A Confederacy of Dunces

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It's a hit!

Easily one of the greatest pieces of fiction EVER written, at times absurd, insightful, offensive, HYSTERICAL and bewildering...however, it is alwa... (show more)

Easily one of the greatest pieces of fiction EVER written, at times absurd, insightful, offensive, HYSTERICAL and bewildering...however, it is always brilliant. Not a wasted scene, character, page or word. A taut novel, inlkie any other I have reAD. (show less)

 

 

by Nick Merchant

No, it's a flop!

I did think this book was funny in parts, there were a few times that I found myself laughing out loud at the ridiculousness of a situation (I love... (show more)

I did think this book was funny in parts, there were a few times that I found myself laughing out loud at the ridiculousness of a situation (I loved the attempted arrest and car crash scenes). And I never ceased to be amazed at how everything Ignatious touched ended up in disaster. However, I'm not sure I agree with the reviews on the back cover stating how hilarious this book is. I realize it was meant to be a satire, but I guess the characters seemed so realistic to me that I mostly found this book sad. I think this was really well written regarding the character development and found I could clearly picture all the players in the story and understand their situation quite well. I also really liked how everything came together in the end, with the exception of what happens to Ignatius himself (I thought that should have ended differently).

The problem for me was Ignatius is not someone you want to picture or know very well. He is totally disgusting. There is nothing about him that is likeable at all and although I realize that is the point, it still made the story hard to read. I just couldn't stand to hear about any more destruction caused by him and his warped, self-righteous sense of right and wrong, or about his valve and yellow sheets.

I am glad I read this book because it's so popular and I wanted to see what all the hype was about. I do think Toole was a good writer and would have read more by him if he had written more. This just simply was not my style, Ignatius was too gross. (show less)

 

 

by Jaclyn Rudd

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  Tragically young suicide/prodigy JKT depicts in this novel the misadventures of Ignatius J. Reilly, a corpulent and rediculous one-man crusade against modernity, set against the fleshy, sweltering backdrop of New Orleans. A cast of truly hilarious characters populate Ignatius' paranoid world, provoking his outrage at every turn, leading him into a crash-course with the establishment, the law, the seedy underbelly and his own mother... The quintessential novel for anyone who has ever felt the ... (show more)

  Tragically young suicide/prodigy JKT depicts in this novel the misadventures of Ignatius J. Reilly, a corpulent and rediculous one-man crusade against modernity, set against the fleshy, sweltering backdrop of New Orleans. A cast of truly hilarious characters populate Ignatius' paranoid world, provoking his outrage at every turn, leading him into a crash-course with the establishment, the law, the seedy underbelly and his own mother... The quintessential novel for anyone who has ever felt the bittersweet and slightly pathetic sting of entitlement. (show less)

   

   

  by Peter Van Goethem on Feb 13, 2008 at 01:48AM

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  This book was a fantastic work about a guy, Ignactious J. Reilly, who was incredibly book smart, but had less than no social skills! Everyone he interacts with comes to resent him, with the exception one old lady who is senile and calls him Gloria. Ignatious wants nothing more than to change and perfect the world, based on his twisted, frightened world views, in order to impress his politically, and sexually charged seductress from his college days.

  This book did not change my life in anyw... (show more)

  This book was a fantastic work about a guy, Ignactious J. Reilly, who was incredibly book smart, but had less than no social skills! Everyone he interacts with comes to resent him, with the exception one old lady who is senile and calls him Gloria. Ignatious wants nothing more than to change and perfect the world, based on his twisted, frightened world views, in order to impress his politically, and sexually charged seductress from his college days.

  This book did not change my life in anyway, but it was funny and impressive for a debut of an author that would never again write, as he was found dead after killing himself, before his book was ever found/published.

  Key Quotes:

  Martyrdom is meaningless in our age.

  Up from sloth.

  ... the progress that the negro has made from picking cotton to tailoring it.

  The nation as a whole has no contact with reality. That is only one of the reasons why I have always been forced to exist on the fringes of society, consigned to Limbo reserved for those who do not know reality when they see it.

  I would probably be found in some gutter, icicles dangling from all of my orifices, alley cats pawing over me to draw warmth from my last breath.

  No body respects the hot dog vendor.

  Mogul of meat.

  Never become involved with an altercation with a pauper.

  The next war could turn out to be one massive orgy. (show less)

   

   

  by Mark Duggan on Aug 27, 2009 at 03:41PM

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