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A Confederacy of Dunces: Popular Penguins

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( 293,563 ratings, 20,723 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole is a comedic novel set in New Orleans, following the misadventures of an eccentric and self-proclaimed intellectual named Ignatius J. Reilly. As he grapples with various jobs, his colourful actions cause chaos and intertwine with the lives of other lively characters in the city. This satirical tale explores themes of folly, individuality, and societal absurdities.
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Format: Paperback / softback
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

You might enjoy this book if you appreciate satirical comedy and eccentric characters. The story follows the misadventures of the unforgettable protagonist, Ignatius J. Reilly, whose outrageous antics bring New Orleans to life in vivid detail. This classic tale is perfect for those who relish a clever mix of humour and social commentary.

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Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

Meet Ignatius J. Reilly—flatulent, eloquent, and pretty much unemployable. The ordinary folk of New Orleans seem to think he is unhinged as well.

Ignatius ignores them as he heaves his vast bulk through the city's fleshpots in a noble crusade against vice, modernity, and ignorance. But his momma has a nasty surprise in store for him. Ignatius must get a job.

Undaunted, he uses his newfound employment to further his mission—and now he has a pirate costume and a hot-dog cart to do it with.

A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole is a unique and humorous tale of one man's adventure through the vibrant streets of New Orleans.

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole is celebrated for its humour and unique character, Ignatius J. Reilly, who is often described as comically absurd yet endearingly unforgettable. Its vivid depiction of New Orleans, interwoven with sharp social satire, is praised for capturing the city's eccentricities. While some readers adore the book's distinctive narrative style, others find its protagonist's antics divisive. The work has built a strong reputation for its wit and originality in general fiction.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780141045641

Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 29 June 2009

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Penguin Books Ltd

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 35.0mm

Width: 111.0mm

Height: 179.0mm

Weight: 252g

Pages: 444

About the Author

John Kennedy Toole was born in New Orleans in 1937. He received a master's degree in English from Columbia University and taught at Hunter College and at the University of Southwestern Louisiana. He wrote A Confederacy of Dunces in the early sixties and tried unsuccessfully to get the novel published; depressed, at least in part by his failure to place the book, he committed suicide in 1969. It was only through the tenacity of his mother that her son's book was eventually published and found the audience it deserved. His long-suppressed novel The Neon Bible, written when he was only sixteen, was eventually published as well. A Confederacy of Dunces won the 1981 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.

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  • A Confederacy of Dunces
    The ordinary folk of New Orleans seem to think he is unhinged as well. Ignatius ignores them as he heaves his vast bulk through the city's fleshpots in a noble crusade against vice, modernity, and ignorance. But his momma has a nasty surprise in store for him. Ignatius must get a job. Undaunted, he uses his newfound employment to further...
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  • A Confederacy of Dunces
    Meet Ignatius J. Reilly—fat, flatulent, eloquent and almost unemployable. 'This city is famous for its gamblers, prostitutes, exhibitionists, anti-Christs, alcoholics, sodomites, drug addicts, fetishists, onanists, pornographers, frauds, jades, litterbugs, and lesbians... don't make the mistake of bothering me.' Ignatius J. Reilly—fat, flatulent, eloquent and almost unemployable. By the standards of ordinary folk, he is pretty much unhinged, too. But is...
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  • A Confederacy of Dunces
    A stunning clothbound edition of John Kennedy Toole's savagely funny, satirical masterpiece. A monument to sloth, rant, and contempt, a behemoth of fat, flatulence, and furious suspicion of anything modern—this is Ignatius J. Reilly of New Orleans, noble crusader against a world of dunces. The ordinary folk of New Orleans seem to think he is unhinged as well. Ignatius ignores...
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  • A Confederacy of Dunces (35th Anniversary Edition)
    After more than three decades, the peerless wit and indulgent absurdity of A Confederacy of Dunces continues to attract new readers. Though the manuscript was rejected by many publishers during Toole's lifetime, his mother successfully published the book years after her son's suicide, and it won the 1981 Pulitzer Prize for fiction. This literary underdog and comic masterpiece has sold...
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  • The Neon Bible
    John Kennedy Toole wrote The Neon Bible for a literary contest at the age of sixteen. The manuscript was finally published twenty years after Toole's death. The Neon Bible opens with the narrator, a young man named David, on a train, leaving the small Southern town he's grown up in for the first time. What unspools is the tender and...
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