Rating: Summary: Don't Be Fooled By The Hype Review: I finished reading this book a few weeks ago, and have since totally forgotten about it, which I dare say is probably not a good thing. I did not find "Dunces" funny, nor even amusing and barely entertaining. I read it at the urging of a friend whose opinion I respect - I no longer respect his opinion (at least about what books to read.) I will nonetheless give credit to Mr. Toole for the flawless structure of his book. His ability to make seeingly unrelated events interact to eventually produce a coherent picture is truly remarkable. But, other than the well-planned narrative, I found this book wholly uninteresting.
Rating: Summary: Buy this Book! Review: Plain and simple, A Confederacy of Dunces is one of the finest works of fiction written in the last century, perhaps ever! Okay, maybe I'm going over the top a bit, but this is one heck of a good book. That snicker will turn to a full-fledged belly laugh by the end of the first chapter. The characters are real, mad, and insanely perfect. Buy this book!
Rating: Summary: A masterpiece of our era Review: Simply hilarious. One of the most imaginative books I've ever read, obviously written by a genious. It's at the same time original and classic, it follows a path started by other universal masterpieces such as "Don Quixote" or even Nabokov's "Lolita" (another American gem). In my opinion, it's the best Christmas present for sensible readers,and lovers of sharp, surrealistic sense of humour. You get to love every single character of this book, even when you feel pity about them.
Rating: Summary: Hilarious Review: This book gets better every time I read it. Toole develops the characters wonderfully and the dialogue is tremendous. Ignatius is a man born in the wrong century and he gives a good funny critique of this one. Although Fortuna spins his wheel down through most of the book, at the end it takes an upward turn. This is the only book J K Toole wrote as an adult so savor this one fine read. There is an e mail discussion group on this book. Order this one now. You will find yourself reading and re-reading this classic.
Rating: Summary: Oh, Fortuna, you wench! Review: I have never been affected by a book such as the influence this book has introduced into my life. I loved Ignatius, and I am so depressed. I have just finished this book, and now I am without Ignatius, Miss Trixie, Myrna, et al. How will I go on? Oh, Fortuna, the wheel you have spun sends me spiraling down into the depths of apoplexy and discombobulation! I am incomplete without the wisdom imparted by Ignatius, and I morne the loss of John Kennedy Toole. I will make it my life's mission to spread the word of this work. I am so wrecked right now, in distress. And to think, it was written with a cliff-hanger ending. Oh, Fortuna, you wench!
Rating: Summary: horrendously funny Review: Imagine a huge, rusted old buick, back seat littered with McDonalds' wrappers, plastic ducklings, and the occasional dog-eared copy of Chaucer or Donne... it careens and swerves down a narrow street, hitting a garbage can, pausing, going into reverse, hitting a telephone pole, birds above squawking in terror and emptying their bowels onto the roof and windshield... the car skids across the alsphalt, pulverizing a mailbox and a couple of lawn ornaments... finally the car jumps the curb, magically aligns in the right direction, and drives off into the distance, leaving behind a yo-yo, two torn tablets of yellow paper, and a street full of spectators, cringing behind shutters and peering behind curtains, caught between horror and humor and soon bursting into infectious, roaring laughter.That imaginary image describes my state when I finished the last page of this book -- horrendous and hilarious, sophisticated and crass, well-written and masterfully constructed.
Rating: Summary: Why hasn't Hollywood discovered this book? Review: This was a true page-turner in every way. I wanted to the story to just keep going, to continue to be involved in the lives of these interesting, yet deranged, characters. Never have I laughed out loud so much while reading a book. The comic nature of Ignatius, combined with his vast knowledge base and his pitiable mental state, made his character one of the most memorable in modern literature.
Rating: Summary: What does this book say about YOU? Review: I have never been to New Orleans; I have, on a train between Boston and NYC on a Thanksgiving week-end cursed all overweight Americans for squeezing other people from the seats they were entitled to; I have no sympathy for the redaers who gave this book 1 star; I'm pretty sure I'd be embarrassed by most of those who swear this book is THE GREATEST EVER! ; but unlike people books are never embarassing, they are good or bad, they make you turn another page or shut them to oblivion, and I can assure you that the Confederacy of dunces is a page-turner, especially for those who (without having to go down the author's extreme path) still feel they lost something he day they decided to stop ranting at the world's mad ways from the sidelines to step into it. Fortuna's wheel has spun in the right direction for Ignatius, I wish it had been kinder on Kennedy-Toole.
Rating: Summary: VERY FUNNY Review: EVERYONE READ THIS BOOK. I MEAN IT. IT'S THE FUNNIEST BOOK I'VE READ THIS YEAR. IF DON'T READ THIS BOOK IT'S BECAUSE YOU'RE A COMMUNIST.
Rating: Summary: Never Have I Enjoyed A Book More! Review: A co-worker recommended this book saying that it was the best he had ever read--and re-read. Intrigued, I looked it up here, and ordered it. I just now finished it and I am still shaking my head in wonder and amazement. Incredibly funny and down right sad at times with a cast of characters and situations that left me wanting a second book. Sadly, that will never be. This book is a gem.
|