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A Confederacy of Dunces

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A Confederacy of Dunces

By: John Kennedy Toole
Narrated by: Reginald D. Hunter
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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

One of the BBC's '100 Novels That Shaped Our World'

A monument to sloth, rant and contempt, a behemoth of fat, flatulence and furious suspicion of anything modern—this is Ignatius J. Reilly of New Orleans, noble crusader against a world of dunces. The ordinary folk of New Orleans seem to think he is unhinged. Ignatius ignores them, heaving his vast bulk through the city's fleshpots in a noble crusade against vice, modernity and ignorance. But his momma has a nasty surprise in store for him: Ignatius must get a job. Undaunted, he uses his new-found employment to further his mission—and now he has a pirate costume and a hot-dog cart to do it with....

Never published during his lifetime, John Kennedy Toole's hilarious satire A Confederacy of Dunces is a Don Quixote for the modern age, now brought to life by the comedy legend, Reginald D. Hunter.

©2000 John Kennedy Toole (P)2021 Penguin Audio Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Literature & Fiction Satire Comedy Witty Funny New Orleans Crusade

Critic Reviews

"My favourite book of all time...it stays with you long after you have read it—for your whole life, in fact." (Billy Connolly)

"A pungent work of slapstick, satire and intellectual incongruities...it is nothing less than a grand comic fugue." (The New York Times)
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Wasn’t sure what to expect but I was hooked from the beginning. Wait fully read.

Loved it

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Narrator excellent.
Descriptive colour in the writing as the characters engage in various scenarios is I think without peer.
1960s setting should be noted.

One of a kind.

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One of my favourite books of all time. Weird, funny, a bit out there in sections. And very good.

Love it.

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The narrator was fantastic and brought to life the characters and setting. Highly recommended.

A rollicking ride, both tragic and laugh out loud funny.

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I read this book many years ago and had forgotten much of it. It’s not as hilarious as I remembered but much more interesting in its portrayal of several flawed characters. Hunter brings the characters and New Orleans alive. The criticism of his narration in other reviews is unfounded. It doesn’t take long to pick up on his speech patterns and cadence, after which it’s a very enjoyable experience.

Wonderful reading of a fascinating book

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