A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole

Hate. Death. Fire.

I cannot even fathom the words needed to describe the detestation I felt for this book. And, to be completely fair and honest, I must admit, I did not finish the novel. I did, however, come very close; close enough for me to feel comfortable sharing my opinion of the book. I had high hopes for this novel as it was recommended to me by the same person who encouraged me to read I Am a Genius of Unspeakable Evil and I Want to be Your Class President. I thought I could trust him, but he has betrayed me. Now, any time he recommends a band, a television program, a breath mint… I am forever going to be plagued with the memory of A Confederacy of Dunces and I will be forced into smiling politely while I shift my feet, hoping he doesn’t realize that I will not be taking his advice.

Ignatius J. Reilly is the “hero” of this story, if he can really be lumped in with Atticus or a Greek god. He is lazy, deceitful, disgusting, abhorrent, and any other repugnant adjective in the English language. Much of the book consists of his inability to relate to society and his refusal to comply with authority, topped with some absolutely unnecessary scenes such as a particularly descriptive masturbation scene in the first 50 pages of the book. (Caveat: While I am not a fan of scenes relating to sex, I understand the literary importance of them and will not judge a book unfairly by their appearance. The Ice Storm, for example, would not be as striking and representative of the 1970s if the sexual encounters were removed. The Lovely Bones, on the other hand, would have flourished without the protagonists’ reincarnated, underage romp. I must stress the total and complete lack of necessity this scene and others played in this novel.)

How The Confederacy of Dunces won a Pulitzer Prize is beyond my ability to comprehend. Don’t read this book. And if you had a different experience with this novel, please comment.

-Harper

I am a Genius of Unspeakable Evil and I Want to be Your Class President - Josh Lieb

Another recommendation, this one from a co-worker with great comedic taste. I am a Genius of Unspeakable Evil and I Want to be Your Class President is written by Josh Lieb, one of the writers for The Daily Show featuring Jon Stewart. I was immediately enticed to purchase the novel based on that fact alone, but when I visited my favorite little bookstore (Barnes and Noble… who are we kidding?! Small book stores just don’t exist anymore. See You’ve Got Mail), I was perplexed by finding the novel hidden in the secluded children’s alcove of the store. Maybe it was presumptuous of me, but I was pretty sure anything written by someone who also writes for The Daily Show would portray a similar writing style and content as Jon Stewart, and honestly, naked Supreme Court Justices don’t belong in the children’s section of any store. Forgiving Barnes and Noble for their loss of sanity in placing this book in their partitioned, hazy yellow section, I purchased the book and toted it home.

We read the book on a road trip (we being me and the other three family members riding in the car). I can’t remember the last time I laughed out loud so much from a book. I was relieved to be confined to a vehicle of people who HAVE to love me regardless of how ridiculous I looked, and not sitting on a patio outside some coffee/donut/burrito hut where people on the streets could assume I was a few crayons short of a crayon box.

Oliver Watson is a completely useless seventh grade boy who is stupid, lazy, and… a genius. While those in his family and at his school see him as a pathetic worm, he has secretly created a multitude of lucrative empires using a recovering alcoholic as his image. Oliver is the third richest person in the world but, regardless of his millions of dollars and faithful servants, he wants to be class president of his Omaha middle school. Stemming primarily from his desire to gain his father’s approval, Oliver will do anything to win the class presidency, even going so far as to start a war in Africa over a Star Wars action figure.

This novel was a light read. It was funny, entertaining, and made me want to read more after each pit stop. I find this book perfectly acceptable for young kids, although I would say junior high and up would benefit most from the humor. I loved it and I can’t wait to see what else Josh Lieb has in store for us in the future.

-Harper