Book Review: A Confederacy of Dunces
July 3, 2007 – 10:54 pmSo I’m having some trouble finishing up The Time Traveler’s Wife, it’s still filed under “still reading”. The reason here is not pure laziness, but rather inconvenience. I only got an ebook of this, so the only time I could read this one is when I’m in front of my computer. I would have liked to finish the ebook but I only get to read a couple of pages before I get sleepy. I guess I’m not really used to reading books from a computer screen.
So anyways, I have another book (actually got to read this one thrice) to tell you all about. I got to finish this one fast because it’s actually a real, tangible book I got from a used-book store. This one is pretty old, but when I was browsing the bookstore, I got intrigued by the cover, which was kind of unusual, a very big man in a big flannel shirt and hunting cap, with a parrot on its shoulder. And then, it said in the cover, “A very funny tale…” and then I saw the very big “Pulitzer Prize Winner” text, in which, I didn’t even think twice, I got the book from the shelf and paid for it. Afterall, if I was to waste my time reading something, at least it be classified as a Pulitzer Prize Winner (and then what can actually be bad in a Pulitzer Prize-winning book?).
The first few paragraphs was enough to keep me hooked. I found the story to be quite refreshing. It was not like those thriller books which rely on suspense to keep its audience entralled. This one is actually good-natured and funny, and I start to get curious about what will happen to the main character that I hardly laid down the book.
The story’s protagonist is unlike any other character I have encountered. Ignatius Reilly is fat, obsessive and at times delusional glutton. He was not a sword-fighting rogue pirate, but had rather a very sensitive valve, which closes whenever he is put in an uncomfortable situation. At age 30 (with a masters’s degree) he is still staying at his mother’s house, spending his hours watching tv, movie and writing in his chief tablets. His slothful ways were tolerated by his poor, arthritic mother but an accident had forced Ignatius to work.
There in his work, in search thereof that he has found many adventures. H worded as a filing clerk in a Pant factory, then as a hotdog vendog. And along the way he meets at lot of interesting characters.
The appeal of the story is that although Ignatius is not our typical book hero, we nevertheless want him to succeed. We want his valve to open, we want to be happy, we want him to find the love of his life. And in the end he actually does run off with Myrna, a beatnik Jewish woman he met in college who has very different views than him, though fasinates him.
I do not actually think of the book as “comedy”. Sure it has comedic situations, and the characters are absurd and anti-social enough for them to be put in hilarious situations. Rather I find to be rather poignant. I cannot help but associate Ignatius to it’s author, who committed suicide at the age 32. I feel that there’s a certain sadness that comes through in the story. Deep down inside, despite Ignatius vocal denunciation of society itself, you feel that all he is actually seeking for is love and acceptance.
Book Rating: As I’ve mentioned, I actually read this book 3 times, and I’m not bored of it. It’s currently at my bedside table, ready to be picked up for a 4th reading. I would really, really recommend this one for you to spend some time reading. I would guarantee that you will not regret it.
I give this 10/10 bookworms plus a pillow to cuddle on. 
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