Following the valve-splitting misadventures of lazy, self-proclaimed genius and social misfit, Ignatius P. Reilly, this Pulitzer Prize winning novel has a backstory worthy of adaptation itself. Author John Kennedy O’Toole committed suicide in 1969 having failed despairingly to get his magnum opus published. Only through the dogged persistence of his mother did the novel finally reach the bookstands in 1980; winning the Pulitzer the next year.
A work of unfettered genius and hilarity, Confederacy of Dunces picks and scratches at the seams of New Orleans’ street-folk, revealing a rich tapestry of insane characters and episodes; all anchored within the everyday plottings of the bloated, mooching, hypochondriac Reilly. While he may be objectionable verbally, physically and morally, the reader cannot help but revel in Reilly’s articulateness, rebellion and utter repudiation of authority figures and societal norms. Ignatius is a cross between the Simpsons comic-book guy and a fatter, sober, non-bowling version of Jeffery ‘The Dude’ Lebowski. As such, free spirited
oddballs always stand alone as an anathema to the perfect heroes Hollywood usually dishes up.
Like The Dice Man, the films rights for Confederacy of Dunces are owned by Paramount and the most recent attempt to greenlight the book reached casting stage in 2005; with Will Ferrell and Drew Barrymore touted for the leads. However, the Scott Kramer and Steven Soderburgh penned screenplay failed to
gain studio support and momentum floundered.
