The Confederacy Conspiracy

I'm not usually one for pointing to other articles in my blog, but I found this one particularly interesting. It's about the (so-far) fruitless quest to bring John Kennedy Toole's book 'A Confederacy of Dunces' to the big screen. It's been a long and torturous process, all the more interesting given that the book itself had a long, torturous path to the Pulitzer Prize. Toole, who committed suicide before the book was published, might have remained a forgotten, unpublished author if not for the perseverance of Toole's mother, who pushed and begged and did everything she could to get the book out there. Evan that tenacity may not be enough to get the film made - leading men have died, the city where the film is set - New Orleans - was irrevocably changed by Hurricane Katrina - challenges are everywhere.

Ironically, the saga of the book and the film may be more engaging than the book itself. The book has some passionate fans; many claim it is a work of comic genius. That, for me, is a bit much. I'm not sure I've ever read a book with such a relentlessly unpleasant, unlikable lead character. I mean, Holden Caulfield can be a tool and Humbert Humbert is absolutely a sick pervert, but Ignatius Reilly can be deeply irritating and unsympathetic is way neither of them can match. Yet the book is worth a read for the supporting characters and the absurdly amusing plot. Give it whirl, because at this rate, you may never get to see the movie.