A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole

Reilly went on to sell over two million copies and won the Pulitzer Prize in 1981, making Toole one of only three writers to win the prize posthumously.Īlmost as much as the book itself, readers were intrigued by the unique journey the novel took to publication, with a flamboyant yet grief-stricken mother dedicating what remained of her life to ensuring her son’s genius was recognized by the world. Eventually, she succeeded, and the New Orleans-set picaresque tale of slovenly philosopher and medievalist Ignatius J.

Over the course of the next decade, Toole’s grieving mother Thelma dedicated her life to ensuring the second of these, “A Confederacy Of Dunces,” found publication. Aged just 31, the literary professor and author left behind two unpublished novels. Reilly is a big fat pretentious idiot, and I love his story to bits.On March 26 1969, on a quiet country road outside Biloxi, Mississippi, John Kennedy Toole took his own life. (I suspect many readers are the same way.) But if you take this book for what it is, you'll find it's a truly unique treat, a boisterous, crackling, impeccably observed slice of New Orleans life. Also, while I think this book is hilarious, I never laughed out loud at it, since that's not something I do with books. I will say that if you're someone who needs a lot of plot, a tight structure, and a conventional set of arcs, this book isn't for you. Every one of them makes me believe that they exist outside of the book, that they have little lies and realities that they putter around in off the page. Characters wander into the book when you least expect it, steal a scene, and wander right out. Toole's prose is so damn sharp, consistently surprising, and god, the menagerie of people he invents - so alive, weird, singular, and charming despite being such obvious caricatures. But there's a lightheartedness here, too, a genuinely joyful delight in unveiling the series of remarkably well-drawn characters and the perpetually entertaining situations they get into.

I always avoided it because I had absorbed the notion that it's a mean-spirited book, a prurient one. This was on my to-read list for years and years.

A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole