John Kennedy Toole's "A Confederacy of Dunces: A Classic Satirical Novel

James H: If you have any family or friends who appreciate true artistry in writing and possess an excellent sense of humour, I highly recommend this as a gift. If you have not read this, you should get a copy. Anyone who appreciates literature should not let life pass by without having read this brilliant work.

Canada on Oct 04, 2023

Jackieb: This is one of the weirder books I have ever read. It is hilarious, but also comes uncomfortable close to a couple people I used to know. Well worth reading.

United States on Sep 29, 2023

online customer: Enjoyable pastime read

Canada on Jul 10, 2023

eddie rycraft: Book was in very good condition, and come very next day. Perfect

United Kingdom on Jun 19, 2023

Hugh Irwin: I sat at a diner in Harrisburg, PA last week, discussing books with the patron next to me (at the bar). It wasn’t long before she spoke effusively of this novel, of its hilarity, depth, and brilliant grasp of the “commoner’s” culture in New Orleans. I bought it on my smart phone at the bar (after a Virgin Bloody Mary & poached eggs with grits done in chicken stock). What a page turner, with time after time splitting with laughter. Well described in the introduction as both comedy and tragedy, I blazed through it in record time, purchasing also the audible version, which I now treasure for its entertaining replication of New Orleans’ dialects, both black and white. This is a novel that should turn the most narcissistic of us into philanthropists, though that is a tall order. This book probably won’t strike a cord with those of us who are “straight-laced,” but will bring both a smile and a certain reverent contemplation to those of us perplexed by the paradox of the human condition. To echo the prologue to the book, what a tragedy to have lost the author at such an early age to suicide, but then again, only those who suffer deeply are able to feel deeply. RIP you...

United States on Jun 02, 2023

Bernie Gourley: If you’ve heard of this book, but not read it, you’re probably aware of the troubled circumstance of its publication. Several years after having failed to be published, Toole committed suicide. The story of the book would have ended there, except Toole’s mother found the typescript and carted it around to people in the literary community. After much persistence and not taking no for an answer, she managed to get Walker Percy to read the manuscript, and the rest is posthumous Pulitzer Prize winning history.

It would be easy to dismiss the editors involved in rejecting this manuscript as grade-A lunkheads, or as the lead character (Ignatius J. Reilly) likes to verbally skewer his victims “Mongoloids.” However, one can see how said lunkheads would find this much-beloved novel risky. It’s a character-driven novel in which the lead character is obnoxious and unlovable in the extreme. Reilly is a pretentious and pedantic professorial type--verbally speaking-- wrapped into the obese body of a man-child who is emotionally an ill-mannered five year old with a bombastic vocabulary. Reilly has no impulse control, takes no responsibility, and is prone to tantrums,...

United States on Oct 16, 2017

Rob Errera: <em> <a style="font-style: italic;" href=[...]</a> </em>by <a href="[...]</a> is funny, wise, and as close to a perfect novel as you’re likely to find.

Protagonist Ignatius C. Reilly is a bloated buffoon, a man-baby who lives with his mother, has a troubled digestive valve that causes him to burp and fart with great frequency, and possesses one of the most “unique” worldviews you’re likely to find.

Ignatius is loaf completely at ease with his loafishness:
<blockquote><em>“I dust a bit,” Ignatius told the policeman. “In addition, I am at the moment writing a lengthy indictment against our century. When my brain begins to reel from my literary labors, I make an occasional cheese dip.”</em></blockquote>
Ignatius is like a giant child when he considers his career options and argues with his mother:
<blockquote><em>I suspect that something like a newspaper route would be rather agreeable.</em></blockquote>
<blockquote><em> “I dare you to come out in that shredded nightgown and get me!” Ignatius answered defiantly and stuck out his massive pink...

United States on Aug 31, 2015

M. Yakiwchuk: There are very few books that I have read that hold up as well as this one has. Almost 40 years after it was written, almost nothing in this book reads stale or dated. Everything is as fresh and relevant now as the day it was published. The language, character, and place, are all uniquely New Orlean'. But the story, is one for all time. Ignatius Reilly, 30 years old, University educated, lives at home with his long-suffering mother. The dialogue in this book is spot on. One word of caution: Don't think of this book as a comedy. I did, expecting to find many laughs. There aren't. There was one laugh-out-loud funny moment (for me) when the Reilly character is fantasizing about what he would do while on a bus ride, but that's it. I found Ignatius Reilly to be a little frustrating as a protagonist, as were some of the supporting characters. In the end, however, the circumstances around every major character change, and I enjoyed their progressions. Read A Confederacy of Dunces if: You are a 30-something person who still lives at home with his parents and haven't held down a "real" job. OR if you can relate in some way to this situation. Do not read A Confederacy of Dunces if: You are...

Canada on Jul 25, 2012

BethDeHart: Filled with satirical black humor concerning the usually overlooked 'characters' of society, John Kennedy Toole's Pulitzer prize winning novel THE CONFEDERACY OF DUNCES , captures a reality of our society that we like to disregard. In THE CONFEDERACY OF DUNCES the unique tempo and the slow pace of the overall development of the plot creates a feel of dreary, everyday life, while the immediate happenings tend to be absurd, ridiculous, or down right stupid. In many instances Toole will jump between a third person point of view subjective to different characters, or a objective point of view depicting the seen from many angles making the absurdity of the happenings or the actions and words of our hero Ignatius J. Riely painfully clear. Then the long tedious exchanges of letters between Myna Minkoff and Ignatius, or the journals of Ignatius, though still absurd, draws out the story and creates a weary response from the reader. Energetic, dreary, energetic, dreary.... The delicate mixture of excitement and dullness creates a parallel with life, a disturbing realization due to the fact that readers tend to think the actions of the characters in this novel 'not normal'. There are many...

Canada on Mar 10, 2005