A Confederacy of Dunces

There is a great brouhaha around the reviews of this book. Either people hate it or love it. And that is expected of all literature.
Yet, I think while everyone has extreme opinions of this book, we are still playing into its plot. Those who hate it either do not understand what type of character Ignatius is, or do not want to recognize they have a bit of Ignatius in them. The critic, the revolting, the never satisfied. With the pompous critical opinion to not like a Pulitzer prize book (even if, and I have to agree, maybe it is not a Pulitzer worthy book) that is adored by a generation with its slapstick, and satirical humour.
The prize might not even matter at all, I for sure do not care if a book got a prize or if the author got a Nobel Prize. Those who love the book do not, sometimes, understand that it is not just Ignatius the horrible character, he is surrounded by characters, and horrible ones, all of them with their wrapped ambitions, and their will to survive in such a city where immoral, religion, slavery history and industrialism meets.
In my sincere opinion, Confederacy of Dunces is a book that showcased a future literary career for its author, unfortunately his mental health led him to suicide.



P.S. To those who comment John Kennedy Toole's suicide as a laughable and part of a stock of authors who took their life due to their unrecognition, do understand that mental health is not as simple as failing to be an author. As failed authors who have good supporting families tend to live and reconcile themselves with their failure. It is important to understand that for John Kennedy Toole his failed novel also represented failing to his tyrannical mom who constantly remarked his father as a failure, as someone who threw away their prospective future. Thelma Toole is probably a crucial part to understand John's suicide. But for that, I would recommend the various biographies of the author.