[COD] Chapters 1-3

[Jim B.]

Hello all.  I'm starting the thread to get one quick thought out before I forget.

Early in Chapter 2, poor, tortured Ignatius offers up a prayer to the Roman goddess/personification of luck Fortuna:
"Oh, Fortuna, blind, heedless goddess, I am strapped to your wheel," Ignatius belched.  "Do not crush me beneath your spokes."  This is just before he

masturbates to the memory of his childhood collie Rex.

Ew.

So what pops into my head?  "O Fortuna" from Orff's Carmina Burana, or as Rachel Maddow calls it, the scariest music in the world.  Even if you don't know the title, you definitely know the tune.  Go ahead, hum or even whistle along:

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/hrML6s1wNHk&rel=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/hrML6s1wNHk&rel=1</a>

And Wikipedia's translation if you don't want to endure the piece's 158 seconds:

O Fortune,
just as the moon
Stands constantly changing,
always increasing
or decreasing;
Detestable life
now difficult
and then easy
Deceptive sharp mind;
poverty
power
it melts them like ice.

Fate—monstrous
and empty,
you whirling wheel,
stand malevolent,
well-being is vain
and always fades to nothing,
shadowed
and veiled
you plague me too;
now through the game,
my bare back
I bring to your villainy.

Fate, in health
and in virtue,
is now against me
driven on
and weighted down,
always enslaved.
So at this hour
without delay
pluck the vibrating string;
since through Fate
strikes down the strong,
everyone weep with me!

Funny stuff, yes?  Well, in this context, belched out by a self-important and completely pathetic figure.... Yeah, it's kinda hilarious....  Hopefully, I'll find the Reillys less contemptible as CoD rolls on.

Thanks for your indulgence.

[Matt H.O.W.L.]

Funny stuff, yes?  Well, in this context, belched out by a self-important and completely pathetic figure.... Yeah, it's kinda hilarious.... 

Yes. It is funny. I giggled my way through the whole book and will definitely be reading it again sometime.

Hopefully, I'll find the Reillys less contemptible as CoD rolls on.

Ummm, I wouldn't hold your breath. Instead, try and enjoy the trip. The tour guides are unintentionally hilarious.

Thanks for your indulgence.

On the contrary, thanks for making connections, offering up insight, and playing along, in general. Karma!

[Jim B.]

*What the hell was being transacted between Lana and George?  The orphans "liked the one on the desk with the glasses on."  He wants another one with a blackboard and a book, "[d]oing something with a piece of chalk."  Wha?

*I like Jones.  I like him a lot. 
 --"You be lookin pretty junky with a Night of Joy broom stickin out your ass.  Night of Joy broom old, they good and splintery." 
 --"You ain Scarla O'Horror." 

*I'm a bit surprised that Ignatius and Myrna aren't still together, making each other blissfully miserable.  But at this point that seems to be Ignatius's normal state more than Myrna's.  Plus, you know, the sex thing. 
*Myrna's "movie" = Ignatius's Big Chief pads?
*Myrna befriends a real black girl... from Harlem!  She is such a real, vital person that I have made her my very closest friend.  I discuss her racial problems with her constantly... even when she doen't feel like discussing them.  Well-meaning... insufferable?  Yes, I believe so.  Will we see her in the flesh? 
*Why do her letters come "all dirty and smudged up"?  Passive-aggressiveness?  Is she just a slob?

*I've flipped ahead a bit and it seems Levy Pants stays in play throughout the book, which should be fun.  Ignatius and the decrepit Miss Trixie are a pairing ripe for comedy. 
 --(The inoffensively alcoholic) Mrs. Reilly:  "They got any cute girls working there?
 --Ignatius thought of Miss Trixie and said, "Yes, there is one."
 --"Single?"
 --"She appears to be."

In sum:  Extremely funny, with some great characters and situations to be further explored.  But Pulitzer Prize material?  I guess I'm not sure what the criteria are; I do know Roger Ebert's got one, so that's good enough for me. 
I am definitely enjoying the ride, though.

[evaD]

You are way ahead of me, I'm jumping back and forth between this book and Concrete volume 1, which is making for slow going on the book. I'm at the point where Ignatius and his mom are in the bar having a beer and a brandy. Our boy Ignatius is a piece of work for sure.

[Jim B.]

evaD, karma for the Concrete mention.  One of my favorites.  I'm going through the last two years of Incredible Herc, plus 20th Century Boys vol. 7, and a Regina pile too intimidating to get into here.  Oh, and A Confederacy of Dunces. 

It's little wonder that everyone seems to be a bit behind this month.  We'll catch up.

...

...

Probably.

[Farrell]

It's little wonder that everyone seems to be a bit behind this month.  We'll catch up.

...

...

Probably.

I plan to.  Reading your post today inspired me.  I'm about halfway through chapter 3, and when I've finished it, I'll post some thoughts.

Thanks for keeping things going, Jim. 

[Montyof83]

   I didn't know anything about this book going into it, but I was horrified to discover that I have know Ignat for the past 6 years. I am not making this up. This man works at a shipyard in Virginia. He's a giant, he's a know it all, he's rockin the 'stach in a big way, he's heartbroken, he's sick all the time, and most damning of all HE LIVES WITH HIS MOTHER. I don't know how he feels about Lassie but if I ever see him at the pound I'm getting away. Fast.
  Aside from that, I've had fun reading the book so far. I too like the Jones character, he comes off as kind of a bad ass Cosby kid. The whole book has a cartoony feel to me. Like Heavy Traffic by Ralph Bakshi.
  I thought it would be more driven by the fact it's set in New Orleans or the South in general but I haven't really gotten that from it. The way Jones speaks about himself and the cops treat just about everyone spoke a bit about it's setting, I guess with these characters it could have been set on the Moon and it still wouldn't have too much impact. Can't wait to finish it.

[Farrell]

   I didn't know anything about this book going into it, but I was horrified to discover that I have know Ignat for the past 6 years. I am not making this up.

I can't think of one person, but Ignatius is an amalgam of a few of the people I knew working video game retail years ago, for most of the same reasons: slovenly, smelly, loud and boorish, self-important, loves the sound of their own voice, thinks they're smarter than they are, lives with their mother, etc.  It goes without saying that there were many lovely people as well, but I did have that same sense of deja vu that you did while reading.

Good point about the setting.  I was expecting it to be a character in itself, but not so far.  Maybe that'll change.

We were joking about some connection between this book and Catcher in the Rye, but now that I've read a few chapters, that connection doesn't seem so tenuous to me anymore.  Some of Ignatius' attitudes about sex remind me of Holden's, although he doesn't react quite the same way to them.  And although he doesn't use the word "phony", he similarly complains about everyone's lack of sincerity, and what he sees as unfounded optimism. 

Not quite done with chapter 3, but I'm close. I've enjoyed reading your posts so far, guys.

[Jim B.]

 I thought it would be more driven by the fact it's set in New Orleans or the South in general but I haven't really gotten that from it.

The setting hadn't even crossed my mind until you mentioned it, Monty.  Not much of a New Orleans story so far.... whatever that may be....
...But, I was curious about the name of the theater Ignatius frequents, the Prytania.  I thought maybe the name had some symbolic significance.  Well, that doesn't seem to be the case, but there really is a Prytania.
Looks charming; I bet I'd love it there.  Don't know if it was a hovel back in the '60's, though....

[Matt H.O.W.L.]

counterpoint:

Confederacy and New Orleans (from Wikipedia)

The book is famous for its rich depiction of New Orleans and the city's dialects, including Yat.[2][3] Many locals and writers think that it is the best and most accurate depiction of the city in a work of fiction.[4]

The city described in the novel differs in some ways from the actual New Orleans. The first chapter mentions the sun setting over the Mississippi River at the foot of Canal Street. As this direction is to the south-east, this is clearly impossible in reality. Possibly this is a joke by Toole related to the fact that the area across the river is known as the "West Bank", despite the fact that because of the twists of the river it is actually to the south or east from parts of central New Orleans. Such details are not likely to be noticed by people who are not familiar with New Orleans. A bronze statue of Ignatius J. Reilly can be found under the clock on the down-river side of the 800 block of Canal Street, New Orleans, the former site of the D.H. Holmes Department Store, now the Chateau Bourbon Hotel. The statue mimics the opening scene: Ignatius waits for his mother under the D.H. Holmes clock, clutching a Werlein's shopping bag, dressed in a hunting cap, flannel shirt, baggy pants and scarf, 'studying the crowd of people for signs of bad taste.' The statue is modeled on New Orleans actor John "Spud" McConnell, who portrayed Ignatius in a stage version of the novel.

Various local businesses are mentioned in addition to D. H. Holmes, including Werlein's Music Store and local cinemas such as the Prytania Theater. Some readers from elsewhere assume Ignatius's favorite soft drink, Dr. Nut, to be fictitious, but it was an actual local soft drink brand of the era. The "Paradise Hot Dogs" vending carts are an easily recognized satire of those actually branded "Lucky Dogs".

[evaD]

   I didn't know anything about this book going into it, but I was horrified to discover that I have know Ignat for the past 6 years. I am not making this up. This man works at a shipyard in Virginia. He's a giant, he's a know it all, he's rockin the 'stach in a big way, he's heartbroken, he's sick all the time, and most damning of all HE LIVES WITH HIS MOTHER. I don't know how he feels about Lassie but if I ever see him at the pound I'm getting away. Fast.
  Aside from that, I've had fun reading the book so far. I too like the Jones character, he comes off as kind of a bad ass Cosby kid. The whole book has a cartoony feel to me. Like Heavy Traffic by Ralph Bakshi.
  I thought it would be more driven by the fact it's set in New Orleans or the South in general but I haven't really gotten that from it. The way Jones speaks about himself and the cops treat just about everyone spoke a bit about it's setting, I guess with these characters it could have been set on the Moon and it still wouldn't have too much impact. Can't wait to finish it.

As I'm reading I keep thinking about the Comicbook guy on the Simpson's. I get the same feeling from both characters.

[DoctorTeeth]

(Well, I'm behind, but it looks like I'm not the only one.  I'll do my best to catch up to everyone, I'm in the middle of Chapter 5 right now.)

I don't really have that much of import to say, but I would really like to thank the Book Club voters for picking CoD to read.  It's been on one of my to-read lists for a while now, but I needed the external impetus to get on board.  I have to say: it isn't as funny as I thought it would be, but it is worth a chuckle here and there.  Ignatius is so pompous and hateful that I sometimes find it hard to laugh at him, but then he goes on one of his tirades and I laugh in spite of myself.

And I will add my name to the list of Jones fans.  That is a character who could easily have been a shallow caricature, and he ends up being my favourite character in the book so far.

[Farrell]

Ignatius is so pompous and hateful that I sometimes find it hard to laugh at him, but then he goes on one of his tirades and I laugh in spite of myself.

I'm on some kinda of horrible streak right now of reading books with unlikeable narrators, but of all of them, Ignatius is the least threatening of the bunch because he is the least effectual.  In other words, he's a joke.  It seems odd in some ways that some other characters seem not to notice that (Gonzalez, for example), but that's been my experience in life, so why not in fiction?  I'm always in some ways impressed by those whose confidence in themselves, no matter how seemingly misplaced, is impervious to ridicule, failure, or self-reflection, especially speaking as someone whose confidence wavers so often.  And there are always those who respond to self-confidence, in any form.

[evaD]

I loved the whole bit about the valve and him having to release it. I was more than a little creeped out by him masturbating to memories of his dead dog though. ( I'm kinda hoping someone tells me I read that wrong)

[Farrell]

I was more than a little creeped out by him masturbating to memories of his dead dog though. ( I'm kinda hoping someone tells me I read that wrong)

Sorry, I can't help ya.  You read it right.  Ignatius is later turned on by having a bunch of factory workers lift him onto a table.  Not as bad as a dead dog, certainly, but still pretty weird. 

[evaD]

Sorry, I can't help ya.  You read it right.  Ignatius is later turned on by having a bunch of factory workers lift him onto a table.  Not as bad as a dead dog, certainly, but still pretty weird. 

yep. He's a creeper.