's house, ruminating on his health, the impending collapse of civilization as we know it, and writing notes for what he expects will be the ultimate literary statement on the Middle Ages--a return to which he advocates in no uncertain terms. But a series of comic disasters conspire to force Ignatius out into the world in search of the very thing he most dreads: a job. In the process he tries to impose his worldview upon every one he meets, and the characters that crisscross his path are vibrant, outrageous, and as memorable as Reilly himself.
There is, for example, LeRoy Jones, a black man with plenty of attitude, who finds himself blackmailed into working for an extremely dubious night club at below minimum wage--for Lana Lee, a "Nazi female" who is involved in illegal pornography--who employs Darlene, a wannabe stripper who has trained her pet bird to tear her clothes off while she bumps and grinds. Incompetent police officers, gyrating old ladies, factory workers, elderly men with grave concerns about communist infiltration, and screaming homosexuals dance across the pages, each of them memorable, all of memorable, all of them laugh-out-loud funny.
New Orleans itself is a memorable character in the novel, teaming with diverse ethnic communities, social snobbery, and awash in sex and alcohol, as ribald as any of the fictional characters creates. And, I might add, portrayed with remarkable accuracy. Toole not only captures the wild array of accents typical of the city, he captures the soul of the city iself, New Orleans as it existed in the world before Hurricane Katrina altered it forever, a portrait that is now poignant for the fact that what has been may never come again.
This is indeed a brilliant novel, one that I tend to break out whenever I'm so blue I think I'll never laugh again. I always do, one page after another, great big belly laughs, small snickers, strangled chortles. It's just an amazing novel, memorable, fascinating, original, and very, very readable. One of my favorites, and strongly recommended.
GFT, Amazon Reviewer