‘Dunces’ Worth Rereading--Again

“A Confederacy of Dunces,” a Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by the late John Kennedy Toole, is a book that I reread every year. Toole’s protagonist, Ignatius J. Reilly, is an obese, intellectual 30-year-old virgin whose pyloric valve closes in revolt against Greyhound Scenicruisers, technicolor movies and the inhabitants of a modern world who lack “taste and decency” and “geometry and theology.” Ignatius lives in New Orleans with his mother, Irene, who drinks too much and badgers him to get a job and make good. But disaster accompanies every job Ignatius finds, particularly his stint as a hot dog vendor sent in a pirate’s costume to peddle weenies in the French Quarter. “Dunces” is full of richly written characters, including Ignatius’ “girlfriend” Myrna Minkoff, his next-door neighbor Miss Annie, his mother’s suitor, Claude Robichaux, the beleaguered Patrolman Mancuso and Ignatius’ boss, Mr. Clyde, the mogul of frankfurters. “Dunces” is a masterpiece.

KEN GRAHAM

Sherman Oaks

University press books offer an incredible variety that generally has been overlooked by the mainstream press. I recently read “Eleanor Ramsey: The Queen of Cups” by Elizabeth Treadwell, a blend of fiction and poetry published as part of the San Francisco State Chapbook Series. Memory in fragmented form is a key ingredient of Eleanor’s tremendous struggle with reality. Past and present merge and separate as her world disintegrates. Romantic, seductive events come and go as Eleanor’s link with the external world becomes thinner and finally snaps. Blunt and chilling, the work evolves into a cautionary tale of an inevitable crash when neither sex nor drugs nor family and friends seem to provide comfort. Yet somehow, a faint tenor of hope runs parallel, and as Eleanor rises to leave the English mental institution where her life has taken her, one feels that the door perhaps is leading to a not-so-dark time.

LYNNE CARSCALLEN

Manhattan Beach

Kaye Gibbons’ novel “Ellen Foster” is dazzling and original. From its opening line--”When I was little, I used to think of ways to kill my daddy”--to its closing page, it fascinates and enchants. The main character, an 11-year-old orphan, is an amalgam of Holden Caulfield, Pippi Longstocking and Dear Abby, a charmer who reconstructs her life from its monstrous pieces. Author Gibbons sings a sultry song, an original melody that uses life’s dissonances to argue that God indeed does bless the child who’s got her own. Ellen will haunt your thoughts, perhaps your dreams. Her story ranks among the most powerful literary novels I have experienced.

NORMA HARRIS

Tarzana

“The Last Unicorn” by Peter S. Beagle may not be the newest novel on the market (it was published in 1968) nor the glossiest, nor the most talked about. It also is not the most easily described. But beauty, emotion, humor and wisdom course through its 248 pages. In prose peppered with sparkling metaphors, Beagle tells the story of a unicorn who embarks on a quest along with a bumbling magician and a cook with a quick tongue. The plot may sound unconventional, but it is completely applicable to modern life and filled with exhilarating twists. Subtly yet eloquently, the richly developed characters express truths that are noble and pure; it’s as though Beagle has taken all the good advice you’ve ever received and bound it nice and neat for your bookshelf. If you want sex, violence and foul language, you won’t find it between these covers. What you will find is a poignant, thrilling, effervescent story that will nibble at your heart, and make you think.

ELIZABETH HILLMAN

Culver City

What’s that book on your night table? Any good? Send us a review! We’re especially interested in hearing about fiction that you don’t find reviewed in The Times, but feel free to send us your opinions of whatever it is you are reading. Keep the reviews short (200 words, tops) and send them (with your phone number) to READERS REVIEWS, Life & Style, The Los Angeles Times, Times Mirror Square, Los Angeles CA 90053, or fax them to (213) 237-0732. We’ll print the most interesting ones every month. Sorry, but no submissions can be returned.

* Next week: Kevin Baxter on books for children and young adults.