A Confederacy of Dunces

Ignatius J. Reilly - bumbling buffoon or revolutionary thinker? Almost certainly the former, though I suspect inside his head lurks a fantasy world revolving around the latter. At times I thought A Confederacy of Dunces resembled a treatise on mental illness - narcissism, delusions of grandeur, paranoia - possible schizophrenia - then I remembered the book is supposed to be a comedy. The tragedy of Ignatius J. Reilly is that, much like his valve, the tragic comedy that is his life is portrayed as (or by?) an increasingly ambiguous and wavering mirage that may or may not exist.

Toole's representation of New Orleans mirrors the turbulence in Reilly's mind as much as it does the events which unfold around the wily antagonist. Everywhere Reilly goes, calamity seems to follow. However, as the noose slowly tightens, our anti-hero refuses to acquiesce, instead opting to double-down again and again.

My only issue with the book is the ending. I felt frustrated that Reilly managed to escape what he sorely deserved, however I was left with the impression that he was not going to get far - satisfaction denied but not forever.