A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toolerating: 3 of 5 stars
Honestly, I was disappointed with this book. I had heard great things about this book, but found it to be a meandering mess of could-have-been-comical characters. I do have to admit that the main character of Ignatius was an interesting and familiar character, although not one often seen in fiction, just real life. The story just seemed to wander at times, watering down the humor and leaving this an unsatisfying read. This probably would have been improved if an editor could have forced the author into some heaving trimming and honing.
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5 comments:
Thanks for the warning, but this probably wouldn't have made my reading list. Because I don't have one. I haven't been to the library since we moved.
You and Mickey are the only two people I know who didn't like A Confederacy of Dunces. Personally, I thought it was hilarious. It's a shame the author killed himself before writing anything else.
I think it's just a shame that he died before an editor could get him to get the story under control. Or that he killed himself at all.
And Courtney, I think there was a certain beloved co-worker of yours in your first full-time job after college who was a big fan of this book. He often compared one of the people who came after you to Ignatius.
Finally! I'm glad someone else sees the shortcomings of this book as well. I kept hearing how brilliant it was, but it just never connected for me. I just didn't think the tone was quite right. I know it was supposed to be funny, but I never really laughed.
I think you're right that it could have benefitted from some reworking of the story. As it is, I just feel like people give the book more credit than it deserves just because the author offed himself.
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