A Confederacy of Dunces: A Novel Cover
Podcast Mentions

A Confederacy of Dunces A Novel

John Kennedy Toole

After four decades, the peerless wit and indulgent absurdity of

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Quotes 33
Stuff You Should Know

The hosts discussed it in passing, mentioning its popularity and how it was the author's only published novel before his death. The author's life was discussed briefly.

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John Kennedy Tool. Sure. Confederacy of Dunces.

— Episode: SYSK Selects: What Makes a One-hit Wonde...

Episode: SYSK Selects: What Makes a One-hit Wonder?

The hosts discussed it in passing, mentioning its popularity and how it was the author's only published novel before his death. The author's life was discussed briefly.

"

John Kennedy Tool. Sure. Confederacy of Dunces.

How often do you think about just in your normal life? How, I don't know. Almost never maybe?

Yeah, a couple of times a year maybe when it's like a movie will be in the works that never happens.

I was thinking about that movie or that book yesterday.

But I don't think it's like one of the greatest books of all time or anything.

Yeah, this crazy character in Louisiana. It's always grabbed my attention because it's just like a perfect title and then the guy's name is perfect as well. John Kennedy Tool.

Yeah, his author.

Well, he'd killed himself. He was clearly now suffered some sort of mental illness and could not get published and that drove him to eventually commit suicide in 1969 and his mother made it her life's work to get it published and did so in 1980.

And then his second book was published The Neon Bible I think in 1986 and that was made into a movie.

Well, The Neon Bible wasn't a huge hit but.

But yeah, I would say he's a one hit wonder.

Episode: SYSK Selects: What Makes a One-hit Wonder?

It was discussed as a potential one-hit wonder, due to Toole's suicide and only one novel published before his death, even though a second book was posthumously published.

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And John Kennedy Tool. Sure. Confederacy of Dunces.

It's like, I think a lot of people have these expectations because it's known as this like genius work after this guy committed suicide and it is really good. But I don't think it's like one of the greatest books of all time or anything.

Well, he'd killed himself. He was clearly now suffered some sort of mental illness and could not get published and that drove him to eventually commit suicide in 1969 and his mother made it her life's work to get it published and did so in 1980.

Well, The Neon Bible wasn't a huge hit but. Oh, gotcha. But yeah, I would say he's a one hit wonder.

Episode: SYSK Selects: What Makes a One-hit Wonder?

It was discussed in the context of being a 'one-hit wonder' novel for Toole, who committed suicide before achieving recognition, but the book gained popularity later and is considered a good, but not necessarily exceptional, read.

"

And John Kennedy Tool. Sure. Confederacy of Dunces.

But I don't think it's like one of the greatest books of all time or anything.

It's always grabbed my attention because it's just like a perfect title and then the guy's name is perfect as well. John Kennedy Tool.

He was clearly now suffered some sort of mental illness and could not get published and that drove him to eventually commit suicide in 1969 and his mother made it her life's work to get it published and did so in 1980.

Episode: Selects: Can movies be cursed?

The hosts described it as a classic novel whose author died before its publication, noting it later won a Pulitzer Prize and became a celebrated work.

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the first one is A Confederacy of Dunces the film adaptation of John Kennedy Tool's book I guess novel great book yeah ... it's a classic classic book and very sadly Tool killed himself in 1969 and the book was not out yet and part of the reason he killed himself is because he he could not achieve success as a writer his mother gets it published it wins a Pulitzer Prize in 1981 and posthumously he became a famous author ... so people when it first was published in the early 80s

Episode: Some Interesting Curses

They mentioned the wellknown novel as a great book that, despite many attempts, has never been turned into a movie.

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the very famously, the great, great book, A Confederacy of Dunces, has never been made.

My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark

It was mentioned as a hypothetical item that a robber would be interested in stealing, rather than a book that was part of a coin collection.

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Robbers aren't going to go and steal a bunch of your books. They're going to be like, oh, I've been looking for a confederacy of Dunson's. Oh, I hear this is good.

— Episode: MFM Minisode 186

Episode: MFM Minisode 186

It was mentioned as a hypothetical item that a robber would be interested in stealing, rather than a book that was part of a coin collection.

"

Robbers aren't going to go and steal a bunch of your books. They're going to be like, oh, I've been looking for a confederacy of Dunson's. Oh, I hear this is good.

Fresh Air

Podcast

Fresh Air

The novel was used as a comparative reference, suggesting the new book felt like an IranianAmerican spin on Toole's comic picaresque.

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maybe you could think of it as something of an Iranian-American spin on John Kennedy Toole's comic picaresque A Confederacy of Dunces, wedded to Donna Tartt's The Goldfinch

— Episode: Tracee Ellis Ross

Episode: Tracee Ellis Ross

The novel was used as a comparative reference, suggesting the new book felt like an IranianAmerican spin on Toole's comic picaresque.

"

maybe you could think of it as something of an Iranian-American spin on John Kennedy Toole's comic picaresque A Confederacy of Dunces, wedded to Donna Tartt's The Goldfinch

The Daily Stoic

The speaker believes it to be the funniest novel of all time, and highlights the author's tragic fate.

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One of my favorite novels, I think it's probably the funniest novel of all time, is this book, A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Tool.

— Episode: How To Balance Ego With Striving | Linke...

Episode: How To Balance Ego With Striving | LinkedIn Talk

The speaker believes it to be the funniest novel of all time, and highlights the author's tragic fate.

"

One of my favorite novels, I think it's probably the funniest novel of all time, is this book, A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Tool.

It's so funny that Jim Belushi and Will Ferrell and I believe Ben Stiller have all tried to make it into a movie but couldn't.

And anyway, so John Kennedy Tool, he writes this book, he submits it to Scheinman and Schuster, who is his publisher, and they said this book is no good.

His agent doesn't believe in it so he's profoundly rejected and he's so depressed by this rejection, to go to the quote we were just talking about earlier, he's so upset by this rejection that he ends up committing suicide.

He commits suicide on a lonely road in Biloxi, Mississippi. He attaches a car hose or a hose to the exhaust pipe of his car and he dies. And his mother is distraught.

Episode: Be This Kind Of Person | Ask DS

The speaker's opinion of this book evolved over time; initially finding it funny, later considering it a sadist's fantasy, and ultimately unsure of their current assessment.

"

The first time I read the literacy of Dungeons, I thought it was a slap-out on the e.

And I would recommend it to people and then like ten years later I read it and I thought it's a sadist fan.

And I think it relates to people who have bad law and I haven't been ready to read it again.

I was just thinking of what am I doing?

I still think that Confederacy of Thompson's holds up pretty well and is pretty something funny.

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