What would Toole think if he were alive today, now that his novel is given the appreciation it deserves? I think he’d find it “all rather fine,” as Ignatius said once in praise of his own writing. His mother found the manuscript and struggled to get it published. He’s completely unrestrained, and he feels no responsibility for all the havoc he causes. His character works so well because he doesn’t have the inhibitions that seemingly hamper everybody else. My favorite character was Ignatius, obviously. The book was a hilarious joy for me to read. This cast includes Ignatius’s nemesis, the hapless Patrolman Mancuso Jones, the bitter janitor at a seedy dive run by the tyrannical Lana Lee Dorian Greene, Ignatius’s dandyish partner-in-crime and Ignatius’s long suffering mother, Irene Reilly. Instead of falling into the trap of simply using them as foils for Ignatius’s volcanic ravings, Toole gives each of them depth. Ignatius is surrounded by a motley crew of well-drawn supporting characters. This book is considered a great classic in American literature and quite rightly too. He regards pretty much everyone he meets as either a tool to use in pursuit of what he wants or as a terrible enemy. With John Kennedy Toole’s A Confederacy of Dunces, I feel that the author has already made it easy for the scriptwriters to produce what could be one of the best comedies of our time. The book’s title is inspired by a quote from Jonathan Swift: “When a true genius appears in the world, you may know him by this sign, that the dunces are all in confederacy against him.” This pretty much sums up our hero’s perception of those who don’t share his dynamic worldview.
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