That said, too often throughout the novel the authors seem to conflate the two men, even to the point of suggesting that Ignatius is Toole’s hero or perhaps his alter-ego. It’s true that careful readers can’t fail to recognize certain aspects from Toole’s life in his character. The novel’s speculative aspects will appeal to fans of Toole’s original creation.īut the new ideas put forward by the authors come with important difficulties that ultimately make this an unsatisfying reimagining of Toole’s life. First is in its overidentification of Toole with his protagonist. The new book takes up facets of the story that have long interested enthusiasts, such as that final journey before his suicide as well as the rumors of a lost novel still awaiting discovery. Readers of A Confederacy will immediately recognize the similarities between Toole’s mother and Irene Reilly, the mother of Ignatius, the book’s main character.īy addressing mysterious aspects of Toole’s life, Carroll and Blanco’s retelling of this story creatively moves beyond biography. The familial tensions that haunted Toole throughout his life provide a backdrop to the novel’s central narrative. On March 26, 1969, Toole took his own life after a two-month-long road trip, the itinerary of which remains unknown today.Ĭarroll and Blanco largely follow the plot of Toole’s life, focusing on his early years in New Orleans, his experiences as a college student and professor in New York City, and his writing of the novel in New Orleans and Puerto Rico, where Toole taught English to Army recruits.
Gottleib praised Toole’s work, but ultimately, declared that the book “isn’t really about anything.” Toole eventually abandoned his creation and gradually slipped into what some conjecture to be paranoid schizophrenia. For the two following years, Toole exchanged letters and edits of his manuscript with Robert Gottleib, at that time editor at Simon & Schuster and a major force in the publishing world.
Toole began drafting A Confederacy in 1963 and completed it that same year. Readers and writers take particular interest in the story of the book’s publication. Since the novel’s publication, Toole’s compelling personal story and his book have inspired many memoirs and biographies, as well as collections of critical essays, dissertations, and even a cookbook. I, John Kennedy Toole, a nonfiction novel co-authored by Kent Carroll and Jodee Blanco (Pegasus Books, May 2020), tells the story of John Kennedy Toole’s tragic life and death and of his novel A Confederacy of Dunces.
0 kommentar(er)
