This book is a bit out of the left field, but I just found a book report I wrote on it and was inspired to reread it. It's definitely slow, and the humor isn't for everyone, but if you want a book with incredibly vivid characters and setting (New Orleans, specifically) it's worth the time.
Ignatius J. Reilly is a fat, lazy, unlikable slob who's perennially working on his thesis, lives with his mother, and doesn't date on principle (reviewers often refer to him as a "fat Don Quixote"). He has absolutely no redeeming qualities as a human being, but his 'misadventures' are fascinating and occasionally hilarious-think "House." The people in his life are some of the most memorable characters I've ever read: Myrna Minkoff, the liberal pen pal who simultaneously hates him, admires him, and is convinced that sex will cure him of every issue he has (her letters can get pretty graphic, skip 'em if you're squeamish); his mother Irene, who has lived solely for her son until she falls for a man named Claude; Lana Ley, self-involved strip club owner; Angelo Mancuso, police officer-so of course he's inept...the list goes on.
This book's descriptions of New Orleans put it on my bucket list, by the way. See: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitGlpYGQ3GrI-jVE3q1Re84BICD_L7A0OR3y_Pv-6yUsbfixcfE7piSiF5tg4h5uktl-E0g7Rmevw2IDZRFWz5Hl7Zzl8PIpPQ8yIQLrhR7falw11CBTT_DzRqEljQMnkNAPpgfJy0nAc/s1600/mardi-gras1_lhqwmwnc.jpg
Finally, 'Confederacy' is deep in ways I don't even realize. Toole wrote it while suicidal (he actually never saw it published-the book was published in 1980 and he committed suicide in 1961 at age 31. His mother found a copy in his attic and convinced a publisher to look at it. Enough said), and every time I revisit this book (three times and counting) I figure out more and more of the depth. It did win the Pulitzer Prize, after all.
Basically, you have to slog through the first half-I was tempted to put it down a few times. But, at least for me, it was well worth it. ~Hallel Y. (per. 7/8)
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