A Confederacy of Dunces
by John Kennedy Toole · first published 1980
59% recommend37% neutral4% critical
Why HN recommends it
Comic New Orleans novel built around Ignatius Reilly, an odd, pompous antihero who is both exasperating and captivating; praised as very funny, with a sad, interesting backstory about its publication.
Common criticism: Some find the characters awful and unpleasant, so the humor may not land
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
A Confederacy of Dunces is an American comic masterpiece. John Kennedy Toole's hero is one Ignatius J. Reilly, "huge, obese, fractious, fastidious, a latter-day Gargantua, a Don Quixote of the French Quarter. His story bursts with wholly original characters, denizens of New Orleans' lower depths, incredibly true-to-life dialogue, and the zaniest series of high and low comic adventures."
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Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
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I can never decide if Cat's Cradle is the funniest book I've ever read, or Toole's A Confederacy of Dunces. Some days, Dunces wins, but the majority of the time all it takes is remembering ice-nine and it's back to camp Kurt I go.
on “Kurt Vonnegut at 100” ↗Try somewhat off-beat American novels: 1. Lonesome Dove, by Larry McMurty 2. The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, by Carson McCullers 3. A Confederacy of Dunces, by John Kennedy Toole They are great novels, and sadly, are less known than they should be. If you are into movies, there are great ones like "Paris, Texas" by the German director Wim Wenders, or "A…
on “Larry McMurtry has died” ↗It's the only place I've ever read about Boethius, and the first thing that came to mind. I wouldn't be surprised if more people have read A Confederacy of Dunces than anything written by Boethius, translated or not. Not to the detriment of Boethius; Toole's work is just that good.
on “Why read Boethius today?” ↗>upper-esophageal sphincter dysfunction If you've never read a Pulitzer Prize Winner, Confederacy of Dunces would be a personally-relatable disaster (to start with; it's great). >Psychedelics are one of my favorite classes of drug. Your initial description of usage was probably a bit wreckless, but I do maintain…
on “Successful Psilocybin Treatment of Alzheimer” ↗Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
on “Ask HN: Please name two of your most favorite books.” ↗It's quite hard to pick the "greatest", but I recently re-read A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole, and it's still as wonderful as the first time I read it.
on “Ask HN: What is the greatest book you've ever read?” ↗Just finished Confessions of an Economic Hitman by John Perkins. It was quite the eye opener. Now I'm on Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole. Very funny book so far. The main character, Ignatius, is such a piece of work. I was slightly annoyed at first, but he's so odd and unique that it kept me captivated. Now everything…
on “Ask HN: What Books Are You Reading?” ↗…Fiction - The Orphan Master's Son by Adam Johnson Music - Jerry on Jerry (audiobook is a recorded interview of Garcia!) Biography - Benjamin Franklin An American Life by Walter Isaacson Autobiography - A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole All of these are highly recomended!
on “Ask HN: Books you read in 2016?” ↗Not sure if it's the only book I'd recommend if I have to stick to the rules, I think others have already done that for me here but: A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole is very funny but also the back story to how it got published is both sad and interesting. ...and if I can pick a second book: Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintainance by Robert…
on “Ask HN: What is one book you would recommend everyone to read?” ↗…Bluebeard’s Castle Stoppard, Tom - Coast Of Utopia, The Sylvester, David - Interviews With Francis Bacon Thomson, Rupert - Insult, The Thurman, Wallace - Infants Of The Spring Toole, John Kennedy - A Confederacy Of Dunces Waterhouse, Keith - Billy Liar Waters, Sarah - Fingersmith Waugh, Evelyn - Vile Bodies Weschler, Lawrence - Mr. Wilson’s Cabinet of Wonders West, Nathanael - Day Of The Locust, The White, Charles - Life…
on “David Bowie’s Top 100 Books (2013)” ↗A Confederacy of Dunces.
on “Ask HN: Books about people who persevered when no one else believed in them?” ↗The biggest tragedy of A Confederacy of Dunces is that it's author, John Kennedy Toole, did not live to see its publishing and success. I also love this book!
on “Ask HN: What is the best fiction book you've ever read? ” ↗A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole I read it during a stay in a psychiatric facility. I had checked myself in because I felt unsafe towards myself. I couldn't focus reading anything else. I could focus reading this.…
on “Ask HN: What's one book that changed your life?” ↗I read A Confederacy of Dunces every few years. It's a fun book. I also love Earthly Powers by Anthony Burgess. Epic saga beautifully written.
on “Ask HN: Non-sci-fi fiction recommendations?” ↗LOL. I think a lot of people look at something like this and think "I could do this" because, very plainly, they know that they could. I don't think there are a lot of people who read A Confederacy of Dunces or The Cask of Amontillado or The Lottery or The Trial and feel like they could do it, because, very plainly, they realize that they cannot.
on “Writing: A misunderstood activity” ↗