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Summary: Ignatius Lives
Review: Down deep in south Louisiana, is a small univesity employing a professor who is rumored to be Ignatius. Rumor has it he and Toole were roommates at LSU, and Toole consistently flustered/bemused by his roommate, immortalized him in the Confederacy of Dunces. Now, I've read the book, and I also took a class taught by said professor, who arrived to class via bicycle (think slow and lumbering) with dried shaving cream around his hairy ears, and mustard stains on his shirt. He frequently lost our 'blue book' exams, and then accused the class of not turning them in. The smell of the hallway containing his office can best be descibed as gamey. Class was dismissed early to go and catch stray dogs. How is he a teacher? He got himself appointed trustee of a multi-million dollar endowment to the University which dictates his professorship for life. He is so flawed and bumbling and completely clueless you really cannot but help like this man. He is utterly brilliant in literature, and always amusing. I don't think Toole created Ignatius so much as illustrated and portrayed a real person from his short life. I often think, as unfortunate as it is that his life was shortened, it was at least colorful.
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Summary: Imagery, insight, intellect
Review: With some of the best imagery and character descriptions ever to grace a page (think Groom's FORREST GUMP or McCrae's BARK OF THE DOGWOOD), this novel is and will remain a classic. God, how I hate to say that, but in this case it's true. Possibly some of the previous readers' disappointment is caused by the fact that this novel has been much hyped, and that's understandable. But try and get past that, realize where this book sits in historical context, and just enjoy this fun, rollicking, over-the-top read. No, it's not perfect--few books are--but it's a great piece of literature and certainly outshines most of the other stuff on the bestseller lists nowadays. Also recommended: Bark of the Dogwood and Slaughter House Five
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Summary: Has you SNORTING with laughter
Review: A book of comedic genius. Too bad the author wasn't recognized in his brief lifetime. The main character in this book is so vividly portrayed in words that you feel you know him intimately -- from the tufts of hair in his ears to his bumbling careen through life in New Orleans...how many other books portray as well those funny weiner carts pushed by hot dog vendors in New Orleans? Ignatius Reilly will make you double up in laughter, snort, guffaw, and will also imprint himself on your mind forever. The descriptions of Ignatius performing his job duties after somehow being hired into positions way above his ability kinda reminds me of a recent US President...
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Summary: Whoa! Best Book I've Ever Read!!!
Review: Where to start?! I've read thousands of books in my lifetime and have never enjoyed a book more. This book is, indeed, a comic masterpiece as several other reviewers mentioned. I should get a commission from Amazon because I've recommended it to so many of my friends. I can't remember when I laughed so much (or so hard) reading a book. I was in the bathtub reading one night and my husband thought I had gone bonkers because he kept hearing me laughing out loud. I was reading the part where Ignatius came back from yet another day of hot dog vending with no receipts and had to explain about trying to put the stray cat in the bun compartment of his cart. You just have to read it for yourself to get the full flavor of the scene. Ignatius's mother is a literary marvel and their conversations and interactions are out of this world funny. His many comments about her hiding her wine in the oven were hilarious. I fell in love with Jones (Whoa! LOL!), the unfortunate black man who was in the wrong place at the wrong time and ends up working for minimal wage for a 'ho in the French Quarter. Jones almost steals the book from Ignatius.... Mr. Toole captured the flavor and essence of New Orleans like no other author I've ever read. It's a tragedy that he didn't live to see the success of this wonderful novel. If you need a good laugh, or just cheering up, then read this book. It shook me right out of my Winter doldrums and put me back on my reading path to enlightenment...
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Summary: Ignatius J Reilly Rules
Review: I am outraged that anyone of discerning taste would give this book less than 5 stars! If you have read this book and feel that it deserves less than 5 stars, you deserve a sound lashing with a lute string.
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Summary: Don't Bother
Review: This book was one of the worst books I have read reciently. The book could have been two sentences...There is a fat guy who suffers from dillustions of grandure. Go read Don Quito if you want a funny version of this story... An all around bad book with only one plot device, and a main character that I could neithor love nor hate because he was a completely flat character. It is a good thing that this author only wrote one book because this way less people will waste money on his flat characters in his boring stories.
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Summary: Incredible
Review: Like a cross between Jackson McCrae's THE BARK OF THE DOGWOOD and the best Vonnegut book, A CONFEDERACY OF DUNCES takes the prize as far as great, funny, and well-written southern literature goes. Okay, the book wasn't written yesterday, so it does have its limitations, but besides that it's still one of the funniest things ever written. A must for anyone interested in a classic. Would also recommend: Bark of the Dogwood-A Tour of Southern Homes and Gardens
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Summary: Best book Ever Written
Review: It's just a shame that he only wrote two books before committing suicide.
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Summary: Quirky and Fun
Review: I began reading this book during a drunk driving assembly. I will admit it now - I have no idea what was said during that assembly. I *do* know that "A Confederacy of Dunces" is an entirely absorbing, hilarious novel that entertains from the very beginning. And by "very beginning," I mean the Foreward: ""There was no getting out of it; only one hope remained - that I could read a few pages and that they would be bad enough for me, in good conscience, to read no farther. Usually I can do just that. Indeed the first paragraph often suffices. My only fear was that this one might not be bad enough, or might be just good enough, so that I would have to keep reading" (vii-viii). The characters are addictive and quirky - even the ones you don't like. I actually didn't care for pompous, arrogant Ignatius, but I did enjoy him - it's impossible to read his rants and strange ideas without cracking up. And I became very fond of many of the other characters - and are there a lot of them. Several different plots weave through "Confederacy," each with its own cast, loosely tied together until the end. Patrolman Mancuso and the police department...Dorian Green and his friends...Mr. Levy, Mrs. Levy, and the exercise board ("Leave the board out of this!!!")...the "Night of Joy" bar...and, of course, Jones. My favorite, beloved Jones. "Negro," "vagrant," trying to get people into the "Night of Joy" for a show ("Hey! All you people draggin along here. Stop and come stick your a** on a Night of Joy stool...Night of Joy got genuine color peoples workin below the minimal wage. Whoa!") Jones is, ironically, possibly the only entirely sane character in this book. "Whoa!" Basically, I love this book. It's hilarious, I finished it last week and believe me - if you're hoping for it to be a nice, sane read, I kindly suggest you find a lute string and stab yourself with it. It'll save you a little suffering. Because this book is insane in a way that only Kurt Vonnegut can compare to. And I love every page of it.
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Summary: Think not of what this book can do for you. Trust me.
Review: Although I managed to get through the majority of this book without certain knowledge to the "point" of it, I have to admit I've never laughed so hard. Ignatius, a sarcastic, overweight, and obnoxious man who still lives with his mother, is one of those characters that gave me a reason to read on. I found myself constantly questioning his true intelligence level and I still have my doubts toward the conclusion I arrived at.
I want to avoid at all costs, spoiling any part of the book, simply because its plot is so small that spoiling one part would leave you knowing the ending.
This is one of those books that you have to remember you are reading for mere enjoyment. You will probably not learn anything new (except perhaps a snappy comeback that you will probably never use). You will probably not benefit in any way, form, or fashion, unless you believe that laughter is the best medicine (which it is). And most of all, you will not be raised on any sort of pedestal for completing another great book of our time. If one were to read this, they should be prepared to laugh and (gasp!) actually enjoy what they are reading. One should not dive into this book, much like its forbidden to dive into the shallow end of a pool. Overall method? Simply take it page by page, savor its wit, and allow yourself to become thoroughly entangled in the life of someone else.
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