A Confederacy of Dunces

Rating:
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.

Rating:
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.

Rating:
Summary: Absolutely horrible
Review: Is it possible to award negative stars??? I just can't understand how/why this book won the Pulitzer, or has any kind of following at all. Why anyone could possibly care about the characters is beyond me. I tried and tried to read it, and finally gave up about 2/3 of the way through.

I normally LOVE southern fiction (Carson McCullers, Walker Percy, etc.) and really expected to like this, but it was pretentious, annoying, and most galling of all, amateurish. A total waste of paper, and of time if you actually manage to read the whole thing. Absolutely abysmal.

Rating:
Summary: A Confederacy of Excellence
Review: This was an excellent book; wonderful in everyway imaginable. A Confederacy of Dunces is the only book I've read with an obese protagonist, Ignatius Reilly. And he's as smart as he is large, while also being a giant bastard. Yet, he is a likable character.

The book starts out with a police officer trying to arrest Ignatius for looking suspicious. Then, Ignatius's mother comes out of a store and begins to yell at the officer, who was already being reprimanded by Ignatius, which causes a large crowd to gather. An old man accuses the cop of being a Communiss (it's in New Orleans, so many of the characters speak with accents), which creates an opportunity for Ignatius and his mother to flee. They hide in a bar because they think that the officer may follow them, and, while they are there, the mother becomes drunk. When she tries to drive the car (Ignatius does not drive, which is one of his quirks), she crashes into a building, whose owner demands that she pay for the damages. Ignatius's mother, however, does not have the money to pay, and he is forced to work. Excellence ensues.

In his first week of work, Ignatius gets fired from his job for trying to start a strike. He then gets a job as a hot dog vendor, but he eats more hot dogs than he sells. Then he tells the owner of the company that he was assaulted by a gang of children that, rather than taking money or the cart, stole several hot dogs.

And this isn't even delving half way into the events of the book. Along the way, the reader is introduced to several excellent characters and humorous situations. For example: Ignatius watches those shows where teenagers dance just so he can exclaim in horror because of the program, "Oh dear lord, the filth I am forced to witness! My eyes burn from this vulgarity."

If you like books that are excellent in everyway imaginable, including a lucid style that makes for quick reading, then this is the book for you. This book is so wonderful, that if it were to have a female physical manifestation I would force myself on it. "No, what are you doing? I hardly know you and my parents are in the next room! No, please stop! No!" And I would do so albeit the unpleasant ramifications because it's such a great book.

Rating:
Summary: Sophisticated, urbane, funny
Review: Probably the funniest book I've ever come across, it, unlike a lot of novels that are humorous, has a great plot and wonderfully defined characters. So many books that are funny are simply small episodes strung together with no real "meat." Not the case with CONFEDERACY OF DUNCES.

Why it's taken this long for Hollywood to make this into a movie is beyond me (and it's still not done!) Everything is right there--the brilliant dialogue, the great setting of New Orleans, and the star character, Ignatius.

But forget about whether or not Hollywood succeeds with their attempt at this Southern classic. After all, they've managed to mangle other works like MIDNIGHT IN THE GARDEN OF GOOD AND EVIL and a few others. And if they don't do justice to CONFEDERACY they'll certainly be hearing from several generations who have come to love this book.

The only bad thing I can say about CONFEDERACY is that you'll never be able to actually own a copy for yourself--you'll be continuously giving away which ever copy you have at the moment, whenever you find someone who hasn't read this magical, entertaining, and rollicking book.

It sounds cliche to say "this is a classic," but that's exactly what it is.

Also recommended: THE MOVIE GOER, NEON BIBLE, BARK OF THE DOGWOOD

Rating:
Summary: Too Funny
Review: This novel should get more attention in High School reading programs - it will teach a lot about character developement. Additionally, it will teach kids now a days that reading is fun and can be funny. They are making it into a movie which should increase the popularity of this novel. Who will play the main character? I wonder if Oprah will pick it for her classics reading group. I would love to see that show. Can't wait for the movie - should be wickedly funny - if done right.

Rating:
Summary: A very funny book
Review: The story is quite funny, I often laughed out loud. Some of the parts of the story and a few of the character were not realistic, and the ethnic stereotyping got old, but on the whole I enjoyed this. I listened to the audio version of this book - and the reader was perfect.

Rating:
Summary: The Dunce Meets Reality
Review: This book is truly an intensive study of sociopathology and cross-cultural elements. In addition, Toole depicts the events and characters so humorously and comically, that it is almost impossible not to laugh out loud while reading the book.

Sadly, Toole took his own life, when he was unable to find a publisher. However, his mother persevered, found a publisher, and the book won the National Book Award the year it was published.

With astonishing brilliance, Toole describes in fairly graphic detail, the basically non-productive life of the protagonist, and the mess he gets himself into, by creating his own little world, which has little relation to the real world around him.

Ultimately, he ends up in a true crisis, and is only extricated, by his college friend from Manhattan. This book is truly a piece of comic relief that is timeless in its amusement. It should not be missed.

Rating:
Summary: Unforgetable!
Review: Toole's book is an ambitious work of comedy, highlighted by one of the most memorable literary creations ever, Ignatius J. Reilly.

Reilly is an unforgettable character, a self-described anachronism who dresses in a plaid flannel shirt and a green hunter's cap, all the while bemoaning the loss of "taste and decency" in modern times, equating the breakdown of the Medieval system with the ascendancy of chaos and lunacy. He fills notebooks with vitriol detailing his contempt for the regular dregs of society, imbibes and belches up countless bottles of Dr. Nut, and likens his mother to an adolescent floozy. A portly man, he lounges, eats, and farts constantly, his sedentary life interrupted only by a need to find a job.

Reilly's escapades as a working man who never works are simply hilarious. His first job is at a pants factory, where he files away papers by throwing them in the garbage, ignores his boss, and befriends an elderly senile employee named Miss Trixie. After being fired for planning an uprising in the warehouse, Reilly finds a job that is perfect for him--pushing a hot dog cart through downtown New Orleans, dressed in a pirate's costume. When his hot dog cart is stolen, Ignatius smartly quips, "The human desire for food and sex is relatively equal. If there are armed rapes, why should there not be armed hot dog thefts?"

While the character of Ignatius Reilly is undoubtedly exaggerated and perhaps even absurd, Toole uses Reilly to render his indictment of contemporary society, the novel becoming a vehicle in which hoi polloi are relegated to the role of the dunce, forever confined to a world of indecency. Ignatius is the unconventional hero, tragically confined to the fringes of society.

The great tragedy of the novel, however, is author John Kennedy Toole's inability to heed the advice of his own protagonist. In troubling times, Ignatius Reilly, ever devoted to medieval philosophy, would have reminded Toole of Boethius's rota fortunae. Wait long enough and the wheel of fortune will turn your way. Tragically, in his depths of despair, Toole ended his own life, unable to wait for that final turn. Along with this novel, I'd like to recommend another quick Amazon pick: The Losers' Club by Richard Perez

Rating:
Summary: Laugh-out-loud funny with smarts
Review: Word is the Hollywood Suck Machine plans to turn this brilliant book into a movie. I have a little bit more faith in the taste and decency of movie makers since Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy became something that was the opposite of crappiness. Nevertheless, I'm nervous because A Confederacy of Dunces is something, like The Beatles and my Momma, that you DO NOT mess with.

This book is ridiculously good on so many levels. Take, for instance, the main character:

Ignatius J Reilly is a colossus, a hypochondriac misfit Everyman put upon by a boozy simpleton of a mother and a cast of goofs incapable of understanding his worldview. Not to mention, he's funny as all get out and simultaneously absurd and real. Toole writes this guy so well that you could imagine him waddling into your bedroom, with a storm of stench laced with the scent of stale tea bags trailing behind him.

He's a momma's boy in a low-rent New Orleans neighborhood, a homebody who passes harsh judgment rooted in Medieval authoritarianism on crappy pop culture, modern politics and the dupes who surround him. He is plagued by panic attacks, hypochondria, indigestion and the memory of his long-dead dog, whom he remembers more fondly than his late father.

Tragic, right? Yes, but somehow John Kennedy Toole was able to turn this sad sack into a hilarious buffoon of a blowhard.

If he were real and living in the 2000s, Ignatius would be like one of those nerdy blogger guys who sit at home, fashioning themselves as a know-it-all talk show host, spewing venom and judgment on a world that doesn't hear them.

Ignatius is like a lot of dudes you know. He sits around talking about all the big stuff he's doing: Writing a "manifesto" that he thinks could be made into a movie one day, trying to start a political movement, becoming a voice for the great unwashed. But for all his passion, his short attention span and his half-baked attempts to put his big plans into action causes him to constantly defeat himself.

AND THAT's JUST ONE CHARACTER!

Toole, who was a white dude, does justice to the book's only black protagonist, Burma Jones. Somehow, this uneducated janitor/vagrant comes across as smart and insightful without being a dupe, a clod or what Spike Lee calls "The Super Dooper Magical Negro," the prototypical Hollywood and literary Black character in White stories who saves all the White people with mystical Voodoo insights or all-out magical powers (see most Coen Brothers' movies or Steven King books for examples of this phenomenon).

As far as the movie version of A Confederacy of Dunces goes: The rumor is that Philip Seymour Hoffman or Jack Black would play Ignatius. Both would be perfect, but to be believable even these chubbies would need to gain like 75 pounds to do Toole's king fatty justice. Also, Steven Soderbergh is behind the project. He's like the Midas of Hollywood, so as long as he's doing it, it could be done right.