• Welcome to BookAndReader!

    We LOVE books and hope you'll join us in sharing your favorites and experiences along with your love of reading with our community. Registering for our site is free and easy, just CLICK HERE!

    Already a member and forgot your password? Click here.

John Kennedy Toole: A Confederacy Of Dunces

YES! He's got the city of New Orleans down pat. Especially the quirky characters. Aside from the story, I enjoyed reading about Holmes on Canal St. (It's no longer there) and the Lucky Dogs peddlers (still around downtown, especially Bourbon St.).
 
Yes, I read it a couple of years ago. I don't think you could find a more quirky character than Ignatius C. Reilly! I also thought Toole's use of accents and slang for his characters was brilliant.

It makes you wonder what his follow-up would have been had he not committed suicide.

Ell
 
I wonder if Ignatius wasn't a sad self image John had of himself...

I agree about the accents. I think Toole uses those as even more evidence that Ignatius "doesn't belong". As he doesn't speak with one.

The constant thoughts about the disastrous bus ride out of town shows me that, while Ignatius doesn't belong at "home" he is unable to leave because of the person he has become.

I hope Mr. Toole didn't feel that trapped and alone, I know I have at times. But Toole's eventual suicide probably shows that he was very alone.

Dunces is, IMO, one of the saddest stories I've ever read. Ignatius is so unlikable, such an abhorrent person...very tragic if it was autobiographical in any way.
 
The accents are very real. There are so many different ones here. I don't know if it's like this everywhere, but you can tell what neighborhood in N.O. you're from by your accent.

I think one thing that worked about the novel is that it could have been set anywhere. New Orleans was just the background. Of course it's a very colorful background.
 
I agree about the accents. I think Toole uses those as even more evidence that Ignatius "doesn't belong". As he doesn't speak with one.
Click to expand...
Yes, and I think Ignatius doesn't belong because he sets himself apart in every way he can. He is a remarkable intellect and he uses that to set himself apart by demeaning those around him as lesser intellects with a "holier-than-thou attitude". He dresses and behaves outrageously, again, to set himself apart from the norm. Whether this is done consciously or whether he just can't help it, is up to interpretation. Regardless, he was an isolated and sad character.
But Toole's eventual suicide probably shows that he was very alone.
Click to expand...
I, too, wonder if this was Toole's way of exploring his own sense of isolation and being different.

Don't know about you, but I found it really hard to read the book without constantly thinking of Ignatius's character in relation to/speculation about Toole's life. eg. his relationship with his mother!
 
Originally posted by Ell
Don't know about you, but I found it really hard to read the book without constantly thinking of Ignatius's character in relation to/speculation about Toole's life. eg. his relationship with his mother!
Click to expand...

I most certainly think that Toole was painting a self portrait of sorts.

Maybe purging himself of how he felt. One of the opening scenes, with Ignatius masturbating while he thinks about his childhood dog, with his mother pounding on the door asking him what's going on...just a terrible image indeed.

His mother, meeting some new people and attempting to delve into some minor social gatherings like bowling and or meeting at the house for drinks etc, is constantly berated with feelings of guilt about her poor son, being alone without her at home. Ignatius could care less, and even tries to sabotage his mother's outings.

Yet, it was Toole's mother who fought to get the book published.

Very, very sad story.
 
It's been 10 years since I read this book. That's why I was hesitant to join in a more in-depth discussion. Since you've put me on the spot :D :D (and you should!!) I'll give it a shot.

I agree about the accents. I think Toole uses those as even more evidence that Ignatius "doesn't belong". As he doesn't speak with one.
Click to expand...

Interesting point. Ignatius has set himself apart from everyone. He acts superior, perhaps to hide his feeling of inferiority?

The constant thoughts about the disastrous bus ride out of town shows me that, while Ignatius doesn't belong at "home" he is unable to leave because of the person he has become.
Click to expand...

He can't escape what he has become. His character shows no remorse, no signs of wanting to change. He has issues he can't face because he doesn't recognize that he HAS issues.

What part does his mother play in his personality deficits? I can't remember if that was explored. I do remember thinking she had her own issues.
 
I have just given up after 112 pages.
I do not find this novel "brilliant", "hilarious" or the least bit interesting. I find it a more annoying read than anything else.
Guess I'm missing the joke. Pulitzer???

moving on...
 
Hannibal,
I have to agree. I finished C of D but just didn't get it. I thought maybe my expectations were just too high because the book was rescued and pushed by Walker Percy.
 
hannibal, I don't blame you for giving up on C of D. It took considerable effort on my part to stick with it - but kind of had to as I'd told a friend I would!

It's certainly not one of my favourites, but after awhile I got curious about the character of Ignacius. How could he be so obnoxious and not know it? What's with his relationship with his mother? And as I mentioned earlier, I was fascinated by Toole's use of accents.

I also wondered about all the superlatives like "brilliant" and "hilarious" and personally, wouldn't use those descriptions, but obviously some people feel it's worthy of those terms. I didn't find it an enjoyable read, but it was interesting in a weird, quirky way.

Ell
 
Confederacy of Dunces

Anyone re-read this book lately? I did - and it held up incredibly well. This is a brilliant book. What a shame he committed suicide. Could have been one of the great writers of his generation.
 
Its on my list of books to read again along with Evermore/midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil /and Dan leno and the Limehouse Golem
cheers :eek:
 
Doubting the Dunce

Although I recognize that I am bucking the mainstream, I have to admit that I do not understand the elements of this book that create so many favorable responses.

What is the author trying to tell us; that fat, eccentric, neurotic personality-disordered individuals are funny? A sociological lession? Political satire?

Much of the dialogue is clever but redundant. It becomes predictable after a few pages. Ignatius is never personalized. Throughout the book he remains a character construct. A hyperbolized combination of responses.

If there is a great humanizing message here, it is inapprehendable by me. Without a redeeming message, the story is too quirky and uninteresting.

A book that is overrated by virtue of too many people propelled by the momentum of a desire to see what has been seen by others.

Having said the above, I would warrant that I do not understand what encourages the average reader to respond positively to a work of fiction. It is can differ greatly from the analytical templates that critics use to estimate the value of a work.

Dunces has an element of irrationality, of insanity that is troubling for those of us who are rewarded by insights into the order and nature of reality. I guess I worked in psychiatric hospitals too long to entertain the notion that universal truths reside within and are revealed through the mentations of the disturbed.
 
Oh goodness, what wonderfully patronizing, fashionably cryptic expressions of ennui. Without dear Bobby, whose perishing with his privates all aflame (a modest blaze no doubt), who will be there to chastize the banal with terse and insolent mockery.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top