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A Confederacy of Dunces

‘Probably my favourite book of all time’ Billy Connolly
By John Kennedy Toole
Series: Penguin Essentials
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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. It follows the misadventures of Ignatius J. Reilly, a lazy and eccentric intellectual, as he navigates a series of humorous and absurd situations. The novel explores themes of social critique and personal folly, featuring a cast of quirky characters.
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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?

This book may appeal to you if you enjoy humour and satire with richly drawn, quirky characters and an unconventional protagonist. It offers a vivid portrayal of New Orleans' vibrant culture and captures the essence of human folly through its comically absurd situations. If you appreciate a mix of irreverence and wit in a story that criticises societal norms, this might be a perfect choice for you.

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Ignatius J Reilly is fat, flatulent, eloquent and almost unemployable. By the standards of ordinary folk he is pretty much unhinged, too. But is he bothered by this? No. For this misanthropic crusader against an America fallen into vice and ignorance has a mission: to rescue a naked female philosopher in distress.

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—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 he bothered by this? No.

For this misanthropic crusader against an America fallen into vice and ignorance has a mission—to rescue a naked female philosopher in distress. And he has a pirate costume and hot-dog cart to do it with...

A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole.

Series: Penguin Essentials

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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?

John Kennedy Toole's A Confederacy of Dunces is widely praised as a masterwork of comedy, with critics highlighting its ability to delight readers and provoke laughter. The New York Times describes a sense of being both stunned and seduced by its pages, while Anthony Burgess commends it as a book filled with quotable moments. Rolling Stone notes the unanimous admiration it has received from reviewers.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780241951590

Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 07 April 2011

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Penguin Books Ltd

Contributors:

  • Foreword by Walker Percy

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 25.0mm

Width: 112.0mm

Height: 180.0mm

Weight: 227g

Pages: 416

Collections

Fiction General Fiction Humour John Kennedy Toole Literary Fiction Penguin Books Series: Penguin Essentials

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 went on to win the 1981 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. His long-suppressed novel The Neon Bible, written when he was only sixteen, has also been published.

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  • A Confederacy of Dunces
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