by
John Kennedy Toole
(bio and
other books)
Written by the late John Kennedy Toole, A
Confederacy of Dunces is whole-heartedly a
character-driven comedy, and a tremendous
contribution to American literature.
The book opens with Ignatius Reilly, who may very
well be the most disgusting lead character ever in a
novel. He is a grossly overweight, intellectual,
deadbeat, who, as a grown man, still lives at home
with his mother. He passes his days by lying in bed
on “stained sheets”, eating, masturbating and
writing a melodramatic diatribe in his Big Chief
notebook. He rarely leaves the house and only to
run errands with his mother, or go to the movies.
The
story, set in the heart of New Orleans, begins with
Ignatius Reilly on one of those rare occasions
standing on Canal Street waiting for his mother when
a cop tries to arrest him for looking suspicious.
Ignatius resists the arrest and a crowd forms as he
scoffs at the cop’s accusations. This sets off one
disaster after another and things quickly spiral out
of control. So rattled by all the commotion, Mrs.
Reilly accidentally drives her Plymouth into a
building. In order to pay the damage, Ignatius
mother demands that he get a job.
His entry into
the working world is both horrendous and hilarious.
Working for Levy Pants ignites a lawsuit and working
as hotdog vendor causes even more mayhem. After
reading this book it is difficult to ever look at
hotdog stand without thinking of Ignatius Reilly
pushing his cart of “weenies” with “12 inches of
paradise” plastered on the front. Ignatius Reilly,
like anything so utterly repulsive, drives our
curiosity wild. And so this condescending,
ideological, hypochondriac, who carries on about
“his valve” captures our attention.
Mrs.
Reilly’s surprises us by not being quite as weak as
we are originally led to believe. She has suffered
her son’s exploitive tricks and his childishness
long enough and devises a plan for Ignatius’ “own
good.”
Ironically, those with the misfortune of suffering
through Ignatius Reilly deceit, somehow become a
better person for it. But don’t be too quick to
give him any credit for such outcomes, intentional
or not, Ignatius is a menace to New Orleans society.
With
its outrageous stunts, authentic New Orleans dialect and memorable characters, it’s no wonder A Confederacy of Dunces
won the Pulitzer Prize. Sadly, John Kennedy Toole,
committed suicide before ever seeing his only novel
published. Toole’s mother pushed
tenaciously—pleading with Walker Percy to read her
son’s novel. In a foreword by Walker Percy, he
writes "that this gargantuan tumultuous human
tragicomedy is at least made available to a world of
readers."
Quotes from
A Confederacy of Dunces
“It smells terrible in here.”
“Well, what do you expect? The human body when
confined, produces certain odors which we tend to
forget in this age of deodorants and other
perversions. Actually, I find the atmosphere of
this room rather comforting. Schiller needed the
scent of apples rotting in his desk in order to
write. I ,too, have my needs. You may remember
that Mark Twain preferred to lie supinely in bed
while composing those rather dated and boring
efforts which contemporary scholars try to prove
meaningful. Veneration of Mark Twain is one of the
roots of our current intellectual stalemate.”
Buy
A Confederacy of Dunces
Buy
the
Audio Version.
Read our bio for
John
Kennedy Toole and peruse his other books.
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