By: Jack Hindon

Set in New Orleans back in the ’60’s, A Confederacy of Dunces is, next to Mark Twain, possibly one of the greatest pieces of Southern literature of all time. When I was first introduced to the book all I was told was that the author, John Kennedy Toole, killed himself after the original manuscript was rejected by countless publishers and that he wrote a bildungsroman when he was sixteen called The Neon Bible—which is just a great title, I believe. 11 years after his death, Toole’s mother eventually found Walker Percy (another great Southern author you should check out) to pick up the book, and he instantly liked it. “A page turner,” Percy described in the foreword of the book. And when it was finally published in 1980 for the first time it became an instant cult classic. While it’s tragic that the author died over the depression he felt after being rejected, we should be grateful that he provided the world with A Confederacy of Dunces. A writer with immense talent, it is undeniable that Toole should be considered the Van Gogh of literature.

Ignatius J. Reilly is the name of the protagonist in the picaresque novel, and throughout the book Toole plays with the idea that Ignatius (somewhat of a semi-autobiographical character) could be a natural fool—as opposed to an artificial fool. Reminiscent of Don Quixote, Ignatius is of the old school, like the medieval old school. A prolific scholar of medieval culture and literature, he quotes Aquinas and Boethius, while disclaiming pop culture as evil and mind-numbing. In every sense of the word, he is an anachronism, no doubt about it. But it’s humorous. It’s quite evident right off the bat that Toole intended for the book to be considered a satire, and Ignatius exemplifies the art of satire in its fullest. A figure of excess, refinement, and a bit of the ridiculous, Ignatius is sure to bewilder and bemuse.

Myrna Minkoff, of ‘that minx’ as Ignatius constantly describes her, is the love interest. A Jewish Beatnik that moved from New Orleans to New York for school, she’s full of pop-psychology and progressive ideas about how Ignatius, her old flame, should lead his life. While their relationship is expanded throughout the novel, it’s not surprising to hear that Myrna and Ignatius used to terrorize their undergrad professors and peers at Tulane University, lording over what appears to be a false sense of intelligent entitlement. Two people that think themselves of some exclusive coterie of intelligentsia, it’s quite evident that despite their letters back-and-forth, squabbling about trivialities about each others’ character flaws (which there are many), they were meant to be together. The old adage, there’s at least one person out there for everyone seems to apply directly to Myrna and Ignatius’ relationship—for there is no one else out there for them. But it works for them. It’s brilliant and hilarious, their incessant attacks on one another.

While the plot surrounds the relationship of the two, A Confederacy of Dunces is certainly no love story—or at least not entirely. It’s a social commentary as well, in the same caliber as Machiavelli’s The Mandrake and Euripides and Sophocles. Toole certainly knew his medieval and Renaissance studies, but there are hints of classical/ancient tones as well. And he makes use of the meta-textual moments, the artificial fool making commentary about society, and the malcontent figure passing judgment on everyone while ignoring his own very ostensible flaws. It combines both modern and classical tones to make something truly magnificent and worth every penny.

There are too many characters to list out, but Toole gives each of them a wonderful and personable story, really making them come right out of the pages. From Burma Jones, the janitor to the local strip joint who’s still a product of the Jim Crow era, to Darlene, the lovable, not-too-bright barmaid and aspiring stripper who wants to do an exotic routine with her cockatoo on stage, to Gus Levy, the owner of Levy Pants who has seen his best days and is just waiting to pass into the next world. Every page makes you wonder who you’re going to meet next, what they’re going to be like, and how similar are they going to be to people you know (because there’s going to be at least one).

Full of slapstick and  the tongue-in-cheek routine, A Confederacy of Dunces is one of those books that will make you wonder why it wasn’t picked up sooner.