Discussion of the Book for August 2011
Posted by bangkokbookclub on January 9, 2012
BY JIM (RECOMMENDED THE BOOK WAS WASN’T ABLE TO BE WITH US AS HE WAS TRAVELING)
A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole
I first read this book thirty years ago when it was first published. I remembered it as being very amusing in its caricature of some of the fringe elements of New Orleans society in the early 1960s. I also remembered it as a “coming of age” story. Over the years, I have recommended this book to many people, and they have all reported liking it, especially British readers for some reason. Since it is considered a bit of a classic in Southern literature and also appears to be experiencing a revival of interest lately (as evidenced by its presence in the book stores in Bangkok), I recommended it to the book club. I recently re-read the book to refresh my recollection of the story.
Thirty years on, my reaction is a bit different. Yes, it is still amusing, but I must have read a lot since then, as I did not find it as amusing today and I did thirty years ago. On the contrary, the sadness mentioned in the preface, seemed much more palpable to me. There was not much “coming of age” in the story itself, though it does end on a hopeful note with Ignatius and Myrna riding off into the sunset to start a new life in New York. In my recent re-reading, I sensed the truth: that they might never make it to New York, at least not together, or even if they do, Ignatius will die never having grown up, which seems to be what happened to the author.
Though caricatured, the characters in this story are actually quite realistic, even Ignatius. I knew several people in college who were very much like him. One, William A Henry III, became marginally famous for winning the Pulitzer Prize for television criticism. He definitely had the personality and the physique of Ignatius, though he was not a medieval scholar. I knew some others who were, and they believed in the divine right of kings, not a commonly held belief in 1969. And there are so many Myrna Minkoffs in New York, it would be impossible to count them all. New Orleans has always been ground zero for goofballs and misfits of various stripes, so I have no trouble believing the essential truth of the other characters as well.
Viewed as a comedy, it might not seem so funny today, especially after 50 years of television since 1960, but as a story of misfits trying to get from one day to the next, with a few trying to find a better place in the world, it holds up well.
