| Product: |
Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole |
| Date: |
17/08/02 (613 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: Funny in the beginning , very well-written, a few memorable characters
Disadvantages: Some characters are boring and useless, ending has no real closure
Just a quick history on this book, before I go into details: The author, John Kennedy Toole, wrote this book in the late 1960's. He couldn't get it published, and he ended up committing suicide. His mother found the manuscript and managed to get it published. It went on to win a Pulitzer Prize.
I have passed by this book in the bookstore many times, mainly because by the time I see the book I?m already at my book limit for the day. (That is, the limit of books I allow myself to buy in one trip to the bookstore. If I didn?t set a limit for myself, I?d probably walk out with a towering stack of novels every time!) The other day, however, I finally bought it, because the hardcover edition was on sale for a cheaper price than the paperback. (How often does that happen?)
It took me just a couple of days of sporadic reading to finish this novel. Right away, from the first page I was drawn in. As a matter of fact, the first few chapters are really funny. The main character, Ignatius J. Reilly, is disgusting (always belching), always complaining (nothing is good enough for him), lazy (lolls around in bed all day), yet extremely articulate and eloquent with words. The way he speaks is unbelievably intelligent and funny.
The Story
The book starts with Ignatius waiting around in front of a store for his mother to come out. Patrolman Mancuso spots him and decides he is a suspicious character; however, Ignatius is extremely offended and loud spoken in proclaiming his innocence. His mother comes out and joins the argument, and an innocent bystander named Claude Robichaux (an older man) gets hauled down to the station instead.
To get away from the scene, Ignatius and his mother walk away and end up in a bar. They have a few drinks until the owner, Lana Lee, who declares them not good enough for her bar, rudely throws them out. Ignatius is most indignant, and him and his mother set off in her old Plymouth. They smash into a
parked car and part of a building. This part was really funny because Ignatius is spouting off his usual two cents about the situation. (See below my Character Analysis for more information on this).
Meanwhile down at the precinct, Claude is waiting to talk to the officer. While waiting, he meets an African American man (his name is Jones, but we don?t find that out until later), who is also waiting to be questioned by an deputy. Now this Jones character is completely hilarious. He kept going on and on about how the po-lice (that is how he calls them) are trying to frame him for stealing a bag of cashews. The author of this novel, John Kennedy Toole, does a great and hilarious job in describing the New Orleans accent. I got a good laugh over this scene in the book.
Anyways, Mrs. Reilly ends up having to pay around $1,000 for the damage she caused with her Plymouth. Ignatius is forced to get a job. After a series of unfortunate and fruitless interviews, he finally lands a job at Levy Pants.
Basically, the rest of the novel describes how Ignatius, through several mishaps and misadventures, wreaks havoc at one job after another, sending off fiery letters to his ex-girlfriend, Myrna Minkoff, meets a few wayward friends, and causes those around him to believe he is going crazy.
Character Analysis
Ignatius is a character who is extremely intelligent but is so self-absorbed it is unbelievable. He is always spouting off about how he is going sue the people who he disagrees with (which is basically everyone!). But his dialogue with his mother, and others around him is pretty funny in the beginning. However, I got a bit tired of it as I made my way farther into the book. Ignatius apparently has a lot of health problems, and is always belching and talking about how his ?valve? is closing up. (Believe me, you don?t want to know what valve he is referring to!) The thing that most disappointed me about Ignatius is that I never got
to like him. Usually, in novels, you end up identifying with or liking the main character. However, this did not happen with Ignatius.
My favorite character in this book was Jones, the African American guy who makes his first appearance in the novel at the precinct. He is just so untrusting of people and society, and is always thinking everyone is out to get him. But the way he talks is just totally hilarious! He isn?t articulate like Ignatius, but what he says in the way he says it had me laughing out loud several times. He goes on later to get a job at the bar, just so he won?t get arrested for vagrancy.
The other characters in the book didn?t really tickle me. Patrolman Mancuso is always getting dumped on by his Sergeant; Mrs. Reilly (Ignatius?s mother) seemed to be caring, but at a total loss of what to do with Ignatius. Mr. And Mrs. Levy, the owners of Levy Pants, (where Ignatius gets his first job), make several appearances throughout the novel. They are constantly at odds with each other, which bored me. Then there is Darlene, who is a soon-to-be stripper at the bar, Lana Lee who is obviously doing something illegal (the reader will eventually find out what she is up to later in the book), and an assortment of other odd characters.
Overall thoughts
Overall, I enjoyed the book. The first few chapters, which are very funny, really draw the reader in. The ending was disappointing, though, with no real closure of the characters. But the book itself is well written, in my opinion. John Kennedy Toole, the author, must have been a genius to be able to write this book the way he did. Walker Percy, who describes how he obtained the manuscript from Toole?s mother, wrote the novel?s Forward. Many critics promise ?side-splitting laughter? and ?non-stop adventure?. I only agree about the laughter for the beginning of the book. However, I do recommend this book to everyone ? because of how well written it is, and overall, it has a s
omewhat interesting plot.
Summary:
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Last comment:
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jillmurphy - 17/08/02 Great review! I guess you've done this before! Epinions? Welcome to dooyoo. :) |
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