001 A Confederacy of Dunces

I feel compelled for proper book citation. It results from my long stint in school. I'm even using Endnote. Here's my version:

Toole, John Kennedy. A Confederacy of Dunces. New York: Grove Press, 1980.

Some prelim remarks. Toole wrote this book in the 60's and committed suicide in 1969 at the age of 32. His mother, Thelma D. Toole, pressed for it to be published after his death.

The main character, Ignatius J. Reilly, a self-centered, unemployed, annoying, fat and messy 30 year old, lives with his mother. He is forced to get a job after his mother 's car accident (she backs up into a building and smashes a store). I'm on p.74 and he just got a job. And the people in the office seem as eccentric as he does.

Poor John. Did he live with his mother? Did he feel inadequate because there is a stigma attached to men living with mommy?

It's not right that I project the character onto its author. Why should I draw a parallel from Ignatius to John? Then again, who says I shouldn't speculate? Is it the highbrow lit critics?

I must say I am split on whether it is pathetic for a guy to live with his mom. On the one hand, they are selfish beasts that need their underwear washed by someone yet on the other hand, they may have family values especially if they live with elderly parents and care for them. As usual then the answer is IDOC or It Depends On the Circumstances.

Ok a special treat for those egomaniacs out there, I leave you with a quote from the preface of the book:

When a true genius appears in the world, you may know him by his sign, that the dunces are all in confederacy against him.

--Jonathan Swift, Thoughts on Various Subjects, Moral and Diverting