A Confederacy of Dunces

Rating:
Summary: Not amused
Review: The first chapter of this novel bored me to tears. But, since it is a Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, I pressed on. I thought it would get better.

It didn't.

Most of the characters in this book are not even relatively believable. They are so absurd and unordinary that you can't for one second take any of them seriously. Which, I guess, was supposed to make the book humorous. In my opinion, it was just ridiculous.

The worst part of the book was the lack of plot. The story seems to be going nowhere until you get a hundred pages into the book--even then, the plot is questionable. It is really very, very boring.

I really don't see how this book won a Pulitzer Prize.

Rating:
Summary: Well-written, but hard to sympathize with the characters
Review: This book is incredibly written, and it's hard not to appreciate its clever dialogue, interesting characters and crazy story. The protagonist is Ignatius J. Reilly, a 30-year-old man who lives with his mother in New Orleans. Ignatius basically wastes time and takes advantage of his mother all while constantly complaining that he has been mistreated by others. Ignatius manages to get into all sorts of complicated situations, from getting arrested to selling hot dogs to working at the Levi company. The whole story is a fantastical masterpiece and you have to marvel at the author's creativity.

That said, I wasn't as engaged in this book as I thought I would be, and I think it's because it's difficult to sympathize with almost any of the characters. They all have good qualities, but sometimes I found myself getting annoyed at their irritating foibles and habits. It's a funny story, but when you're not invested in the people involved it's tough to care about what happens to them.

Rating:
Summary: Ignatius is an aquired taste
Review: This book is often cited as a classic, expecially by people who live in New Orleans. It is the story of the adventures of one Ignatius J. Reilly, a social misfit from Uptown New Orleans, and his interactions with a bunch of stereotypical New Orleans characters.

This book is one of four books often mentioned as mandatory reading for anyone wanting to understand New Orleans ( Incidentally, the other three are TN Williams' Streetcar Named Desire, Walker Percy's the Moviegoer, and Kate Chopin's The Awakening). Many people love Confederacy, and many people, though probably not as many, don't. After a second reading I confirmed my initial reaction and again firmly place myself in the "don't" category. Undoubtedly, the book has some major things going for it ( as do most Pulitizer Prize winning novels ). Toole nails New Orleans cold. The dialogue is great.
One might enjoy the novel if for no other reason than listening to Ignatius' mama and her friend, Santa, pass the time of day in conversation. His depiction of Uptown New Orleans and the French Quarter are again right on the money. As someone who lives in the Quarter, I especialy enjoyed his depiction of my neighborhood. The plot comes together quite well. But, God, I found the characters, especially Ignatius, just horrible people without many redeeming social values at all. And, after two readings with very few chuckles, I just don't get how so many readers think this is not only a laugh out loud novel, but maybe the greatest such novel ever written.

But what do I know ? What I do know is that my views are in the minority of New Orleanians. If you are planning to live in New Orleans, you better be familiar with this book, or else you won't be able to get a visa.