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Confederacy of Dunces
 
 

Confederacy of Dunces (Paperback)

by John Kennedy Toole (Author) "A green hunting cap squeezed the top of the fleshy balloon of a head ..." (more)
4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (643 customer reviews)
List Price: CDN$ 19.50
Price: CDN$ 14.24 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over CDN$ 39. Details
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Product Description

From Amazon.com

"A green hunting cap squeezed the top of the fleshy balloon of a head. The green earflaps, full of large ears and uncut hair and the fine bristles that grew in the ears themselves, stuck out on either side like turn signals indicating two directions at once. Full, pursed lips protruded beneath the bushy black moustache and, at their corners, sank into little folds filled with disapproval and potato chip crumbs."

Meet Ignatius J. Reilly, the hero of John Kennedy Toole's tragicomic tale, A Confederacy of Dunces. This 30-year-old medievalist lives at home with his mother in New Orleans, pens his magnum opus on Big Chief writing pads he keeps hidden under his bed, and relays to anyone who will listen the traumatic experience he once had on a Greyhound Scenicruiser bound for Baton Rouge. ("Speeding along in that bus was like hurtling into the abyss.") But Ignatius's quiet life of tyrannizing his mother and writing his endless comparative history screeches to a halt when he is almost arrested by the overeager Patrolman Mancuso--who mistakes him for a vagrant--and then involved in a car accident with his tipsy mother behind the wheel. One thing leads to another, and before he knows it, Ignatius is out pounding the pavement in search of a job.

Over the next several hundred pages, our hero stumbles from one adventure to the next. His stint as a hotdog vendor is less than successful, and he soon turns his employers at the Levy Pants Company on their heads. Ignatius's path through the working world is populated by marvelous secondary characters: the stripper Lana Lee and her talented cockatoo; the septuagenarian secretary Miss Trixie, whose desperate attempts to retire are constantly, comically thwarted; gay blade Dorian Greene; sinister Miss Lee, proprietor of the Night of Joy nightclub; and Myrna Minkoff, the girl Ignatius loves to hate. The many subplots that weave through A Confederacy of Dunces are as complicated as anything you'll find in a Dickens novel, and just as beautifully tied together in the end. But it is Ignatius--selfish, domineering, and deluded, tragic and comic and larger than life--who carries the story. He is a modern-day Quixote beset by giants of the modern age. His fragility cracks the shell of comic bluster, revealing a deep streak of melancholy beneath the antic humor. John Kennedy Toole committed suicide in 1969 and never saw the publication of his novel. Ignatius Reilly is what he left behind, a fitting memorial to a talented and tormented life. --Alix Wilber



From Library Journal

Narrator Barrett Whitener renders Toole's cast of caricatures with verve enough to satisfy admirers. Toole wrote this novel in Puerto Rico during a hitch in the U.S. Army. In 1966 it was rejected by Simon & Schuster. In 1969 Toole committed suicide. Toole's mother then tried to get it published. After seven years of rejection she showed it to novelist Walker Percy, under whose encouragement it was published by Louisiana State University Press. Many critics praised it as a comic masterpiece that memorably evokes the city of New Orleans and whose robust protagonist is a modern-day Falstaff, Don Quixote, or Gargantua. Toole's prose is energetic, and his talent, had it matured, may have produced a masterpiece. However, listeners who do not feel charmed or amused by a fat, flatulent, gluttonous, loud, lying, hypocritical, self-deceiving, self-centered blowhard who masturbates to memories of a dog and pretends to profundity when he is only full of beans are not likely to survive the first cassette. For fans.?Peter Josyph, New York
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition.

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Customer Reviews

643 Reviews
5 star:
 (467)
4 star:
 (74)
3 star:
 (17)
2 star:
 (33)
1 star:
 (52)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.4 out of 5 stars (643 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most helpful customer reviews

 
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Comic New Orleans, if you can believe that now, Jul 22 2007
By Shelton Seabold "Wasabi the great" (Montclair) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   
What a time capsule this novel is: Set in pre-Katrina New Orleans---loooong before that, it is a perfect-pitched novel of the city, capturing the rollicking good times and oddness that the place is--or was. I love anything Southern, but especially literature, and "Confederacy" read like a cross between "Bark of the Dogwood" and one of Vonnegut's books, say, "Slaughter House Five." It's a shame that Toole never lived to see how many people have come to love this book. For THAT,I recommend "The Neon Bible" if you want more of the author. Must also recommend the novels "Katzenjammer" by McCrae, and "Secret Life of Bees" by Sue Monk Kidd.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Truly Outrageous And Great Outsider Novel, Dec 7 2007
I'll say this. This novel is quite unlike any other. It's nonconformist to the core, well written and very funny. Now, when I say funny I mean oddball funny, weird funny. The protagonist's love for his dog was really pushing the envelope I thought (that will make sense once you read the novel). This is truly an amazing book. Be patient ... allow yourself to adjust to the author and his comic world-view and you'll be greatly rewarded.

Highly recommended. It deserves its cult status. Truly a unique comic novel, now easily one of my top 5 favorites. Pick up a copy!
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars wacky silly stuff, plus some wistfulness, Dec 2 2007
A classic story that makes me a bit sad to think about considering that the author died young and by his own hand. Given American culture, that may be part of the appeal of the book to many. By any standard, however, this is a great book, with highly memorable, vividly described characters, none more so than the central figure Ignatius, a likeable, eccentric oaf. His part-time sidekick, Myrna Minkoff, is also a hoot, and I like it when the two of them gang up. Although it's in many ways a timeless story, the manner of speaking of the characters is probably representative of the times (1950s?). Given the short life of the author, the book has a bit of a tragic backdrop that affected my feelings for it, and the New Orleans setting with Katrina occuring a few years ago may now also affect my memories of it. Author of Adjust Your Brain: A Practical Theory for Maximizing Mental Health.
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Most recent customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliantly hilarious
Easily one of the funniest books I have ever read, and very deserving of the Pulitzer Prize it received. A must-read if you like comedy, or just excellent writing.
Published 8 months ago by Dr. Dave

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book
One of the funniest books I've read. I've recommended it to people and they either love it, or can't get through the first chapter.
Published on Oct 10 2007 by Ignatious Riley

5.0 out of 5 stars Eccentricity Defined
With all due respect, reviewers focussing on the 'racist' humour of this novel are entirely missing the point. Read more
Published on Sep 21 2007 by Craig Jenkins

2.0 out of 5 stars Whoa! Literary Sabotage
This book being listed as a comedy is a tragedy. I have laughed out loud many times reading books in my life, but only once during this book. Read more
Published on May 16 2007 by J. Tremblay

5.0 out of 5 stars Minor Characters Are The Key
This book is hysterical and very well-written with lots of good description. What makes it work best, though, are the minor characters. Read more
Published on April 12 2007 by Nice Girl

5.0 out of 5 stars Southern-fried hilarity
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... Read more
Published on Mar 23 2007 by Perry Moose Man Compton

3.0 out of 5 stars Somewhat entertaining....however
After reading shinning reviews of this novel, I couldnt help myself but to purchase it. After reading, the plot is stimulating. I never laughed once... Read more
Published on Mar 17 2007 by J. Cloutier

4.0 out of 5 stars Takes a while, but worth the wait
Much like many great books, this takes a few pages to get into, but it really is a laugh-out-loud book. Read more
Published on Mar 28 2006 by Eric L. Neggilfan

1.0 out of 5 stars Very disappointing
After reading many shining reviews and reading similar authors, I attempted this book many times. But try as I might I could'nt appreciate what so many others seem to find a... Read more
Published on Jan 22 2006 by Jeff Hansen

5.0 out of 5 stars Flat Out Funny!... If You Like Slapstick Comedy
Ignatius J. Reilly is perhaps the funniest character in literature, and I don't say that lightly, because he has no idea that he is a complete loser. Read more
Published on Jul 1 2005 by Stephen Eddy

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