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Summary: Perhaps the funniest book in the English Language today
Review: A more whimical look at New Orleans and its mix of people has never been written. The early passing of John Kennedy Toole [age 23] is all the more heart wrenching when you read this beatifully crafted work
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Summary: A Boy and His World View
Review: Think *you've* got problems? Check out the world of Ignatius J. Reilly, a thunderously large man who lives with a mother who bowls for her arthritis, loves/hates Doris Day movies, and thinks Western civilation went down the toilet after the Dark Ages. Due to circumstances he denies he's in control of, Ignatius is forced to find a job in that Brooklyn-by-the-Gulf, New Orleans. Toole does the impossible by creating a sublimely comic universe filled with characters impossible to forget. A truly unique work
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Summary: How Did He Do It?
Review: I have read this book three or four times now, and I remain stunned by Toole's unbelievable grasp of how funny social interaction can be when people are so different inside. He displays a tremendous intellect, yet it funnels through via spectacular comedy, at once disarming and enlightening the reader. We will all miss the insights he could have continued to provide us
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Summary: When You Hear Others Read and Laugh Out Loud
Review: Our oldest son was reading this book and laughing out loud. He shared passages with his brothers and they both would laugh out loud as they read. Therefore, I couldn't resist reading "A Confederacy of Dunces" for myself and could't be more pleased for having done so. Ignatias J. Reilley is larger than life and funnier than any character, real or fictional, you will ever run across. His "world view of life" and his physical problems with his "valve" cause him to write his "journal" as well as his letters with a style never before seen or dreamed of by any author.This is a DON"T MISS IT book if ever one existed--but be prepared to laugh out loud while you read even if you don't think you will. Read, Laugh, Enjoy and SHARE this masterpiece with everyone who hasn't read it
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Summary: One of the top ten comedic novels in the English language
Review: Bought this book sight unseen from QPB a few years ago and was absolutely amazed, as was the professor quoted in the foreword, at its high quality. As the first person to publish Emily Dickinson's poems must have felt, surely no writer this good could possibly have gone unpublished!
I have read thousands of novels over the years and maintained my own personal reviews and ratings. My highest rating, five stars, is reserved for true classics that reward unlimited re-readings. Very few books receive that accolade. This is one. "Dunces" is one of the funniest books ever published in the English language, tragicomic in the Rabelaisan, Cervantes sense of the word, but also falling-down-on-the-floor hilarious. Laughed 'til the tears came, and then I couldn't stop weeping. Couldn't stop turning pages, just to see what could possibly happen next.
It is tempting to regret Toole's death, and to wonder if perhaps he would have produced more works of this caliber. In great art, though, quantity seldom equals quality. Toole was a shooting star who captured in "Dunces" his bittersweet understanding of the human condition for the edification of all future generations.
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Summary: Easily the best book I've ever read!
Review: John Kennedy Toole's work left me laughing so hard I was gasping for air. The life of Ignatius truly allows the reader to glimpse the worlds of those millions of people who barely hang on by clinging to the fringes of society. This book is a masterpiece and should be read by everyone, including Bob Dole
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Summary: A classic of the 20th century
Review: One of the best books written in the 20th century, or any
other century for that matter. READ THIS BOOK. It is one
of the saddest books, and one of the funniest books that I
have ever read...if you read only one book this year, make
it A CONFEDERACY OF DUNCES.
Rating:
Summary: A read well worth the time.
Review: Every once in a while you happen upon a book by chance, only to discover later that here, in your hands, is a work worth more than you paid. A CONFEDERACY OF DUNCES is such a work.
Through A CONFEDERACY OF DUNCES, John Kennedy Toole has created one of the greatest tragic anti-heroes of our time.
Ignatious J. Reilly is a character among characters, a beomouth of a man, a wit and a fibber beyond all, the original slacker - one whose curious logic and outlook on the world can only be compared to Don Quiote. Having graduated from college, Ignatious' main goal is to live out
his life in his tiny bedroom, away from society, writing passage after passage of brilliant verse for the very audience whose company he rejects. Ignatious despises all things, believing that the American Culture is thoroughly lacking in "theology and geometry" and that nothing short of a good lashing will save many a soul.
A CONFEDERACY OF DUNCES takes place a short time ago in the outskirts of New Orleans, where the city's true character is hidden from our tourist eyes, and yet the New Orleans of Toole could easily be Brooklyn or Los Angeles or Boston. In fact Toole's world is an utterly American experience, with accents and characters that spring to life and echo in your mind as the words flow beneath your eyes. Here we are presented with a literary "Green Acres." And though the book introduces you to an assortment of individuals, Toole's mastery of dialogue keeps each one fresh in your mind, without the confusion or blandishment that other authors might show. Each character is just that, and no two could ever be confused. Along with Ignatious J. Reilly, we are presented with
- Mrs. Reilly, a souse of a mother whose voice and patter will resonate in your mind
- Officer Mancuso, a patrolman who is the embodiment of the Sad-Sackian cop
- Jones, a self made victim of sorts whose wit and comebacks kept me laughing out loud
- Myrna Minkoff, Ignatious' pseudo-ex-girlfriend and an activist who believes that through sex all problems can be solved
And yet with these and many more characters, it is the voice and the soul of Igatious who dominates this work. Reading it is to join him and his cast in one ill-begotten adventure after another.
The novel begins with Igatious waiting for the return of his mother, who has set off to buy the very item which he needs the least of - cake. Officer Mancuso happens upon Igatious, and based on Igatious' sloven, beomouth appearance, he decides to question Ignatious, with the possible intent of arresting him, for officer Mancuso has been assigned the very demanding task of arresting any suspicious "characters" he might find. It is with this pretext that we begin a journey into what I can only describe as an immensely enjoyable read.
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Summary: If no smile while reading this book, you must be dead!
Review: My brother, whose library generally begins and ends with accounting, medical journals, and organic gardening tomes, recommended this book to me. Reluctantly, I read it as he kept asking me if I had. AND I LOVED EVERY MINUTE. Which goes to prove that truly great books transcend all things -- even the abyss between a liberal arts major and a CPA/physician/farmer! I laughed aloud countless times. It is a shame that the author did not live to see his success, but somewhere I know he has the angels in stitches
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Summary: A Confederacy of Dunces waves a unique flag...
Review: Too bad Kennedy is no longer among the living, because he'd
still be a hit on Nightline! The leader of this confederacy lives out the dark side of the mind of most baby boomers... those of us who wave a "Pre-generation-X" flag. If you read this book and don't smell the sex and used liquor and diesel fuel from the passing ships and the pastries and sea food in the air of New Orleans, you must forget the stuff you learned from Evelyn Woods. Savor this again now that the images have fermented for a decade and a half.
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