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A Confederacy of Dunces

A Confederacy of Dunces

List Price: $14.00
Your Price: $10.50
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Comedy without meaning
Review: This is a very funny book. The author has an extremely adept comic touch. Most of the humors one finds in fiction are based on irony, witticism, one-liner, and similar "static play", to be able to write a farce, larger-than-life action-oriented comedy is no small feat, and A Confederacy of Dunces does that almost perfectly. The story moves at a nice rythmn, with fresh comical relief just about where one gets a little tired. A page turner for sure.

However, to echo another reviewer's comment, I failed to find deep meaning from all the actions. What is the archetype Ignatius represents? What social or whatever profession the author is trying to make and advance? Does it have to do with a over-30 manchild living with his mother? A clock-work society rejecting the eccentric and, in some way, innocent? Some water color of New Orleans? The book can be said to touch on all these, plus several other subjects (the strike, the porno trade, etc), but does not do a deep enough job for the reader to get it.

As a Seinfeld sort of comedy, the novel is very accomplished and a model for this genre. However, compared to a similarly funny and riotous Catch 22, Mr. Toole's offering reveals its defect.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Entertainingly meaningful
Review: Occasionally I will read a book that causes me to chuckle out loud once or twice. This book made me laugh out loud so often my roommates started worrying about me. The comic relief aside, a masterpiece.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Confederacy
Review: I fell in love with Toole's A Confederacy of Dunces from the first page I read. I literally couldn't put it down. The main character Ignatius J. Reilly, a 30 year-old medivalist who lives at home with his mother and works as a hot dog vender, will either crack you up or seriously disgust you through his frequent loud belches. I found it humorous instead of offensive.
The book has many different subplots of very diverse characters that all tie together by the end of the novel; a classic comedy. The book reflects various characterisitcs of "The Big Easy" through the different scenes and character's "habitats".
Eventually all of the different scenerios tie together at the end through who else, but Ignatuius J.
I would recommend reading this book simply for pleasure. It will literally make you laugh out loud.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Quite enjoyable
Review: This has to be one of the most bizzare collection of characters I have yet to run across. The characters and situations Toole conjures up are incredibly inventive, I only wish he'd lived to write more. If you don't enjoy this book you, sir, obviously lack taste and decency and should be flogged until you drop. Excuse me, I need to go clear my valve.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: The Confederacy of Dunces
Review: This book is one of the funniest books that i've read in awhile, and I cant believe how disgusting the main character, Ignatious J Reilly is. You start out the story wondering if this guy is serious,and if he really acts this way, and by the end of it you know that yes, he does act this way, but you love to read about him. I found Ignatious to be one of those characters that you "love to hate", but I also just loved to read about what stupid thing he would do next, so although he disgusted me, I almost feel that I didnt hate him in the end.In fact at some points in the end of the story, I even felt sorry for him about the way that he was treated. I didn't give this book 5 stars for one reason: Ignatious and his valve. He constantly is talking about his "valve" which I think is one of the most disgusting things that he does, but is still quite funny at the same time. Following around Ignatious through all of his out-spoken encounters in New Orleans is so funny and I really enjoyed this book.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: What a "Toole"
Review: Toole's main character, Ignatius J. Reilly, in A Confederacy of Dunces is what makes the book so interesting. Although, Ignatius is unbelievably crude I found him to be very entertaining. He is a thrity-something year old living at home with his mother. He's had a college education, but doesn't have a job when you first meet him. Throughout the story, he took on several different jobs, including a filer at Levy Pants factory and a hot dog vendor for Paradise Vendors. At both of his jobs he caused problems. He also took notes in his Big Chief Tablets about all that he was encountering, some fact and some fiction.

The story is set in New Orleans,and involves several characters for example, Myrna Minkoff, Ignatius' ex-girlfriend; Patrolman Mancuso, Mrs.Reilly's friend; and Miss Trixie, secretary at Levy Pants. All of their lives are all very different, however, in the end all of there lives intermingle through one big scence involving Ignatius in the French Quarter.

The book will catch your attention, and make you want to see what happens to Ignatius and the rest of the character's in the end.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: One of my favorites!
Review: After my favorite english teacher told me this was his favorite book I decided to buy it. I put it off for a while reading other things and now wish I read it sooner because its so hilarious. I love the way Ignatius and his mother talk to each other most of all. The whole book is something you won't want to put down so this is a must read for anyone.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: World's Longest Suicide Note
Review: If "Bridges of Madison County" is the world's longest Hallmark card, "Confederacy of Dunces" has to be the world's longest suicide note. Only someone trapped in the grip of despair could create a character, a character as near to being unredeemable as any other that I've found in literature. Perhaps Dickens's Uriah Heep comes close. At the end of "Dunces," I felt sullied, yet also sad. I feel as though I'd watched a crime take place -- no, several crimes take place -- and yet could do nothing to stop them. This book, along with "Foucault's Pendulum," perhaps the most pretentious book ever written, are the only two stories I've read that I cannot, in good conscience, recommend to anyone. Life really is too short. Having said this, any readers of this story, whether they liked it or hated it, might wish to compare it to either the comic burlesque novel "Gargantua & Pantagruel" or the play "Ubu Roi."

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: News That Stays News
Review: Ezra Pound wrote that if you can keep going back to something and it has lost nothing, well then, you have Art of the first intensity on your hands. 'A Confederacy of Dunces' has this quality for me as does Widor's toccata: Symphony #5 op. 42 by a organist good enough to play it or Duvall's 'The Apostle', to name a couple of other masterpieces.
There are so many great reviews of 'Dunces' here that I won't even try. However, here's the thing, where I work [a retail chain store] we renamed 'Levy Pant', we have our Trixie, I have a sign above my desk: "Where you keep them motherf'ing broom?", maybe a sign: "Nice Wine....$3.99." when we have one on ad for $3.99. We have a Lee mother, If you shop at our store, one of our cashiers might make your change with something like, "Your change is 94 cent." etc. etc. So, I guess when a book alters the actions of your life, it must be pretty good. I know that on days when I'm feeling sunk, I can go back to it and it will snap me right out of it.
And ain't most of our corporations managed more like "Levy Pants" than anything else nowadays?

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: absolutely hilarious
Review: I am so depressed now, after reading Confederacy of Dunces, I wish there were ten more novels telling about the life and adventures of Ignatius. Absolutely one of the best stories I have read in a while, I only hope the hollywood interpretaion does it justice.... in the world-view of Ignatius.


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