A Confederacy of Dunces
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A Confederacy of Dunces
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Narrated by:
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Barrett Whitener
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Written by:
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John Kennedy Toole
About this listen
Winner of the Pulitzer Prize
“A masterwork . . . the novel astonishes with its inventiveness . . . it is nothing less than a grand comic fugue.”—The New York Times Book Review
A green hunting cap squeezed the top of the fleshy balloon of a head. The green earflaps, full of large ears and uncut hair and the fine bristles that grew in the ears themselves, stuck out on either side like turn signals indicating two directions at once. Full, pursed lips protruded beneath the bushy black moustache and, at their corners, sank into little folds filled with disapproval and potato chip crumbs.
So enters one of the most memorable characters in recent American fiction.
The hero of John Kennedy Toole's incomparable, Pultizer Prize–winning comic classic is one Ignatius J. Reilly, an obese, self-absorbed, hapless Don Quixote of the French Quarter, whose half-hearted attempts at employment lead to a series of wacky adventures among the lower denizens of New Orleans. This book has become an American comic masterpiece.
©1980 Thelma D. Toole (P)1997 Blackstone AudiobooksYou may also enjoy...
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What the critics say
"Barrett Whitener strikes just the right note." (AudioFile)
"A Confederacy of Dunces has been reviewed almost everywhere, and every reviewer has loved it. For once, everyone is right." (Rolling Stone)
"What a delight, what a roaring, rollicking, footstomping wonder this book is! I laughed until my sides ached, and then I laughed on." (Chicago Sun-Times)
What listeners say about A Confederacy of Dunces
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Rob M
- 2018-02-19
A well read classic.
The entire family loved it. Barrett Whitener's reading was excellent providing depth and distinction to every character.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 2023-02-10
Great story but mediocre narration
This is one of my favorite stories. I've read it a few times and was excited to hear it narrated. However, Whitener simply does not do justice to several accents, namely the African-American Jones (woah!), Mrs. Rielly (a particular Cajun voice with Jersey inflections that sounded more comical than authentic), and the Latina waitress at "The Night of Joy" club (atrocious). If you don't know what these accents are supposed to sound like, you can probably overlook them; but if you do, it is grating and distracting. However, Whitener did a good job with several of the other characters. I simply pushed through and enjoyed the story.
The narrator's interpretation of the story (and of Ignatius) was more sarcastic and bombastic than I would have preferred. I imagined that Toole intended a more tempered and ironic tone, one that juxtaposed the unfolding absurdities caused by Ignatius himself. Nevertheless, upon hearing the story again, I can understand why Whitener made that choice.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- G S
- 2022-11-22
Narration a little flat
I decided to listen to this audiobook along with my read to get through it a bit quicker and take advantage of my alone time in the car (tough to read for leisure these days with 2 young kids). Unfortunately, I found the listen lacking in those moments of explosive laughter I sustained while reading the first few chapters. See, I had unfortunately developed this idea in my head of a Ron Howard/Arrested Development style narration, and Ignatius sounding more like that obese comic book store guy in The Simpsons. Clearly a personal opinion, but I just didn't find the narration or character voices to live up to the pacing or spirit of the story. I'll take my time with this one and free solo the book instead.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- cj
- 2024-03-15
Absurdity to the Enth Degree
I read a review that said that while you may find this story entertaining, you will definitely grow to hate Ignatius. The reviewer was completely correct. I hate the character Ignatius.
While I know many people out there really like this book, I am not one of them (I'm sure I'm not the only one). The humor is not my cup of tea at all and the story is terrible. The only saving grace are the characters Burma Jones, Dorian Greene and Miss Trixie.
For humor, give me Terry Pratchett, Neil Gaiman, Christopher Moore, Douglas Adams, P.G. Wodehouse, Jerome K. Jerome, Joseph Heller, Oscar Wilde, Dave Barry, William Goldman, Ken Kesey, Kurt Vonnegut (just to name a few) any day. Now these great authors are truly FUNNY!
To each their own, as they say. The narrator, Barrett Whitener, did a fairly good job, with what he had to work with. With one exception: the Spanish woman sounded Asian! When the book was finished, I thought 'OMG' it's finally over! Now I'm off to read something good - perhaps Terry Pratchett.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Rebecca
- 2021-05-27
Hilarious
There has never been a book like this. It had me laughing and somewhat shocked throughout. The characters all were larger than life, quirky and yet still believable. The audiobook was very well narrated!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 2022-10-04
Love the narration!
This audible is greater than it needed to be because of the narrator's amazing performance.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 2018-10-23
brilliant
the publisher that turned it down should be flogged. loved it otherwise. and will recommend
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 2019-08-10
k that black guy though
the black guy voice was painful. like...o tried to just picture Kevin Hart to make it actually bearable.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Shawn Hook-Carleton
- 2023-05-26
Hilarious
Brilliant. The kind of book that would normally have me rushing to find everything else the author has written…
Narration feels a bit robotic and oddly paced, but as I got lost in the story I didn’t notice anymore. The dialog is performed really well though
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Lois in Canada
- 2022-07-06
Best narration I’ve ever experienced
A Confederacy of Dunces is a brilliantly written novel rich with character and culture. The narrator, Barrett Whitener should get some sort of award for how he verbally animated each character in the novel to bring them to life. Thoroughly entertaining.
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