A Confederacy of Dunces is an American comic masterpiece. John Kennedy Toole’s hero, one Ignatius J. Reilly, is “huge, obese, fractious, fastidious, a latter-day Gargantua, a Don Quixote of the French Quarter. His story bursts with wholly original characters, denizens of New Orleans’ lower depths, incredibly true-to-life dialogue, and the zaniest series of high and low comic adventures” (Henry … (Henry Kisor, Chicago Sun-Times).
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I think I have a new favorite book. Certainly a book I will read again and one I didn’t want to put down my first go around. The story of Ignatius and his crusade against the world, making the long term lives of those he touched better off once they survived his initial destruction, was one non-stop laugh for me.
What made this book work so well …
This is a hilarious read, a gem. Re-reading is generally not my thing, what with so much “undiscovered country” out there, but mercy, if you need to lighten the mood, this book will do it.
A drugstore black-and-white enlargement for the ages, this book just gets more valuable as time passes. Toole completely captures the mood, the characters, the mis-en-scene of a distinctly American place and time. Yes, it’s New Orleans in the late 60’s, but the snapshot of Americana is so complete it could be anywhere…except it’s only going to …
Whenever I get a chance to visit an iconic independent bookstore, I have to purchase something! So, a year ago, I was at City Lights in San Francisco and I picked up the Pulitzer Prize-winning A Confederacy of Dunces. With an already large to-read stack, I didn’t get back to it until this month.
It was worth the wait. The depth and vitality of …
I read Confederacy several years ago, read it again because it was such a hoot the first time. Toole creates a cast of characters, headed up by Ignatius Reilly, that Dickens himself might have portrayed. The entire group, including Myrna the minx, Ms. Trixie, the Levys of Levy Pants, Ignatius’s mom, etc, etc, are all so over the top that each …
I loved this book! It is so smart, so intelligent, so literary, made more so by the fact that it comes off almost as a funny comic. Toole has created an iconic character, Ignatius Reilly, who believes himself to live in the medieval world. It is laugh-out-loud funny and one of the few (as in 5) books I read a second time. Wonderful!
A whimsical and outlandish farce that is a rare treasure.
Your opinion of this book is usually good if you are from the New Orleans area. That is where I grew up. There is a certain drawl for folks from those parts of the South. The main character in this well written and hilarious book is Ignatius O’Reilly, a middle-aged n’er do well, overweight lazy hypochondriac, who lives with his mother. Ignatius …
One of the best books I’ve ever read. What a brilliant writer! Too bad he died so young.
A truly great book. Classic!
Slightly crazy – but I’ve just used all my Air Miles to book a trip to New Orleans!
This was the last book that made me laugh out loud, but “Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal” by Christopher Moore induced one of most memorable laughter episodes.
This book grabbed my curiosity long before I picked it up to read. It was published in 1980. However, it was not until 2021 that I read it. I don’t regret the delay because I read it at an age when I was mature enough to realize its value. Yes, despite whatever you may have heard from the all too many naysayers who trash it for whatever reasons, …
This is an incredible book! I’ve read it twice and enjoyed it both times. Every character is made “real” by the writer. What is unfortunate about this text is that the author, Mr. John Kennedy Toole, wasn’t alive to see it published and win the 1981 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.
A modern classic, a brilliant comic masterpiece with a protagonist unlike any other. Wonderful.
This book has put me off reading… seriously! I mean, how do you follow that? It was so good that I had to force myself to put it down, just so that I could save some for later!
The characterizations are fantastic, no less than that of Ignatius J. Reilly himself: overtly-educated, erudite, extremely articulate, arrogant, outrageously …
Unique in its perspective. An anti-hero, if ever there was one. Am still reading the book though.
Just one of the most original, funny and memorable books I’ve read. I recommend Confederacy of Dunces to everyone I talk with about books.
This is one of the most entertaining books I have ever read. Have purchased it many times to give to friends. The characters are absolutely wonderful. Set in New Orleans you can feel the color and spice that make up the city and the people.
Funny tales, a bit silly and predictable humor.