Rating: 
Summary: aargh! 3 years of solitary disappoinment!
Review: i bought this book several years ago on the recommendation of someone i thought would know better. so i started it and stopped about 50 pages into this "opus". just didn't connect. my boyfriend will not allow a book to leave our library so i stuffed it back in. 3 years later i picked it up and it started its limited appeal. i committed myself to finishing it even tho' it was frustrating. i agree with several reviewers that there is definitely HYPE about this book and OCCASIONALLY sparks some interest and imagination. that being said, the protagonist, I. Reilly, is too fantastic to believe. the one character i really belived and found terrific was "Jones". here is a ripe character. everthing else is overwrought and silly. IF YOU WANT great character development and wild imagination pick up Eugenides' MIDDLESEX or MARQUEZ' One Hundred Years of Solitude ---HERE LIES BRILLIANCE.
Rating: 
Summary: A comedic masterpiece
Review: What can one say about this book that would do it justice? It is simply one of the funniest, most well written pieces of comedic literature to date. Words cannot really describe it, you simply MUST purchase and read this book today. It is rare that a book can make you laugh out loud, but this book will do it over and over again.The main character of the book is a slacker who is everything but that to himself. He brings to life the phrase "a legend in his own mind". Thirty-something years old, living at home with his mother, unable to hold a job longer than a week, he continues to make excuses and get himself into more messes than one could imagine. The only tragedy about the book is the author's own. Not knowing that his work would go on to become critically acclaimed Pulitzer Prize winning material, he committed suicide before he had a chance to experience his own success. I could not help but laugh as I read the book, but be saddened upon finishing that the world will not be able to experience more works from a true writing genius.
Rating:
Summary: Monumental sarcasm
Review: 'A Confederacy of Dunces' was a tremendous surprise to me as a reader. The story hit me like a blast of flatulence and sarcasm. It is a totally unpredictable read. The sheer freshness and originality will first stun you, then leave you gasping for more. The main character Ignatius, a big mind in an even bigger body, walks the streets of New Orleans pronouncing judgement upon everyone and everything that crosses his path. The belligerent behemoth leaves behind a wake of social destruction and confusion that would put Godzilla to shame. Meanwhile he entertains and educates his hapless reader by sharing the fruits of his medieval mind, his contemplations and jottings, giving an ultimate understanding of everything that was wrong with the 20th century. A marvellously funny read.
Rating:
Summary: The most amazing piece of writing!!!
Review: It is hard to say what is amazing in this book. Maybe it's the simple thing that is the world around us... There is so much humour in this book and yet underneath it a tregedy that cries so many tears... The hero, or better yet the worst hero type i have ever read in my life, making him the best antihero ever, is the strangest experience you will ever have the pleasure to read! Once you start this book u won't be able to put it down, but still this book is not for everyone interested in just a book. The writing in this book is amazing and as such should be appriciated. those who do not care for these things should do better by picking a diffrent book, even though i believe that this book is really by far the greatest writing piece i have ever read!!!
Rating:
Summary: Read John Irving instead
Review: I love characters that fly in the face of conventionality. I love irreverant characters who challenge the way we see the world. Ignatius is neither of these. His rantings on the ills of society from the safety of his bedroom in his mother's house were empty and silly. He is a completely unbelievable character, or at least one with whom I could not empathize. His twisted view of the world is so anathema to the realm of common experience that I'm surprise anyone can put themselves in it. Try as hard as I did, I couldn't raise enough interest in the characters to even finish this book. Read John Irving instead -- He's much funnier, can turn reality in interesting twists and still be believable, and has more important things to say about what it is to be a human being in the world.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting, very interesting
Review: There's not much really to say about this book other than read it. The main character is great. By the end of the book you are cheering for him. But it is not for the unimaginative. To really appreciate this book, you must be able to get inside of it and dissect it.
Rating:
Summary: it cannot get better
Review: Where do I start - where do I end ...... it's mesmerizing, it's the best book I have read after "100 years of solitude". The book was lying in my self for six months and I was little intimidated by the number of pages but once I started reading it, there was no stopping. I have asked myself the question.......have I read anything funnier - the answer is probably not. I promise "A Confederacy of Dunces" will change your perspective to the world as you view it - at least it did to me.....so much so that I traveled to New Orleans for 4 days to walk in routes of Ignatius , the hot dog vendor, author and self prophesized leader of the proletariat and downtrodden- the central character of this book. In spite of all his failures Ignatius Reilly has a level of confidence which will amaze everybody. I just hope some our world leaders had this level of independence.
This book was written almost 4 decades ago still it is so very socially relevant and New Orleans remains to be as it was 40 years ago. Everybody says that it is a real tragedy that John Kennedy Toole only wrote 2 books - one as a kid "Neon Bible" and "A Confederacy of Dunces" before he committed suicide but it really does not matter how much he created - just check out what he created. Sometimes it takes that only one book for an author to create his identity and mark as for example "Phillipe Alfau" wrote "Locos" which was published 60 years after it was written and now it is a classic.
"A Confederacy of Dunces" evolves around Ignatius Reilly but around him are the characters like Patrolman Mancuso (alias Angelo), Mr. Gonzales, Miss Trixie, Jones (the representative of powerless minority), Myrna (the strangest girlfriend that one can possibly have), Mrs. Levy and Dorian (the fairy who attracts every other bee). They may be dunces but there is something common with all of them - they are all bursting with confidence an has eternal hope in the playfulness of fate or "fortuna" (as Ignatius puts it.) The whole book covers a period of 2 months or less and you will never realize how time passes by while you are reading. The best part is even all these dunces never make it tragic rather at some point being a "bum" seems to be the way to go.
This is a work of love and effort and you will enjoy every line and pass out laughing. I just hope there were more books like this ......... I am off to New Orleans to meet Dorian.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant
Review: I read this last year for a school project. We got to choose a novel of our choice, and I chose this because I had heard about how good it was. Whoever told me that wasn't lying. Those who call the humor sophomoric probably missed a lot of the intelligent humor. Certainly some of the humor dealt with Igantius's bodily functions, but most of the humor had to do with Ignatius philosophy and how it dictated his interactions. I also disagree with people who said that none of the characters were likable, although this is strictly a matter of opinion. I found Ignatius to be initially repugnant, but my understanding of who he was increased as I read, and by the end of the book I liked him very much. I also have a hard time believing anyone could dislike Jones. I recommend this book to anyone, provided they go into it with an open mind.
Rating:
Summary: Confederacy of Dunces
Review: Being from New Orleans, I did not find it difficult to relate to Toole's description of legitimate places and people, but regardless of this, Confederacy was an overwhelming exaggeration. His humor quickly wore out its welcome, and Ignatius had to be one of the most annoying characters in recent times. I love books that invoke emotional responses, but this book was so utterly horrible that the annoyance it created nearly kept me from finishing it.
Rating:
Summary: I HATED this book and don't understand...
Review: why on EARTH it has gotten such wonderful reviews, won prizes, etc. I hated all of the characters, was bored by the plot, was dusgusted by much of what happened, and only finished it because it was the chosen read for our book club. DO NOT BUY THIS BOOK - it's awful.
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