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A Confederacy of Dunces

By: John Kennedy Toole
Narrated by: Reginald D. Hunter
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Publisher's Summary

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

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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What listeners say about A Confederacy of Dunces

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    2 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

What a disappointment. Great opportunity wasted by the reading :-(

I’d been looking forward to this one appearing on Australian Audible for years and was so excited when it was eventually available. But it is almost bad. I don’t know how you take a funny and outrageous book like this and drain any humour from it to the point where it is simply boring. I am persevering with about one third to go but no sign that the reading is going to improve at all 😢😢😢. Really bad.

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3 people found this helpful

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Wonderful reading of a fascinating book

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.

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2 people found this helpful

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  • 13-12-2022

A singular view of the world

Great phraseology and humour. Recommended by Billy Connolly for good reason +4 more words ok

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1 person found this helpful

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    2 out of 5 stars
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Amusing at times but overall long and pointless

The characters are somewhat interesting at times and the humour can be enjoyable for its ridiculousness, but it never seems to get to any real point and listening has become a chore. Just can’t take it anymore, halfway through and I’m giving up

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Loved it

Wasn’t sure what to expect but I was hooked from the beginning. Wait fully read.

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    5 out of 5 stars

One of a kind.

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

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    4 out of 5 stars
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A quirky book with great dialogue.

A tale of stupid people living with their own kind. It's not a deep book but it is entertaining. If you want a shallow read, enjoy it for what it is. The narrator has done well.

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