The funniest
book you'll ever read! A novel that would be legendary even if its author hadn't committed suicide, sending his mother on a crusade to her son's masterpiece published posthumously.
Ignatius J. Reilly is the most
unforgettable character in recent American literature, and you might even conclude that he's the most unforgettable character in American literature history. Bloated beyond all reason both physically and egoistically, Ignatius has withdrawn from the modern world, in this case 1950s/early 1960s New Orleans. A college graduate with a worldview centered around the medieval writings of Boethius, Ignatius looks out a
world gone wrong since the Renaissance. Both disgusted by what he sees and irresistibly attracted to it, Ignatius stands an exemplar of the conservative self-designated moral compass with feet of clay currently running America today. Fortunately, Ignatius has deeper levels and is much funnier.
Starting with his near-arrest in front of DH Holmes department store while wearing his hunting cap with the earflaps, Ignatius engages in a series of events that are both somehow hysterically funny and genuinely sad at the same time. After his mother--with whom he still lives--pushes him out into the working world for the first time following a drunken ride resulting in the crashing of their car, Ignatius takes it upon himself to educate and better the world.
His first job is in the offices of Levy Pants and it's not long before Ignatius is leading the black workers in revolt against their overseer, Mr. Gonzalez. Along the way, Ignatius keeps his Journal of a Working Boy, detailing his version of events, along with letters to the New York minx, Myrna Minkoff. Myrna is a leftist of sorts, at odds politically with everything that Ignatius believes, yet in her own way just as out of touch with reality.
After unsurprisingly getting fired from Levy Pants, Ignatius gets a job as, of all things, a hot dog vendor dressed as a pirate. His adventures lead him to a pornography ring and an attempt to start a revolution with an army of homosexuals. (Don't ask how, you just have to read the book.)
As amazing a character as Ignatius is, however, he's not the whole
story of this book. Through its pages, weaving in and out of Ignatius's laugh-out-loud journal entries and his particularly incisive view of Doris Day movies, you will also meet Ignatius' incredible mother and her friend Santa and their unique relationship with Claude, the communiss-hater.
Even better is the story of pornographer/bar owner Lana Lee, the stripper with a heart of gold and a great plans for a parrot act, Darlene, and, of course, the equally unforgettable black barsweep Jones, who has one eyes on Lana and the other on Ignatius and plays a vital role in crossing their paths to create a climax in the Night of Joy bar unlike anything ever seen on Cheers.
As if these characters weren't enough, there's also Miss Trixie, longtime employee at Levy Pants who wants nothing more than to be able to retire. Mrs. Levy, who in between workouts endeavors to keep Miss Trixie happy by continued employment at Levy Pants. And, finally, Patrolman Mancuso and his every changing disguises seen through by everyone on New Orleans.
The city of New Orleans comes alive in these pages and the setting, though obviously written decades ago, seems ageless. This story could, and probably is in some way, taking place today.
Tying it all together, of course, is Ignatius. It would be incredibly difficult to admire a person like this in real life, but there truly is something endearing, even admirable, about him. His intelligence is astounding, even if he cannot quite find a way to translate it into concrete results. And that may be what is so admirable. Ignatius may be one of the last characters in American literature who conciously chooses NOT to make a name for himself by selling something. He is a consumer of food and ideas, not fashionsnames. Ignatius is comfortable with himself and none at all influenced by the current vogues. In that way, Ignatius truly is admirable.
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