A Confederacy of Dunces

published	January 21st 1994 by Grove Press
first published	1980
binding	Paperback
isbn	0802130208 (isbn13: 9780802130204)
ebook
pages	416
literary awards	Pulitzer Prize for Fiction (1981)
description	"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 bristl...more [close] "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 Darlene 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 [close]
date added	03-11-07 edit book

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Mary rated it:

05/15/08

Read in April, 2008

recommended to Mary by: BARWICK
recommends it for: Anyone with a sense of humor

A Confederacy of Dunces is a great comedic book with tremendous amount of detail that makes the reader feel as if they are actually set in the 1950s and standing on Canal Street, at the heart of New Orleans. John Kennedy Toole creates a believable scene, with landmarks such as Bay St. Louis, St. Louis Cathedral and real streets such as Canal St. and St. Charles Ave. These landmarks create a sense of comfort for readers who are familiar of the region. Toole was inspired by his own life while writ...more A Confederacy of Dunces is a great comedic book with tremendous amount of detail that makes the reader feel as if they are actually set in the 1950s and standing on Canal Street, at the heart of New Orleans. John Kennedy Toole creates a believable scene, with landmarks such as Bay St. Louis, St. Louis Cathedral and real streets such as Canal St. and St. Charles Ave. These landmarks create a sense of comfort for readers who are familiar of the region. Toole was inspired by his own life while writing the book, which is another reason why A Confederacy of Dunces seems so descriptive and real. The theme of the book is the deceiving stereotypes of the 1950s including homosexuals, black Americans and obese Americans. Despite its nearly 400 page frame, the book is not only interesting, but it is subtly seductive, leaving you wanting more when it is put down.
A Confederacy of Dunces is about the seemingly ruthless protagonist, Ignatius J. Reilly who you can only feel sorry for. Ignatius has a master’s degree in medieval studies, but has no job. Instead, he lives with his mother in a small home in New Orleans, just like Toole did in his real life. A meeting of these characters plus Ignatius and his mother start the story off with an impact. Patrolman Mancuso tries to arrest Ignatius for looking suspicious, and ends up taking in Claude Robichaux, an older man and Jones, a black man. The story names many characters that seem unimportant at the beginning, but they end up having vital roles to the novel. They each have individual stories in the beginning, but somehow tie in at the end, which is one reason why A Confederacy of Dunces is such a Great American Novel.
After a peculiar night that consisted of Ignatius and his mother becoming intoxicated at a local nightclub, his mother crashes their 1946 Plymouth into a building off St. Anne Street. The damages of the car accident cost $1200, and neither of them currently have a job. John Kennedy Toole uses some of his own personal experience to help write the story. Ignatius gets his first job at a suffering men’s clothing warehouse: Levy Pants. Toole also worked at a men’s clothing warehouse, and wrote on the subject with personal experience. Other than the money issue in the Reilly household, Ignatius got the job to prove to Myrna Minkoff, his New York yuppie “arch nemesis”, that he writes every so often, that he is doing more than just sitting at home all day and making a difference in the world. Ignatius becomes very comfortable at Levy Pants, so at ease that he begins to conduct work for his own selfish comfort. He spends a lot of time making a sign at his desk and a cross that took weeks to complete. Ignatius explores the factory itself and begins to conduct a “Crusade of Moorish Dignity” against the administration. This fails and he is eventually fired.
His next job is at a hot dog vending company called “Paradise Vendors”. It is a failing small business that Ignatius only makes worse by eating more hot dogs than actually selling them. Toole reportedly worked in the French Quarter as a tamale vendor, so it is no wonder why the detail about the hot dog cart seems so specific. Ignatius meets characters along the way such as Dorian Greene: a rich, flamboyant, and mannered man who is persuaded by Ignatius into joining a new political party made up of homosexuals. Dorian is first introduced in this way to carry on the underlying theme of stereotypes that Toole sticks with through the entire book. Ignatius is only molested by three lesbian women, and kicked out of his own rally.
Other story lines go on in novel including Patrolman Mancuso receiving punishment for failing to bring in truly suspicious characters. He has to wear a different costume every day until he brings the sergeant a real suspicious character. Another story line is about Ignatius’s mother and Claude Robichaux’s romance and friendship with Patrolman Mancuso’s headstrong aunt named Santa Bataglia. The last story line is about Jones getting a terrible job at the same nightclub that Ignatius and his mother were when they crashed their car. Jones receives far below minimum wage for a hard working job, employed by a truly cruel woman, Lana Lee, that does pornography for high school kids as a side job. Jones tries to sabotage his boss, which causes her to delay her pictures deliveries until later, making the deliverer wait with the pictures longer than usual, having no choice but to store it in this fat man’s (Ignatius) hot dog vending cart.
Mancuso becomes the joke of all patrolmen, Mrs. Reilly and Claude strengthen their relationship while realizing that Ignatius might be a crazy communist, Jones suspects some funny business going on with his cruel boss, and Ignatius tries to keep his job while making Myrna “minx” Minkoff jealous. Ignatius by this time becomes a real famous name in the New Orleans society. Jones and Lana Lee want to know who this strange man is that is making such a wave in New Orleans. Ignatius finds the pictures in his vending machine wanting to know who it is, and tries to find her. All stories collide and a very unsuspecting ending occurs, which you can only find out once you read it.
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Jordan rated it:

(review of isbn 0517122707)

05/12/08

recommended to Jordan by: Chadwick Barwick
recommends it for: Everyone

Before reading A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole my favorite novel thus far had to have been J.D. Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye. Mr. Toole’s novel is full of vigor and life, quite an ironic statement being as how Mr. Toole took his own life at the relatively youthful age of thirty-two. A Confederacy of Dunces best fits into the category/genre of intellectual satire. Mr. Toole’s bold genius is quite prevalent throughout the narrative as he attacks his present, the 60’s, with ...more Before reading A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole my favorite novel thus far had to have been J.D. Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye. Mr. Toole’s novel is full of vigor and life, quite an ironic statement being as how Mr. Toole took his own life at the relatively youthful age of thirty-two. A Confederacy of Dunces best fits into the category/genre of intellectual satire. Mr. Toole’s bold genius is quite prevalent throughout the narrative as he attacks his present, the 60’s, with Ignatius J. Reilly of New Orleans, Louisiana filling the role of main protagonist and common day leper, metaphorically speaking of course. Ignatius Reilly is the epitome of outcasts whom is best described as a lazy, unkempt, obese, feudal loving, and queerly loveable man. Ignatius is the heavily fortified vessel that carries this novel, without Mr. Reilly the foundation, of which a great novel has been forged upon, would surely crumble.
Regardless of the positive criticism of which I am showering upon the book there are still negative aspects of the book that need to be addressed. The main problematic issue that troubles me is the extent to which some of the characters, specifically Santa Bataglia (mother of patrolman Mancuso), Mrs. Reilly (Ignatius’ widowed mother), and Mrs. Levy (the wife of Gus Levy, owner of Levy Pants), have been developed in order to annoy me past he ends of sanity. These three bickering bimbos threatened my drive to continue reading the novel. They truly angered me with their unnecessary nagging, repetitive bibble-babble, and their idiotic assumptions to the point that I felt highly compelled to rip my hair out and physically express the extent to which my nerves had been shot upon another being. Now it may just be that I am a violent individual that needs to seek medical attention immediately, but I feel that I am not the only person of which has been affected in a similar fashion by this book. My second, and last complaint, for this novel is the sheer fact that every single character in this book will not be forgotten. This may seem to be an aspect of the novel that should be viewed as a positive but I interpret as a negative factor. This is due to the fact that I personally feel as if Mr. Toole has left his audience dangling I midair. Simply put the reader wants to know more about the characters than the book offers almost to the extent that the reader wishes to have a personal autobiography for Ms. Reilly, Claude Raubicheaux (angry old man that accuses everyone of being a comuniss), Jones (your stereotypical African American), Darlene (the aspiring striper), Dorian Greene (the stereotypical homosexual), Mr. Clyde (the owner of Paradise Vendors Inc.), Mr. Levy, Mrs. Levy, Susan and Sandra Levy (daughters of Mr. and Mrs. Levy), Ms. Trixie (the senile secretary at Levy Pants), George (the shady employee of an orphanage), Santa Bataglia, Patrolman Mancuso, Mr. Gonzalez (the obsessively dedicated office manager of Levy Pants), and the three lesbians inhabiting Dorian Greene’s place of residence (Liz, Betty, and Frieda). Not once did I glance at the book in order to procure the name or description for any of the characters listed above. Still this may be viewed as a positive aspect of the book but I personally felt somewhat offended that these colorful characters were only presented with little or no background information whatsoever. Hopefully I have not discouraged any potential readers of this magnificent work of art because truly the positives outweigh the negatives by a very large margin.
Personally, the most enjoyable experience I encountered while reading A Confederacy of Dunces was how the dialogue is so distinctly unique to each character. There really was no need for the common “this character said that indicators” such as “…said Ignatius.” or “…Jones quickly replied”. Each character’s style of speech fits them like a glove. For example Ignatius’ statements are easily identified by his unequalled fashion of intellectuality and complex metaphors that fill his speech. Coming in a close second as my most enjoyable experience of this novel is that no one is left unscathed by this book. The satire of this book has a personality of its own which spans across every individual personality type. Even Mr. Toole’s categorized personality of the rebellious, non-conforming artist is not spared.
I highly recommend this book to any whom posses the ability to read. This recommendation is coming from someone that is not fond of any form of reading whatsoever. It will change the way you view the world and yourself as a person. Read this book.
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Rachel rated it:

05/06/08

Read in April, 2008

The first paragraph of The Confederacy of Dunces has enough obscure, quirky, and downright disgusting images to satisfy anyone’s need for entertaining thought in one day. John Kennedy Toole’s protagonist is standing outside of a store in New Orleans with crumbs in his greasy mustache and clothes that do not match the season or each other. This man is Ignatious J. Reilly. We quickly learn he is an outcast of the time. He disapproval of society is hardly kept to himself as he longs to live in ...more The first paragraph of The Confederacy of Dunces has enough obscure, quirky, and downright disgusting images to satisfy anyone’s need for entertaining thought in one day. John Kennedy Toole’s protagonist is standing outside of a store in New Orleans with crumbs in his greasy mustache and clothes that do not match the season or each other. This man is Ignatious J. Reilly. We quickly learn he is an outcast of the time. He disapproval of society is hardly kept to himself as he longs to live in the medieval era.
Ignatious does not work but fully relies on his alcoholic, arthritic mother to wait on him hand and foot. His mother, Irene Reilly brings him teacakes and drives him to the movies where Ignatious likes to make fun of modern stars. Ignatious’ lack for appreciation of his mother leaves readers wondering why she continues to wait on him. Irene soon branches out to a crowd that does not approve of her behavior with her son.
All of the situations Ignatious brews up are a result of his arrogance. After his mother has a car accident, the Reillys are in a bind for money and Ignatious is forced against his will to seek employment. Ignatious is actually a brilliant man, holding a Masters degree, however he thinks he is smarter than everyone and overly qualified for everything and has a hard time lowering his standards to the level of the employed. His hatred for work began in a pivotal episode in his life, his one trip out of New Orleans to Baton Rouge. The trip was traumatizing and Ignatious makes references to it as though it was as interesting of a story to everyone else as it is to him.
The novel revolves centrally around the employees of three places, Levy Pants, Paradise Vendors, and the Night of Joy. The characters are all tied together through Ignatious.
The most prevalent theme of the book is the disapproval for the American Dream. There are no cookie cutter characters in this novel and no heroic acts, as there is no single villain throughout the novel but an abundance of flawed characters in the French Quarter. The construction of the characters challenge the ideals set by society in the time the book was written, the 1960’s. Issues of racism, sexism, homosexuality, and pornography are the basis for conflict in the novel.
The novel challenges taboos of the time but introducing seemingly “normal” characters and then scratching below the surface to reveal their so-called flaws. There is a waitress who longs to be an exotic dancer and a young black criminal who is shockingly bright. These surprising qualities are Toole’s way of splashing the water of a changing society into the reader’s face.
The Confederacy of Dunces falls into the genre of comedy. This type humor will not jump out at you but is implied if the reader understands the circumstances of the time. The aspect of hyperbole can be credited with the humor. Everyone is odd to the point of ridicule. From the police officer who is forced to wear absurd costumes in the bus station bathroom to the three cliché lesbians Ignatious meets at a gay party, every character is overly flamboyant which is the root of humor in every obscure and unexpected situation.
Another comedic aspect is the language used by the character. Toole did an excellent job of tailoring the speech of each character to his or her personality. Ignatious is the most obvious. He speaks to the level of his advanced education which turns away most of the people he comes in contact with. The way he speaks to people is anything but considerate and humble. There are many excerpts from his writings, his main hobby, which are hard to follow and quite boring. Another example of tailored speech is found in Jones, the Night of Joy’s porter. At his introduction he seems like the stereotypical African American male of the time, which is uneducated. Toole creates a speech filled with slang and lingo of the time with a limited vocabulary.
Shortly after completing this work, Toole took his own life. He thought his work to be a failure and, likewise, himself to be a failure as well. Little did he know he had created the ultimate Great American Novel, which would win the Pulitzer Prize in 1981. The title of the novel came from the epigraph of the Jonathan Swift quote, “When a true genius appears in the world, you may know him by this sign, that the dunces are all in confederacy against him.”
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Amy rated it:

05/14/08

Read in March, 2008

Confederacy of Dunces is a very strange book. It has the most unusual characters I have ever seen, but they are also very interesting. They are very hard to relate to. Ignatius, for example, is perhaps the most strange and unique character of them all. A person might think he is mentally retarded because of his actions and especially because of what he wears. Ignatius’ actions would make me mad when I would read the book because he would be so selfish. He is really cruel to his mother,...more

Confederacy of Dunces is a very strange book. It has the most unusual characters I have ever seen, but they are also very interesting. They are very hard to relate to. Ignatius, for example, is perhaps the most strange and unique character of them all. A person might think he is mentally retarded because of his actions and especially because of what he wears. Ignatius’ actions would make me mad when I would read the book because he would be so selfish. He is really cruel to his mother, and he likes to lie a lot. Ignatius is probably the hardest character to relate to put of all the characters in the book because of his unique ways.
These characters would not be so interesting if it was not for the brilliant author, John Kennedy Toole. John Kennedy Toole was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. But unfortunately John Kennedy Toole was not alive when his novel was published. He had committed suicide. But his mother, Thelma Toole, found his novel and read it. She thought it was a brilliant story. So she went around to different publishers to try to get John Kennedy Toole’s novel published. It finally did get published by Walker Percy in 1981. And as soon as it got into the public eye it got became very popular. And it is still very popular. In fact, his famous novel, the Confederacy of Dunces, was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for fiction. He also wrote another brilliant novel. This novel was The Neon Bible. It was his very first novel that he had ever written. Even though John Kennedy Toole was not alive when his book was published, Confederacy of Dunces is truly a Great American Novel.
There are three major themes in Confederacy of Dunces. The first one is modern slavery. In John Kennedy Toole’s time, African Americans still remained second class citizens. It was especially like this in the South. Burma Jones represents this theme very well because he is treated like a slave. He gets paid under minim wage. “This was really a deal, like a present left on a doorstep. A color guy who would get arrested for vagrancy if he didn’t work. She would have a captive porter whom she could work for almost nothing. It was beautiful.” Another group that was treated like slaves in Confederacy of Dunces wee the factory workers at Levy Pants. The second theme is the American Work Ethic. The American dream is a dream that people want to have when they come to America. The dream is to have a job and to be able to support your own self. John Kennedy Toole makes the main character, Ignatius, go against the American dream. He likes to lie around and does not work. He writes in his big chief tablet, and he claims that he is going to turn them into a book one day. Here is an example of his writing. “In a sense I have always felt something of a kinship with the colored race because its position is the same as mine: we both exist outside the inner realm of American society. Of course, my exile is voluntary.” The third theme is fate-” The concept of fate-which characters are powerless to control the circumstances in their lives, but instead are guided by some “external locus of control.”’’ The concept of fate plays an important role in Confederacy of Dunces. Ignatius believes in Fortuna who is a blind goddess. He believes that Fortuna decides whether to send his wheel of fortune downward or upward. “Oh my God! What viscous trick is Fortuna playing on me now?
I liked John Kennedy Toole’s writing style for the most part. I liked that he would put different sections in each chapter instead of it all running together. You get to see each person’s point of view. And John Kennedy Toole would also have like 3 different scenes going on in one chapter. And at the end all the different stories come together which I thought was fascinating. I t had some funny parts in the book, but most of the book was very strange but also interesting. I never wanted to put the book down. The only part I thought was boring and kind of confusing was the letters that Ignatius would write in his Big Chief tablets. But other than that, I enjoyed reading the book. Eric Olsen quotes,” I love A Confederacy of Dunces, one of the funniest, most empathetic looks at misfits and outsiders ever written, that blessedly never dips into sentimentality”
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Chris rated it:

05/14/08

Confederacy of Dunces is a book that is out of the ordinary and bizarre. John Kennedy Toole’s style of writing in Confederacy of dunces is very descriptive concerning the characters and their interactions with society. After reading this book Louisiana sounds like a place for a good summer vacation. This book contains a lot of political views along with pornography crimes and a main character who’s name is Ignatius. Ignatius thinks that the world revolves around him. Ignatius is a thirty yea...more Confederacy of Dunces is a book that is out of the ordinary and bizarre. John Kennedy Toole’s style of writing in Confederacy of dunces is very descriptive concerning the characters and their interactions with society. After reading this book Louisiana sounds like a place for a good summer vacation. This book contains a lot of political views along with pornography crimes and a main character who’s name is Ignatius. Ignatius thinks that the world revolves around him. Ignatius is a thirty year old male that stays with his mom and can not maintain a steady job. He also lives off his mother welfare check and tries to tell her how to run her life.
Ignatius is very controlling of people. He tries to get people to turn against their beliefs and follow him in his twisted beliefs. Ignatius is really the main reason why I even read this book because the way Toole uses Ignatius as a window to allow readers to see how messed up some people was in the world back in the thirties. Ignatius’ ways were slowly messing his mind up like his tendencies to masturbate over his lost pet Rex. Ignatius may have been used also to describe the struggles and downfalls of Toole’s life. This character is a key part of making this story.
Along with Ignatius another key role character would have to be his mother Mrs. Reilly. Mrs. Reilly is a very kind hearted woman in the story who loves her son very much but can not put up with his laziness. She often complains about the money that she had to give toward his education and he has not made any attempt to try to make something out of his life. She is often advised by Santa Battaglia her new friend to put him out the apartment but Mrs. Reilly is reluctant to doing so until the end of the story. Mrs. Reilly is very frustrated with her son because he will not do anything and he is still living off of her he refuses to grow up on his own.
The story was set in the early thirties where a lot of racial issues were still present. A lot of times through the book you will see the word “negro” referring to Burma Jones a worker at the Night of Joy. This word indicates that blacks were still treated as slaves and not equal in this time period. A lot of illegal activities were committed through the story that would also keep the readers attention such as the pornography scandal that involved Lana Lee and three lesbians posing and having possession of pornography inside the Night of Joy. Crimes were not as harsh back then as it is now.
Burma Jones was involved in the scandal actually helping patrolman Mancuso figuring out where the hidden pornography was located inside the bar. This is one of the high points in the book that kept my interest in the story. This book includes some romantic parts that would make the book seem a little more enjoyable. Ignatius’ mother and Mr. Claude Rochibaux met up at a party thrown by Santa in her apartment. Burma was more of a secondary character who smart tactics kept the story interesting.
In this time a lot of people were self employed and relied on no one but their selves. Ignatius didn’t fit in with this style of culture he was very lazy and couldn’t provide for his self or his mother. He was more of a baby than a man through this whole story. Ignatius would not have survived in our generation, even the great opportunity that we have today wouldn’t satisfy Ignatius he would still be reliant on other people and wouldn’t survive in our time. We as a nation today have the same principle of being independent but we have more opportunities than Ignatius had during his time.
Santa plays another role that gives the book more interest she is Mrs. Reilly best friend throughout the story. Santa is the main reason that Claude and Mrs. Reilly start dating and later having a real relationship. Santa is the main person who kept talking to Mrs. Reilly about putting Ignatius out on his own. Santa believed that Mrs. Reilly should be happy and should put Ignatius out if he wasn’t helping do anything around the house.
This story is one of the best stories I have read in my whole school year. The characters are extremely funny and have different qualities to bring to make the book more exciting. I recommend this book to people who loves reading.

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Blythe rated it:

05/14/08

Read in March, 2008

recommended to Blythe by: Barwick made me read this for class.
recommends it for: My twin

A Confederacy of Dunces is a crazy book filled with entertainment from the main character, Ignatius Reilly. Plagued by sloth, gluttony and other vices, Mr. Reilly is not your usual leading role, but once stepping into the insane life of the Reilly family hilarious events become more than uncommon. Very well educated Reilly provides endless views of the world most being very extreme and are more or less amusing. The life of Reilly provides endless amounts of comedy for the eager reader. Toole’s...more A Confederacy of Dunces is a crazy book filled with entertainment from the main character, Ignatius Reilly. Plagued by sloth, gluttony and other vices, Mr. Reilly is not your usual leading role, but once stepping into the insane life of the Reilly family hilarious events become more than uncommon. Very well educated Reilly provides endless views of the world most being very extreme and are more or less amusing. The life of Reilly provides endless amounts of comedy for the eager reader. Toole’s characters are created to be enjoyable and laughable with the great use of satire that only completes them.
Set in New Orleans, more than slightly obese Ignatius lives with his aging mother in their small house. Ignatius would rather spend his days watching television or writing down pieces from his mind. Only when forced by his mother after a wreck does Ignatius have to step out into the world to get a job. However, Ignatius out in the world offers many opportunities for him to fall on unsuspecting prey. From distasteful pants to unappealing hotdogs Ignatius moves about in this untamed city setting in motion chaotic and amusing events.
Throughout the book people of an unusual nature go about their unusual lives in the city where everything happens. Jones works at the sleazy Night of Joy working for Lana Lee, the notorious owner of the bar. Mancuso stalks about the city in comical clothes while a young boy looks for places to hide mysterious packages. As fortune would have it Ignatius’ attempts in locating and keeping a job entangles him and the lives of the unconventional people. All the while Ignatius makes a spectacle of himself time and time again.
John Kennedy Toole’s book provides hours of funny, shocking and thought provoking entertainment. Having enjoyed this book I would highly recommend it. This book stands the test of time and once having read it, it is not likely that one would forget it. It turns one man’s faults and failures as well as others into a mesh of outrageous and unavoidable circumstances that can only result in moments of comedy. Everybody should pick up this book and give it a try because once they have read it they are sure to remember it and pass it on.
Toole was born and raised in the city of New Orleans and this above all helps with the setting of his masterpiece. The French Quarter is one example of Toole using firsthand knowledge as he describes what goes on and how this area of New Orleans looks. As Ignatius roams the city of New Orleans looking for a job it is as if readers are standing in the historic city and looking about themselves. The tone offers so much in supporting each character’s personalities. It flows perfectly as each makes their entrance into the complicated world of Ignatius.
From the couch all the way to the backseat of a car the story of Ignatius tells how this educated man personally views the world around him. Believing that a monarch should once again be in power is one of the many ideas that separate him from others. Furthermore, he looks different from all others. Delving into this piece of literature will not let the reader down when they begin learning about the character of Ignatius. This character will only grow as the story progresses and as he tries to do extraordinary things that he believes will win him the glory that he wants.
It is not hard to see why this book was a Pulitzer Prize winner. John Kennedy Toole has certainly created a masterpiece that will be read and shared by millions of people. Craftily webbed together this story is quite remarkable in its careful attention to detail that only helps the reader enjoy moments such as the introduction of characters that were once seen lurking. A Confederacy of Dunces of defiantly worth buying, reading and keeping on your self for the future reads. A book written like this isn’t worth missing with its humorous plot and many interesting characters that one would not normally be exposed to. Such insight is hardly worth missing and the blundering Ignatius will only provide hours of needed entertainment, entertainment that is not found in other books.

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Erich rated it:

(review of isbn 0807126063)

05/08/08

Read in March, 2008

recommended to Erich by: teacher
recommends it for: people

John Kennedy Toole's, “A Confederacy of Dunces” is one of the more creative and well constructed books that I've read for school this past year. The book revolves around a disgusting, self absorbed man by the name of Ignatius who has a knack for causing a disturbance wherever he is. Though the book makes Ignatius the prime character for readers to pay attention to, Toole does an excellent job in incorporating other three dimensional characters in the story. Whether it is Mancuso, Mr. Levy,...more
John Kennedy Toole's, “A Confederacy of Dunces” is one of the more creative and well constructed books that I've read for school this past year. The book revolves around a disgusting, self absorbed man by the name of Ignatius who has a knack for causing a disturbance wherever he is. Though the book makes Ignatius the prime character for readers to pay attention to, Toole does an excellent job in incorporating other three dimensional characters in the story. Whether it is Mancuso, Mr. Levy, or Lana Lee, Toole does a magnificent job in giving each character a part in the story and it his emphasis on character development that makes this book such an awesome novel.

Of course, the book is famous for its satire and Toole does not disappoint when it comes to this genre. Simply by reading the first few chapters, one would think Ignatius is more of the antagonist rather than the protagonist. The irony of how a selfish slob is the protagonist is one of the many hidden features that make the book hilarious to the close reader. But the great thing about the satire is that it almost seems like the book is in its own sub-genre for this category. While reading it, I felt repulsive towards the vulgar and conceited attitude of Ignatius, but when I became used to the personality, Ignatius characteristics just made the comical situations even funnier. Of course Ignatius is not the complete center of the satire. There are many side events from lesser characters that add in their own tint to the experience. One of the most memorable is the crazy things Mancuso has to do to maintain his job as a police officer.

Ignatius being the focus of the story, is a good character to analyze. A few things that the reader will pick up in the first few chapters is that Ignatius is thirty years old, lives with his mom, has a masters degree from college, refuses to get a job, and secludes himself in his room jotting down rants about modern society. All of these traits bombard the reader and gives him a sense of disgust towards the character with a uncertainty towards reading about this character for the entire novel. But what makes the novel great, is that Ignatius grows on the reader and by the end of the novel, one will come fond of him and realize that there is a human being underneath his intimidating mask.

The style and language of the characters is extremely accurate and very well done being that the story is set in New Orleans, the mixing pot of America. All different types of people reside in America and Toole has done a terrific job in taking the personalities of so many different types of people and categorizing them into characters for the story. The most appealing part of the novel's language that leaps out at the reader is Ignatius's diction. The true mastery within his words is that they are not childish nor are they complicated. Anything that comes out of Ignatius mouth sounds well thought-out and comical when applied to certain situations. What adds to the flavoring is how the creativity in his words reflect his attitude towards whatever he is criticizing. (one will eventually assume that whenever Ignatius talks about something, he is criticizing it.) After I read the novel, I knew the book would be an excellent index for insults towards anything or anyone I came across.

The cream of the crop of the story though is how Toole was able to take a handful of characters with different lives and intelligently lead them to each other. It is very entertaining to read and also watch how these radically different characters end up interacting with each other and the comical results of their interactions.

A book like “A Confederacy of Dunces” is rare to find and I'm glad I was given the privilege in reading the story. The novel provides a strong emphasis on humor, but also appeals to many other aspects as Toole is able to create three dimensional characters that accurately represent the backgrounds from which they originated. The book deserves a 10/10 in every category and should go down as one of the best satirical books ever written. ...less

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Macy rated it:

05/08/08

Read in May, 2008

recommended to Macy by: Mr. Barwick
recommends it for: everyone!!!!!!!!

Macy Kitchens
06-09-08
American Novel-4
The Confederacy of Dunces which is written by John Kennedy Toole won the Pulitzer Prize in 1981. Toole did not get to see the reaction of his book because he committed suicide eleven years prior to its publishing. Toole’s mother, Thelma Toole is the one who pushed for this book to be published by bringing the book to the attention of novelist Walker Percy, who got the book printed. The Confederacy of Dunces is told by Ignatius J. Reily, who is a thir...more Macy Kitchens
06-09-08
American Novel-4
The Confederacy of Dunces which is written by John Kennedy Toole won the Pulitzer Prize in 1981. Toole did not get to see the reaction of his book because he committed suicide eleven years prior to its publishing. Toole’s mother, Thelma Toole is the one who pushed for this book to be published by bringing the book to the attention of novelist Walker Percy, who got the book printed. The Confederacy of Dunces is told by Ignatius J. Reily, who is a thirty year old man that still lives with his mother, Mrs. Reily. This book is packed with both adventure and humor.
The Confederacy of Dunces is placed in New Orleans in the 1960’s. It shows how corrupt law enforcement, exotic dancing, the white trash, and the new rich lived in steamy New Orleans. (Sharon Schulz-Elsing) It shows all the different diversities of people in New Orleans so everyone can relate to the characters or knows someone like that particular character. The main character and narrator is Ignatius J. Reily. Ignatius does have a lover named Myrtle but you need to read the book to hear about her. People either love his character for his strangeness and find it to be humorous or hate the character saying that it is disgusting. I personally loved this character and found it to be hilarious.
This book begins with Ignatius being at the French Quarter waiting on his mother when he gets harassed by officer Mancuso. Mancuso picks out Ignatius because of the way he is strangely dressed. An old man Claude Robichaux, is very disturbed by the harassing that is going on and tries to defend Ignatius which only leads to his arrest. In jail Claude meets a black man Jones that has been arrested for a crime that they have no proof of him committing. Both men are released. Jones is released under the circumstances that he must get a job and stay out of trouble or go back to jail. Mancuso gets in trouble for bringing in a poor old grandpa and as punishment he has to wear ridiculous costumes while on duty.
When Mrs. Reily, Ignatius’ mother picks up Ignatius from the French Quarter they go to a bar, The Night of Joy, where they have a few drinks. The Night of Joy has a lot of mischief going on in which you will have to read the book to find out about. After leaving the bar Mrs. Reily wrecks into a pavilion. Mancuso makes a visit to the Reily home to tell them of the cost of the damages Mrs. Reily has done. The damages will cost a thousand and twenty dollars, money in which the Reily does not have. Mrs. Reily forms a friendship with Mancuso and his aunt Santa, they go bowling together. Santa tells Mrs. Reily that Ignatius needs to get a job to help pay for the damages Mrs. Reily made to the pavilion. This is where The Confederacy of Dunces all begins. You will meet some strange characters through Ignatius’ search for a job.
I saw two major themes in this book, one of discrimation of race and another of work ethic in America and how lazy Americans are. We first see discrimination of race when we see Jones being put in jail for a crime that he probably did not commit because they have no proof of him ever committing the crime. We also see this discrimation in the factory of Levy Pants; all the factory workers are black. Another theme is work ethic; we see how lazy Ignatius is, if his mother did not make him get a job he would never have even thought about it. Ignatius would just live off his mother forever.
I recommend this book to everyone. I usually do not like reading but this truly was a great book, I never wanted to put it down. It kept you guessing what was coming next. You need to read this book to find out what new romance occurs. You also need to read this book to find out how it goes with Mancuso wearing all of his strange costumes, and how Ignatius’ jobs go. Will Mrs. Reily be able to pay for the damages? Will Ignatius be reunited with Myrtle? Will Jones stay out of trouble and what ever happened to the grandpa, Claude? Read this book to find out. I loved it, I hope you will also.
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Paige rated it:

05/08/08

Paige Brooks
Great American Novel-4th
May 9, 2008
Book Review

A Confederacy of Dunces is a novel that is considered to be a hilariously entertaining comedy about a man who has relatively good life but often has trouble maintaining a job. Ignatius J. Reilly is a very unsanitary and disturbing man who still lives at home with his mom who is ashamed of him due to the stunts he pulls repeatedly. Honestly I do not believe Ignatius Reilly could keep a job if his life depended on it. Ignatius ha...more Paige Brooks
Great American Novel-4th
May 9, 2008
Book Review

A Confederacy of Dunces is a novel that is considered to be a hilariously entertaining comedy about a man who has relatively good life but often has trouble maintaining a job. Ignatius J. Reilly is a very unsanitary and disturbing man who still lives at home with his mom who is ashamed of him due to the stunts he pulls repeatedly. Honestly I do not believe Ignatius Reilly could keep a job if his life depended on it. Ignatius has an interesting yet disturbing by of doing things in his every day life. This novel covers many topics from corrupt law enforcement, the new rich, and exotic dancing in New Orleans, Louisiana. John Kennedy Toole committed suicide in 1969 and was not able to live to see his book published. If it had not been foe his and her perseverance his book would probably have never made it into the hands of the public. She aggravated a teacher at Loyola who was a well-known author Walker Percy, until he finally agreed to read it. His novel later won a Pulitzer Prize.
The novels main character is Ignatius Reilly, who is a hypochondriac deadbeat who lives with and off his mother whole only source of income is a small welfare check that only comes once a month. They live on a back street in a rundown, seedy part of New Orleans. Ignatius spends the majority of his time closed up in his bedroom writing letter after letter to his ex-girlfriend, Myrna Minkoff, who is sex-crazed. Ignatius’s mother is a mental case that changes how she feels and treats him from one minute to the next. One second she dotes on him as if he is a small child and then the next minute she has only contempt for him.
One afternoon while he waits on his Mother to finish her doctor’s appointment he gets arrested and hauled off to jail. This causes a series of events that is unbelievable. First, to get over the trauma of being arrested he and his mother go to a bar and get unbelievably drunk. They end up running their car into a building. Neither one can afford the expense of the damages done because they have no real income only his mother’s welfare check. This prompts Ignatius to begin a series of jobs and you just cannot believe the jobs that he thinks he can do and he sinks further and further into the underbelly of New Orleans.
A Confederacy of Dunces is a magnificent comedy and Ignatius is a great comic. You never know what he is going to be into from day to day. He reminds you of a soap opera star, you know the ones that you love to hate. You feel sorry for him because of his circumstances but yet you just can’t seem to comprehend just how stupid he really can be and the stupid things that he continues to do throughout the whole book. You do not believe how he treats his mother and the people around him. Ignatius’ mother is the unsung hero of the book. Sometimes she appears to be very cunning in her schemes and plot and then the next thing she does is so incredibly dumb. This novel is very funny and you cannot help but laugh at the characters in all of their escapades.
The main thing that makes this book such a great comedy is that Ignatius is an ideal comic. Toole manages to create a character that is totally disgusting and yet to true comic. He is a very powerful character despite the fact that you do not necessarily like him. That is not something that is easy to do for an author. You are made to laugh even though you really do not think that you should because you are laughing at a person that is very unfortunate and psychotic. We are taught that we are not supposed to make fun of those less fortunate than we are, people with mental disabilities, and people that are overweight but you just cannot seem to help yourself. You just have to laugh at Ignatius in spite of thinking that you should not. Toole also surrounds you with so many aspects of New Orleans to go along with Ignatius. He exposes you to gays, lesbians, crooks and blacks along with many other aspects of the worst side of New Orleans.
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Delbeth rated it:

06/24/07

Read in March, 2007

recommends it for: people who don't suck

Like New Orleans itself, A Confederacy of Dunces never delivers quite what one expects. Familiarity is no guarantee of sameness, even though the words on the pages and the names of the streets technically remain the same. I finished my third re-reading of A Confederacy a few months ago and picked up on even more than I had the first two times. I had recognized the novel upon each reading as a golden tragicomedy; I have even made some half-flippant remarks about it being the very mo...more Like New Orleans itself, A Confederacy of Dunces never delivers quite what one expects. Familiarity is no guarantee of sameness, even though the words on the pages and the names of the streets technically remain the same. I finished my third re-reading of A Confederacy a few months ago and picked up on even more than I had the first two times. I had recognized the novel upon each reading as a golden tragicomedy; I have even made some half-flippant remarks about it being the very model of taste and decency for our times. But I spent a lot of energy trying to relate the New Orleans I knew to the New Orleans Toole's novel depicts before I realized one simple fact: I had never seen the New Orleans Ignatius lives in. Our Working Boy, Santa, Jones, Momma Reilly, and Angelo gallivant about the New Orleans of the early 1960s; even in the months before Katrina and the failure of the federal levees, modern New Orleans scarcely resembled Toole's busy, hustling city. I did not understand why until well after the Army Corps of Engineers' levees broke; in trying to piece together what happened to New Orleans before and after August 29, 2005, the reality of white flight's brutal impact on the city hit me full force in the back.

When New Orleans integrated in the mid-1960s, white folks left the city in droves, not wanting their white children attending integrated schools. Suburbs like Gretna ( http://gretnasucks.com ) and LaPlace began to boom, and tax dollars that had been benefiting New Orleans proper were now paying into lily-white suburban economies. New Orleans took the hit, and hard. The locally owned department store D. H. Holmes, where Ignatius waited for his momma, has been closed for years; Ignatius still waits, but now it's outside the Royal Sonesta Hotel ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I... ). White manufacturers moved their businesses elsewhere, initiating the shift from a goods-and-services economy to one based almost entirely on tourism. And despite knowing this, I've not been back to visit New Orleans since before the federal levees broke. (And yes, it was the failure of the federal levee system that tried to kill New Orleans; the actual hurricane named Katrina did scant damage to the city.) It's a shame that I haven't been back. I love New Orleans and I miss it something terrible. Not as badly as the hundreds of thousands who are still displaced, mind, but missing New Orleans is far from the best feeling I've ever had. I'm worried about seeing firsthand how badly the city suffered, but I need to suck it up and just find some cash and be there. Now that I know what separates the Reilly family's New Orleans from the city I know, I'll look for what parts of the old New Orleans stuck around through the 1960s to survive the levees breaking. The Prytania theater, for one, is still there ( http://www.theprytania.com/ ). It seems like a pretty cool place to blow ten bucks and a couple of hours. So I'm gonna go buy some Ignatius-sanctioned popcorn and spend an afternoon in a theater, pumping tax dollars into New Orleans the way my fellow white people should have been doing post-integration, supporting the city like all U. S. citizens need to do now. I am not kidding myself about my contribution being much, but New Orleans needs money and love. I don't have a lot of scratch, but I have more than enough love....less

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Guy rated it:

01/29/08

Read in November, 2007

Schrijver John Kennedy Toole (1937-1969) kreeg A Confederacy Of Dunces, zijn tweede roman, niet eens aan de straatstenen gesleten. Het droeg bij tot zijn depressie en de alcoholproblemen die uiteindelijk zouden leiden tot zijn zelfmoord. In de jaren zeventig overhandigde zijn moeder het manuscript aan schrijver Walker Percy die er uiteindelijk voor zorgde dat het gepubliceerd werd in 1980. Het ironische is dat het het boek sindsdien voor de wind ging: in 1981 werd het bekroond met de Pulitzer Pr...more Schrijver John Kennedy Toole (1937-1969) kreeg A Confederacy Of Dunces, zijn tweede roman, niet eens aan de straatstenen gesleten. Het droeg bij tot zijn depressie en de alcoholproblemen die uiteindelijk zouden leiden tot zijn zelfmoord. In de jaren zeventig overhandigde zijn moeder het manuscript aan schrijver Walker Percy die er uiteindelijk voor zorgde dat het gepubliceerd werd in 1980. Het ironische is dat het het boek sindsdien voor de wind ging: in 1981 werd het bekroond met de Pulitzer Prize en de voorbije vijfentwintig jaar groeide het uit tot een klassieker in de moderne Amerikaanse- en humoristische literatuur. Zo was het ook het lievelingsboek van komiek Bill Hicks.

Je moet slechts enkele pagina’s van A Confederacy Of Dunces achter de kiezen hebben om te begrijpen waar het boek zijn status aan te danken heeft, hoe het komt dat er een legertje hardcore fans bestaat dat heelder pagina’s uit het hoofd kan citeren, en dat het van alle tijden lijkt te zijn. De vierhonderd pagina’s zijn werkelijk volgestouwd met groteske beschrijvingen, virtuoze dialogen en (vooral) bevlogen gedachtengangen die behoren tot de meest unieke die ik al ben tegengekomen (sorry, klandizie van café Asturias te Geraardsbergen). En toch gebeurde het lezen ervan niet altijd met even veel goesting. Toen Toole het boek ging aanbieden bij uitgeverij Simon & Schuster krijg hij te horen dat het centrale probleem was dat het boek eigenlijk nergens over ging. Eigenlijk klopt dat, omdat de kracht van het boek volledig vervat zit in de onwrikbare stagnatie van zijn hoofdpersonage en weinig om het lijf heeft voor degenen die op zoek zijn naar een goed verhaal (voor schrijver dezes, een reactionaire knakker eerste klas, ook steeds een bonus) of intrigerende thema’s. Al is dat misschien ook een bewijs van de genialiteit van het werk.

Het is niet makkelijk om het boek te omschrijven, maar als er dan toch een poging moet plaatsvinden, dan is het misschien best om het te beschouwen als een moderne kruising tussen Gontsjarovs Oblomov en Don Quichote. Het hele boek wordt gedomineerd door de larger-than-life-persoonlijkheid van Ignatius Reilly, een corpulente selfmade-intellectueel die een probleem heeft met zowat alles en iedereen, geen kans voorbij laat gaan om zijn bij momenten waanzinnige theorieën uit de doeken te doen, in alles een aanleiding vindt tot bombastisch gedeclameerde verontwaardiging, gebrek aan tact uitroept tot een deugd, aanstootgevende beledigingen spuit die zelfs een volbloed komiek zullen doen kwijlen en op z’n eentje ten strijde trekt tegen de wereld. Hij is een betweter, een provocateur, een luiaard, een narcist en een achterbakse vetzak die zich hele dagen vermeit in het schrijven van nutteloze artikels, een expert is in flatulentie, het laten van boeren en het leven van zijn goedbedoelende moeder zuur maakt.

Er gebeurt dus zo goed als niets in het werk (naar verluidt het gevolg van het feit dat Toole zijn roman modelleerde naar zijn favoriete boek, Boethius’ De Consolatione Philosophiae), het draait voor het grootste deel rond de aanvaringen tussen Ignatius en de wereld rondom hem. Er zijn een aantal uitzonderingen (zoals zijn vroegtijdig gefnuikte poging om een arbeidersrevolte op te starten en zijn tot mislukken gedoemde tewerkstelling als hotdogverkoper), maar uiteindelijk blijft het boek vooral een taal- en humorexplosie die in extreme mate gericht is op zijn eigen wereld en vooral die van de hoofdpersoon. Gelukkig zijn er dan nog de sappige taalvariant uit New Orleans, de fulminaties tegen de tegencultuur van de 60s en de originele combinatie van gortigheid en spitsvondigheid die nu nog steeds overrompelend zijn. Een klassieker dus, maar met reserves en best te consumeren, zo vermoed ik althans, in kleine(re) dosissen. Ik ga het ergens rond 2015 nog eens herlezen, denk ik. (***(*))

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Kathleen rated it:

05/21/08

Read in March, 2008

recommended to Kathleen by: chad barwick
recommends it for: Anyone and Everyone!!!!!!

A Confederacy of Dunces is definitely one of the best books that I have ever read. John Kennedy Toole's writing not only held my attention, but he kept me wanting to read more and more. The plot is not only hilarious but it serves a purpose also. The serious undertones of the book highlight stereotypes of Americans in the 1950s. Stereotypes like black Americans, gays, and the "typical" fat and lazy Americans. New Orleans serves as the perfect setting of the story and it allowed...more A Confederacy of Dunces is definitely one of the best books that I have ever read. John Kennedy Toole's writing not only held my attention, but he kept me wanting to read more and more. The plot is not only hilarious but it serves a purpose also. The serious undertones of the book highlight stereotypes of Americans in the 1950s. Stereotypes like black Americans, gays, and the "typical" fat and lazy Americans. New Orleans serves as the perfect setting of the story and it allowed me to imagine the story more clearly in my head because all of the references are real places. The story is timeless and is subjected mainly around the loud and eccentric character of Ignatius J. Reilly.
Ignatius is the center of the plot. He is a fat, lazy middle aged man that still lives with his mother. That might some it up for most people, but Toole draws out his character and through him we see the majority of the plot unfold. Ignatius is loud and obnoxious and he hates the world outside of New Orlean. New Orleans is somewhat of a womb for him and the one time that he did leave he nearly had a heart attack and that memory constantly haunts him wherever he goes. Ignatius rejects society and believes that he does not belong in the nineteen fifties but he would fit in more nicely during medieval times.
Ignatius is described so clearly that I almost felt like I knew him. I will so people walking down the road and be like "There is Ignatius!" It is truly fun to talk about him with others that have read the book and he is like a real person and the subject of many conversations.
There are many other truly interesting characters in the book such as Burma Jones. Jones plays the role of the stereotypical Black American. Jones is a smart talking black man who is the subject of modern slavery. Jones is arrested in the beginning and escapes going to jail by getting a job at a rundown bar called the Night of Joy. He is underpaid but cannot leave because he has no choice. Jones wants to find a way to get out of the Night of Joy and he does as little work as possible to get by.
The character of Jones is developed very clearly also. He reminded me a bit of Chris Rock, or at least that is how I pictured him in my mind. He is a truly funny character character but I could not help but feel sorry for him and his inabilty to escape his being mistreated.
Another sterotype targeted by Toole was the gays. The flamboyant and fabulous Dorian Greene plays that role. Dorian's character is developed throughout the novel and as I read I wondered why anyone would be against the homosexuals. Dorian is also a very funny character that helps the reader to focus on the mistreatment of gays and people altogether.
Many other well-developed characters support the wonderful plot of this story. Mr. and Mrs Levy are an unhappy couple that own the Levy pants factory. They serve the purpose of showing that the typical idea of the American dream is not all it is played out to be. They have money, things, and a family, but neither of them are happy and spend their days making the other miserable.
The American dream is a theme of this novel. Ignatius rejects the idea saying that he would rather live like a black then have to conform to what middle class America is.
The real American dream is not all about money, but it is more about what makes each differnt person happy in their own right mind.
A Confederacy of Dunces is a timeless book and it will continue to be a classic for many years to come. Toole is brilliant in the way he makes such serious subject matter so enjoyable to read. The book is pure genius. This book left me and will leave you laughing on the floor wanting more. I honestly had more fun reading this book then I have any other book. Please read this book!
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Eric rated it:

01/16/08

Read in January, 2008

recommends it for: Anyone who has ever felt like the smartest guy in the room. Thomas Aquinas fans.

Quick, funny, engrossing, but am I the only one who felt the book could use a little "more"? Criticizing Toole seems to anger his fans and be somewhat akin to spitting on his tragically-departed soul, but even without my own Pulitzer I feel I can still point to certain areas and ask, "Whaaa?"

The characters are distinct and entertaining but not necessarily well-developed or understood. At times some just s