A Confederacy of Dunces and The Time Traveler's Wife

I read both of these books back in November and December, and I'm just now getting around to writing reviews about them. I definitely learned my lesson because I can't remember half of things I wanted to mention about these two drastically different novels. Let that be a lesson to me, I suppose.

My friend Emily lent A Confederacy of Dunces to me, raving about how wonderful it was. She promised me I would laugh out loud at several points in the book and even confessed it just might be her favorite book. Truthfully, I didn't enjoy it that much (sorry, Em). I can definitely appreciate the John Kennedy Toole's writing and story-telling ability, but I think maybe I just picked up the book at the wrong time for me to fully appreciate it...if that even makes sense.

However, Toole crafts an excellent cast of characters and skillfully interweaves their seemingly different and unattached lives. He focuses a great deal of Ignatius, a pompous and overly-educated man who still lives with his mother in New Orleans. Ignatius is the type of individual who, when seeing a movie at the theater, exclaims loudly for all to hear, "I cannot believe I am watching this display of our baseless society! What are we coming to?" Yeah, you all know the type. He derives pleasure and joy from lambasting others' mistakes and problems, yet he is extremely defensive of his own shortcomings; nothing is ever his fault and everyone else is always in the wrong somehow, however miniscule it may be. I think my issue with the novel came because I know too many people like Ignatius- that is, people who complain about "what our world is coming to" and yet never lift a finger to make a positive impact at any point.

Still, the book is very well-written and is rather enjoyable. The characters are very well-developed and the writing itself is superb. And, Emily was right- I did laugh out loud at several points. But in all honesty, I have to agree with Ignatius when he poked fun at Mark Twain... I'm not a big fan of Mr. Twain either, Ignatius.

I also borrowed The Time Traveler's Wife from Emily so as to avoid remaining on the library's waiting list for eons. I haven't seen the movie, but I heard good things about the book, so I figure I'd give it a shot. Time travel is not a new concept in literature, but Audrey Niffenegger's take is interesting. The story follows Henry and Clare, a couple who experience life a little differently than most people. Clare lives her life chronologically, but Henry is a time traveler. He doesn't get to chose where or when he goes; his traveling is more or less forced upon him. At some point in this travels through time, he begins to visit his wife Clare when she is a child and becomes Clare's secret childhood friend. I'm not going to lie- it's a little odd to be reading about a grown man who is talking to his wife...when she is a child. Weird, weird, weird. But for some reason, the story line really works. The novel reads quickly, and the reader doesn't want to put the book down. I think the book could generate some very interesting discussions in a book club. One major caveat: it is very graphic at times- as in, I found myself blushing at various points. I heard, however, the movie is much tamer; I'd like to see it and compare the two, just for kicks.