A Confederacy of Dunces

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Summary: An original. Funny as hell.
Review: You will not confuse this book with anything else written. I read this book five or six months ago and still remember laughing so hard that tears flowed on the book soaking the pages and later forming a puddle in the floor. Precise language, great ear for dialogue, Kennedy ever so cynical makes fun of everybody, if you don't get it perhaps you humorless or are easily offended. By the way, I read somewhere that John Belushi planned to play Ignatius in the movie (yeah, what movie?) and that Kennedy wrote it while stationed in Puerto Rico. Read it

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Summary: Bathroom humor
Review: I suppose this isn't the worst book I have ever put down half-read. But I can't imagine why anyone would waste their time or money on it. The "humor" is just boring and occasionally disgusting. If the sound of flatulence or the sight of ill-fitting trousers on an obese person drive you into paroxysms of laughter, this book is undoubtedly for you. If you're plagued by subtlety and taste, and your sense of humor admits the odd guilty pleasure, I suggest instead The Liar, by Stephen Fry: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN=156947012

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Summary: Decent, predictable story highlighted by descriptive dialog
Review: This tale of obese Ignatius Reilly, his mother, and his misadventures in New Orleans does not live up to its standard of being a hilarious book. The plot is good, but nothing spectacular: All the characters connected to Ignatius go about their unusual lives until a rather satisfying but predictable end that pretty much ties them all together.

The clever dialog is what gives this book a lift. The extreme ends of the educated community are brought together, and their interactions work extremely well in keeping the story interesting.

It is unfortunate that John Kennedy Toole is no longer with us, for this story shows tremendous potential

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Summary: Don't Believe the Hype!
Review:

I read all the glowing reviews of this book,
people claiming to have laughed so hard they fell
out of their chairs, etc. Maybe it was built up
too much, but I have to say I didn't find it at
all funny. OK, Ignatius' journal entries were
mildly amusing, but not worth reading through all
the rest to figure out what he was talking about.
The characters are all such gross caricatures, by
the end I couldn't care less what happened to any
of them.

Rating:
Summary: Listen to the audio version!
Review: Artie Johnson does a fabulous job of bringing Toole's characters to life. No slapstick--just the language that Toole wrote. If you liked the book, you'll really enjoy listening.Wish I could remember who I loaned my tapes to

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Summary: Absolutely Hideously wonderful
Review: I'd been up twenty four hours traveling from Belgium, through Germany to Denmark to visit some friends. We were riding in a brand new, beautiful Danish coach and I was in the company of three, very proper looking, older Danish ladies. Along with my body, my mind was tired and when my mind gets tired it amplifies things. Bad gets worse, funny gets rib cracking, if you know what I mean? I was on the part about Miss Trixie. I could not contain myself. I would read one sentence and burst into hideous laughter. Then I would calm myself and read another and the same thing would happen. I would go back and read the same sentence and just crack up. I couldn't stand it. I was making a complete fool out of myself and had lost control. I could not stop reading and I could not stop laughing. When I looked at the ladies I thought they might be plotting to send for someone to bring a sizable bag with a few rocks in it to take care of this "offensive" Yankee. At this time I decided to extract my hideous self to the hallway and read out there. I thought I was getting strange looks in the compartment, but here, in the hallway, I knew it wouldn't be long before someone showed up with some manacles and the bag. I was forced to retreat to the compartment and the proper Danish ladies. I started reading again. The laughter followed. Burst after burst of demented hyena laughter. I have a laugh that has been labled contagious and the next thing, I'm hearing little chuckles from the proper Danish ladies. I look at them and start laughing. They look at me and burst into laughter and then all break out cigars and start smoking. Cool. This is the funniest book I have ever read, all three times, and I'm ready for it again. My step father, who is rather proper and hates the disgusting commercial TV violence and rotten launguage picked it up and started in the middle. I raised an eybrow and watched. He turned to the front, read the Forward, and never stopped. He read it in a day and a half. This is a book that I pick up in used book stores to give to people I meet who like to read good stuff and have open and uncluttered minds, slightly sick. Try it, it's a kick right in the funny bones. SPARK [e-mail] PS It would make a wonderful movie if the characters were picked properly. This review remains the property of Spark Wright

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Summary: The most perverted masterpiece ever read!
Review: John Kennedy Toole has written the funniest book I've ever read, read and read again. My first contact with it, back in 1989, had an enormous effect on my vocabulary. After reading it I started to, influenced by the main character Ignatius, use cool expression like "You perverted mongoloid" and "I'll whip you 'till you drop". Guess if some people were shocked... "A Confederacy of Dunces" is a must read for all openminded people

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Summary: A truely great humorus book
Review: This book is one of hte best books I have ever read. This is the story of a man who thinks that world would be a better place and the people would be happier if the fallowed him. How his half-drunken mother crashed and needs money so he goes to work wit different jobs and it builds up with many different characters. The author writes in a way that when you read the book, you can actually hear the characters as they interact. The author also gives descriptions to picture the people and the places with using minimal text keeping the book from slowing down

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Summary: Delusions of Adequacy
Review: Delusions of Adequacy describes anyone who fails to find humor in this book .... The few parts where the book is stretched out a bit much, some of the journal entries of our working boy, can be skipped over without missing a thing. I've read it twice - recently and 7 years ago. It was a riot each time. Sincerely and with kind regards, - The Central Scrutinizer

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Summary: An Unslapped Knee
Review: I can't imagine why people are howling about this ponderous droll. My knees remain unslapped.I didn't even crack a decent grin before finally giving up. The phonetics are inaccurate to a fault and the characters sad and pitiable. Hilarious stuff. If you're among the throngs who seem to find hilarity in tragedy, go for it. You ain't alone, as these reviews indicate