Book notes | A Confederacy of Dunces
The book's title refers to an epigram from “Thoughts on Various Subjects, Moral and Diverting,” an essay by Jonathan Swift: “When a true genius appears in the world, you may know him by this sign, that the dunces are all in confederacy against him.”
The central character in the book is the celebrated Ignatius J. Reilly—an educated, slothful, boastful, bullying, selfish, narcissistic, articulate, medievalist scholar.
For some Fourth Friday Book Club October 2021 meeting attendees, the telling of Ignatius was hilarious, a uniquely laugh-out-loud experience. For others, it was a different reading. Whatever the book's virtues, one could be blindsided by the central character, fully capable of offensive behavior and language in reference to Negroes, Liberals, Upper West Side New York women, and child actors (they ought to be gassed).
A Confederacy of Dunces manages comedy, farce, satire, a core of vulgarity, and misogynism. And, as if that were not enough, Ignatius is portrayed as smelly in body, smelly in filthy bedclothes, and with a unique smelliness associated with flatulence.
Rich and profound
Ignatius is at his most articulate as a serious scholar of the medieval period, albeit misguided in his many pronouncements of the period. The central premise is that human society peaked around the 14th century. Ignatius is in revolt of the post 14th-entury era. In pursuit of that revolt, he is a virtuoso in screwball language, screwball antics, and screwball episodes. The language is rich; the forays into social, historical, political, and economic premises are profound.
The Confederacy of Dunces is light on plot. In fact, the book was initially rejected by every book editor of good reputation. (The fatal criticism could be that the book was not about anything!) This was in the 60s, when Philip Roth, John Updike, and William Styron were successfully writing a lot that was appropriate to the motifs of the period.
Finally published in 1980, nearly 11 years after Toole's suicide at the age of 31, A Confederacy of Dunces was awarded a posthumous Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1981. Acclaimed as a literary masterpiece, for those with contemporary 2021 sensibilities the book is a canonical work of modern literature, best understood as a period piece.
—Dorothy Marden, Fourth Friday Book Club
Book Club II to meet October 22
Fri, Oct 22 2021, 2pm
The Fourth Friday Book Club selection for its meeting at 2 p.m. on Friday, October 22, is A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole.
New members are welcome!
Please contact Dorothy Marden or Margaret Catambay to learn more.
Upcoming Events
We are fortunate to have UMRA member and former Minnesota Landscape Arboretum director Peter Moe to lead this approximately 3.7-mile hike at the Arboretum on Monday, May 6. Plan to have lunch together after the hike at the Eatery café inside the Oswald Visitor Center.
This session will continue the discussion begun in the May 8, 2023 session. See that article for details.
If you currently live in your own home or apartment, have you looked ahead to when you might want to consider a senior living option? Do you have any idea what those options might be? How much they cost? What they provide? UMRA’s May 14 workshop will provide an overview of the world of senior living and the basic information you need.
You’re invited to join the final Family History Interest Group meeting for 2023–24. This will be an opportunity to ask questions related to family history, share insights, talk about recent projects, and suggest topics for next year.
Stephanie Daily will lead the discussion of Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law by best-selling author Mary Roach when the UMRA Book Club meets via Zoom at 2 p.m. on Friday, May 17.
The May 20 hike will start at the Historic Lift Bridge in Stillwater and go along the river to the new bridge, cross over and then back on the Wisconsin side, a total of approximately 5 miles. Most of the route is paved. We will eat lunch after at Brian's Bar and Grill in Stillwater. Car pooling will be available.
Climatologist and meteorologist Mark Seeley joined the U of M faculty in 1978 and has been a weekly commentator on Minnesota Public Radio since 1992. We are honored to welcome him as our guest speaker for UMRA’s May Luncheon Forum and 2024 Annual Meeting. He is always entertaining and informative.
UMRA’s Fourth Friday Book Club welcomes back, for the second time, author Julie Schumacher, U of M Regents professor of creative writing and English, for a conversation about her novel The Shakespeare Requirement.
We are in for a treat on June 3! Lynn Anderson, will lead us on trails at two parks near her Monticello home. Bring a bag lunch and we will gather in Lynn's yard along the Mississippi River for eating and socializing after the hike.
Get out to the ballpark with fellow UMRA members for the annual U of M Day at Target Field as the Minnesota Twins take on the Oakland Athletics on June 14 at 7:10 p.m.
Please join us at 9:30 on June 17, 2024 for a walk around Lake Como in St. Paul before attending the UMRA Summer Social and Picnic starting at 11 at the Como Pavilion. A perfect opportunity to get in a walk before we gather to celebrate summer.
Picnic under the covered, open-air Como pavilion, gaze at the water, spy some birds, catch up with friends and former colleagues, and meet new members. We’ll have lunch with plenty of time for visiting and then compete in teams as we are challenged by our Quiz master(s)!
Healthy aging, mindfulness, fighting ageism, and more will be the focus of the third annual Age-Friendly University Day to be held on the U of M Twin Cities campus.