Helpful Score: 18
One of the funniest, most inventive, outrageous, creative books I've ever read. This novel has the unique distinction of having a character that is despicable and loveable at the same time. If you don't believe that's possible, read this book and you'll know what I mean.
Now everytime I want to get out of doing work, I jokingly complain about a "valve" in my heart. But only a character as visionary and charismatic as Ignatius could actually pull that one off.
Now everytime I want to get out of doing work, I jokingly complain about a "valve" in my heart. But only a character as visionary and charismatic as Ignatius could actually pull that one off.
Helpful Score: 10
An outlandish, hilarious novel made more bittersweet knowing the author committed suicide. After his death, his mother found this ms. and Toole's one and only gift to the world was published.
Set in New Orleans, our unlikely hero is an overweight, spoiled brat, living at home with mom - in his 30s. He imagines himself superior to everyone in the known universe, therefore, cannot besmirch his integrity by getting a mere job. He spends his days eating and thinking and eating until his mother gets fed up. "Get a job!"
He travels through a cosmos of vivid characters, garish drag queens, and hot dog vendors, in a bumbling and half-hearted job search.
This book is damned funny. Every time I read it, I laugh out loud. And I grieve that a such a gifted writer was filled with so much sorrow that before he found acclaim, his sadness spilled over.
You won't find this book on my shelf. Im'a keepin' it and gonna read it again.
Set in New Orleans, our unlikely hero is an overweight, spoiled brat, living at home with mom - in his 30s. He imagines himself superior to everyone in the known universe, therefore, cannot besmirch his integrity by getting a mere job. He spends his days eating and thinking and eating until his mother gets fed up. "Get a job!"
He travels through a cosmos of vivid characters, garish drag queens, and hot dog vendors, in a bumbling and half-hearted job search.
This book is damned funny. Every time I read it, I laugh out loud. And I grieve that a such a gifted writer was filled with so much sorrow that before he found acclaim, his sadness spilled over.
You won't find this book on my shelf. Im'a keepin' it and gonna read it again.
Helpful Score: 9
I read and re-read this book every few months and I always discover somthing new to laugh about. The most wonderfully eccentric characters I have ever come across. It pains me that the author took his own life and has deprived us of more of his brilliant work.
Helpful Score: 9
This wildly inventive and amusing novel features one of the most unforgettable characters in modern fiction: Ignatius Reilly. He's a mammoth misfit Medievalist hilariously at odds with the world of the twentieth century, and his adventures take him to 'way down, to New Orleans' lower depths.
Helpful Score: 4
The only criterion I can think of that would let this book qualify for a Pulitzer is "so obscurely written that it must be good" This is an Emperor's New Clothes kind of book. There's nothing good it in, it's hard to read, and it doesn't seem to have a point. The main character is disgusting, lazy, and pathetic (and not in a good way!) There are very few books I don't enjoy, but this is one of the worst I've ever read. The only thing I liked was the clever turn of phrase for the title.
