Confederacy of Dunces
34 ratings since posting on Thursday, September 2, 2004
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Overall Rating  based on 34 ratings |
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Yes! I'm so glad somebody else said that. I just read The Deportation Officer Handbook and I was thinking about the Confederacy of Dunces humor throughout. Which is really funny to me, because Claiborne Tchoupitoulas' book is technically a thriller, but the hilarity of New Orleans and its characters are on constant display. There are chapters, like the newspaper reporter interview and the pothead being given ridiculous news to report to his boss where I thought, wow, this could have been in a modern Confederacy of Dunces! But unlike Dunces, the humor in The Deportation Officer Handbook ebbs and flows. When Claiborne's not making you laugh, he's either making you cry or making your heart race. Confederacy of Dunces is a classic, while The Deportation Officer Handbook may one day be judged the funniest, and quite possibly the defining New Orleans book of this generation. - Dennis , posted 05/04/10 |
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i loved this book. it's so much fun living in New Orleans and knowing all the places mentioned in the book. another book that's great for New Orleans lovers is The Deportation Officer Handbook. There are scenes in obscure clubs I've been to that don't exist anymore and slices of the city's underbelly. Both fun, funny and amazingly well-written. - ida , posted 05/03/10 |
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well, maybe not the funniest but pretty darn close. its a must read unless you have no sense of humor, or don't really like New Orleans. - chris , posted 07/27/06 |
 I tried and tried with this one, but finally gave it back to its owner. I teach writing and lit. and can often find things to appreciate even in books I don't necessarily like, but it seemed to be a waste of my time with this one. I'm sure I'll go back to it at some point for another try, but right now, it's a 2. - sayzie , posted 07/12/06 |
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Unsu...
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The house the car runs into on St. Peter's? My old house. - Unsubscribed , posted 04/24/06 |
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Unsu...
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I couldn't put it down, or stop laughing. - Unsubscribed , posted 04/20/06 |
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It was funny, but great? The ending - with him acting totally out of character and running off into the sunset - was bad. - My Body is a Temple , posted 04/20/06 |
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I first read Confederacy of Dunces while living in New Orleans in a pay by the week rooming house in the French Quarter called The Rebel Arms. (We called it The Rebel Armpits.) I was reading Tarot cards on Jackson Square and my fellow Armpiteers were Tarot readers, dysfunctional balloon clowns, buggy cart drivers and at least one dominatrix. I felt like I was LIVING the Confederacy of Dunces while I was reading it. Not only does this book epitomize French Quarter New Orleans, it also is one of the tightest plots I've ever read. The book hums along with the most succinct brilliance. I couldn't believe how tight the story was and how laugh out loud funny it was. I have been reading Tarot on Jackson Square since 1992 and I have to say that some of the flavor of the old New Orleans scene that was presented in Confederacy has gone away a bit. I'll be sad to see how much more has vanished in the post-Katrina era of that city. But the book stands as a testament to the spirit of one of the most amazing and wonderfully weird places on Earth. Walk down Canal Street and you can still see a statue of Ignatius P. Reilly. And you can still buy a hotdog from the Lucky Dog vendors. If they've moved back into town, that is... - Shady , posted 01/19/06 |
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I read it twice. A second time while in parks and restaurants in New Orleans so I could go to the described locales and just wallow in the reality of my reading. A shame is that the author committed suicide before its success because he couldn't get it published. His mama showed it to Walker Percy later, it got published and won a Pulitzer. Aint that a bitch and a lessen for trusting yourself with love and patience? I've been waiting for the movie since the 80s. - Watchdog , posted 01/07/06 |
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this is by far my favorite damn book ever, so f'ing funny, i've read it at least a dozen times LOVE THIS BOOK!!!!!!!!!!!! ...it's so awesome to see other people love it too :D - Morgan , posted 11/22/05 |
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Excellent read, enjoyed every minute - The Gypsy Mafia , posted 11/03/05 |
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Loved that book... Freakin' hilarious, etc..... :) (: - nephastiphlius , posted 11/02/05 |
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It was starting to get really good and funny but then I left it at school, which I go to University of new orleans so Im not sure if im gonna get my book back. I give it 4 cause I didnt finish reading it. - Annamarie , posted 10/10/05 |
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Yes indeed. This be one of the funnies' book eva. Now I gots to get movin', else I get in jail for vagran'. :) - Smasharolla , posted 08/23/05 |
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I couldn't put this book down when I had read it, I even found myself asking the ladies "Sugah...how you makin'? - Steve , posted 08/13/05 |
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I wish He had lived to write again. Wow....What a mind to write such craziness. Loved it. - fire , posted 08/06/05 |
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my fav book of all times. Ignacious is my fav anti-hero. - Diane , posted 08/06/05 |
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I don't consider myself an idiot - I have read a fair share of books... but I cannot get through this book! i have picked it up and tried to read it 3 times! it kills me! - Carla , posted 08/02/05 |
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An excellent book and a rich depiction of New Orleans. - Brian , posted 07/12/05 |
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There are few books that I borrow from the library and think I might go out and get, just to loan them out to friends, but this is one of them! The main character is such a terribly off person that some people I know have not wanted to finish it, but I thought it was brilliant and hilarious! - Jenni , posted 06/12/05 |
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I read this book in 1978 and have gone back several times. It is one of our great literary arts. It will be made into a movie someday. - Ct , posted 06/05/05 |
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Absolutely the funniest book I've ever read and one of the very few that I've read more than once! I too am waiting for a movie, though I can't see how one can do it total justice, but I don't think Will Ferrell is the guy to play him. Maybe Akyroyd. Remember his Santa in Trading Places? But I wouldn't want what happened to the other three contenders for the role to happen to him. Yikes! I'm just glad to meet others out there who loved the book - makes me want to read it again. - nativewoman , posted 05/09/05 |
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I absolutely love this book and I think it toally deserved the Pulitzer. However I know people who absolutely can't stand it. It seems to be a hot-cold thing like that. Love it, hate it, love to hate it? - Dan , posted 04/04/05 |
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I can read this book over and over and over again - it's by far the best book I own. I never stop laughing out loud at Ignatious - scary thing is I think I know people like him in real life - Kristina , posted 03/25/05 |
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This book was an affront to taste and decency, and I just had to read it to make sure that I could stay abreast of all tasteless and decent-less (?) ideas. Being a former office manager, I took offense to Iggy's filing system. Being a biology degree holder, I took offense to his use of rubber gloves. Being a gay-sailor-hotdog-vendor . . . wait, I'm none of those things. Being a man who's dated a Minx like Myrna, I took offense that he got into the car. And I loved it. Loved it. Thanks for recommending it, Heather. - Brennan , posted 03/12/05 |
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Unsu...
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I could only make it through half way, thought it was tedious and dull as paste although a couple close friends adored it. - Unsubscribed , posted 02/26/05 |
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Unsu...
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it took me a while to get through it but it was excellent! - Unsubscribed , posted 01/08/05 |
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The character Ignatius J. Reilly, stuffy, pompous, hotdog gobbling, windbag that he is will blow you away with his orations and assertions. He's surrounded by a colorful cast of misfits and outcasts (including his mother) all taking place in New Orleans. - Catherine , posted 09/12/04 |
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I'm a big Walker Percy fan and appreciate the story of how he saved this novel from obscurity. And I do like the central character here, rolling out his little hotdog cart all over New Orleans, selling dogs in as verbose a way as humanly possible. O Fortuna! But it didn't have the sizle for me that a truly great book does. - Wade , posted 09/05/04 |
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Read about how Ignatius J. Reilly, a 30 year old living with his mother, has to finally get a job, and his struggles to survive in an insane world. Ironic note: The writer of this committed suicide before it was published. - Rhonda™ , posted 09/03/04 |
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Ignatius J. Reilly in a grand farce of overeducated white trash, corrupt law enforcement, exotic dancing and the nouveau riche in steamy New Orleans. I recommended this book because it will be made into a movie soon(if Miramax would get off their bee-hinds) and go back into production (see link: www.imdb.com/title/tt0340054/) but on a creepy note, the last three comedians who were chosen to play my beloved "Iggy" have croaked! J.Belushi, J. Candy, and then C.Farley. Will Ferrel is suppose to play him but well see...anyway, get the book, it's hilarious! - Suzen , posted 09/02/04 |
