A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole

405 pages Trade Paperback (Fiction)

My wife has suggested I read this book and it has been on my list for quite sometime. It has been on numerous top 100 lists and also won a Pulitzer Prize. I decided to give it a read and over a couple of weeks I did. 

Ignatius J. Reilly is 30 years old and lives with his mother. He dresses in thick clothing, bursting at the seams, and has a green hunters cap to keep himself warm. He is the definition of socially nonfunctional. This seems to be by choice. The rest of the world has it all wrong and despite his obvious intelligence he will not conform to any sort of societal norm. Any issue Ignatius has must surely be the fault of anyone other than himself.

The book follows the misadventures of Ignatius as he attempts to repay debts his mother owes. He is hired working in an office where he files things in the garbage can and eventually starts selling hot dogs on the street, but typically eats more than he ever sells.

A Confederacy of Dunces was a bit of a conundrum for me. Toole's writing is impressive and engaging, but I found the characters to be unlikable. The book is aptly titled. From the crazed mother driven to the brink by her sons insanity, to the pitiful police officer spending his days in a bus stop toilet, to the worthless kid trying to make a little money on the side, to the husband and wife that spend their days trying to make the other person more miserable, all of them were morons. I couldn't make a connection with any of the characters. This made it hard for me to care about any of them or care about the book. The book is advertised as humorous. On the back of the book a quote says, "One of the funniest books ever written..." I just didn't feel this. It was silly. Write a story about a bunch of idiots and put them in silly situations and you'll get a silly book, but for the most part I thought it was kind of sad. It is possible that when the book was written in the 60's the idea of the characters were so outrageous that it came off as funny. I think I have met a version of each of the characters in real life and I saw it as a sad comment on stupid people and less as something so preposterous that it was humorous.

You would think that at this point I could easily dismiss the book, but therein lies the conundrum. Toole is a good writer.and though I actually attempted to give up on the book a couple times, I soon found myself wanting to read it again. I could see where people found it humorous. I can understand why others liked the book, but I have to conclude it just wasn't for me.

2 Intellectual/Emotional - I had hard time getting attached to any character in the book.

3 Style/Readability - Toole's writing is what gives this book any credibility from my point of view. 

4 Long Term Impact - Obviously, I am in the minority when it comes rating this book and I can except that. A Pulitzer prize and being on numerous top 100 books 50 years after having been written means this will continue to be popular as time goes on.

9 out of 13. I have to be honest and say even this feels like too much. I can't recommend this book. If you are looking for comedies that could be compared to this I would suggest something by Tom Robbins or Phillip Roth's early work. Though not necessarily related thematically I would also suggest Terry Pratchett, Bill Bryson or Douglas Adams.

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Soul Music by Terry Pratchett

373 pages (Paperback) Fantasy Fiction

It didn't take me long to get back into a Pratchett book. Pratchett is a very interesting writer and I look forward to reading many of his books in the future.

Imp y Celyn has just arrived in Anhk-Morpork, the largest city set in the center of Disc World. He is a musician, but quickly realizes he doesn't have the funds to pay the guild in order to make music within the city. He soon meets up with a dwarf, Glod, and Lias, a troll. Through some bad luck, Imp's harp is broken. They soon find themselves in a music store that wasn't there the day before, BUT had always been there. Imp finds a guitar that seems to have a life of its own.

In an attempt to raise money so they can join the musicians guild they play music in less than savory places. Their first show a magical thing happens. They start playing a type of music that no one has heard before. Most are in agreement that it is wrong and loud and obnoxious ...and that they can't get enough of it. They soon find themselves touring around the disc and playing music for hundreds of people. The musicians guild is upset about this and sends Mr. Clete and his flunkies after them.

Susan is just an average girl going to your average boarding school. She seems to have the power to not be there. And she sees things others don't. And animals talk to her. One night a raven and a skeletal mouse come to take her on one of those adventures where there are fantastic lands and fairies...or something like that. She soon finds out that her family isn't exactly what she thought it was, and that she has been selected to take her grandfathers job.

3 - Intellectual/Emotional - Pratchett does a great job of taking a story that the reader knows, in this case a bands rise to stardom, and adds his quirky humor and makes it something so much more than your typical story. I really liked the Susan story line and characters there, I didn't care as much for the Band with Rocks In characters. The story itself was very fun though.

4 Style/Readability - Pratchett's writing is great once you get a couple of his books under your belt you are not going to want to stop reading.

4 Long Term Impact - His writing is great. He adds humor to fantasy like no other. I have never read others that I can really compare him too. He deserves long term accolades.

11 out of 13. Now that I have read a number of his books I am a solid Pratchett fan. I wouldn't say this is his best work, but it is certainly a fun read. I suggest starting with Guards! Guards!  or Going Postal, but once you are invested in his world come back to this.

The Walking Dead Compendium by Robert Kirkman

Roughly 1000 pages (Graphic Novel) Fiction

Robert Kickman is the author. The artwork is originally created by Tony Moore. It is then taken over by Charlie Adlard. This compendium covers #1-#48 of the series. It also has a small Holiday special from 2005. I rarely get to watch horror of any sort since my wife refuses to watch anything that could be construed as such. Somehow I started watching the first season of the TV show on Netflix. I was interested, and as soon as the second season came out I watched them all in a few days. I now have been watching them as they come out on TV. I decided to give the comic a try.

The story follows Rick, a police officer, who wakes from a gun shot coma to find the world has been overrun with zombies. He eventually meets a group of people and they attempt to survive in this new life of walking dead. They attempt to find places of safety and typically are run out of a safe haven as soon as they can settle in. They meet other groups of survivors. Sometimes this is good and sometimes this is bad. What I found most interesting is that the book really isn't about blood and gore. That is a part of it at times, but what makes it worth while is the lives of the people involved. The new order that is in place forces people to act in ways they would never have thought about in the past. Survival forces mistrust of others before humanity can take hold.

I imagine most people interested in the comic series may already have seen the show. They are quite a few differences between the comic and the TV series. I won't fill this with spoilers. On the TV show Rick is very likable and you care about him a lot. In the book he is much more driven and angry. There are a number of characters in the book that are not in the show and vice versa. Michonne is very different. In the show she is a hard character that doesn't care about anyone. In the book she seems more "normal". The major plot points seems to happen in both, but there minor differences that make both worthwhile to experience on their own.

A note about the artwork. I come from an artistic background so the artwork in a comic is very important. Tony Moore did a fantastic job with the first "chapter" of the comic. So far as black and white artists goes he was the best I can imagine doing the work. Apparently, he was behind on finishing each month so was replaced by Adlard. To be honest this was a huge disappointment for me. Especially in the first few comics he did I felt the artwork was mediocre to poor. Whereas in Moore's artwork each character stood out and had great shading, Adlard was poorly drawn with blocky shading. I found it hard to tell the difference between some of the men. I am happy that this subsided somewhat as the series went on, but at this point I don't think he has caught up to Moore's work. Thankfully the story is good enough that it didn't keep me from continuing the series.

3 Emotional/Intellectual - What makes this series is the characters and how they deal with the new world. I do think that the show does a slightly better job of this in than the book.

3 Style/Readability - I found myself reading late into the night to find out what happens next. Since things are changed a lot from the TV show it was fresh throughout.

4 Long Term Impact - The Walking Dead has been around about 10 years and it is already a classic. I think it will be the new standard for comparison for anything zombie that follows.

10 out of 13. This mainly depending on taste. It is a horror comic and I think most anyone will know where they stand regarding the subject matter. If you think you'd be ok with a horror comic than I think this is well worth your time. If the subject turns you off. the quality of the book isn't going to change your opinion.

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