"A Confederacy of Dunces" turns 40

Those of you who attended the discussion of John Kennedy Toole's A Confederacy of Dunces I hosted at my place back in May 2019 (one of our fifth-Wednesday sessions) know how much I love that rollicking comic novel. I first read it in 1980 (hot off the press) during my senior year at Centenary College in my hometown of Shreveport, Louisiana--which is about as different from New Orleans as you can imagine despite being in the same state--and have reread it more often than any other book (with the possible exception of the Bible). Although it is not a "gay novel," its protagonist, Ignatius Reilly, certainly does not come across as heterosexual, and at least one supporting character in it is clearly gay. There is also reason to believe (though no proof) that Toole himself was homosexual, and that was a factor in his 1969 suicide. 

I bring this up because I just got my copy of a new book by Kent Carroll and Jodee Blanco, I, John Kennedy Toole, that is a work of fiction but sticks to the facts about the writer. It turns out, for example, that, notwithstanding the tale of repeated rejection Toole's mother promoted, Simon & Schuster was seriously interested in publishing A Confederacy of Dunces. But Toole's editor, Robert Gottlieb (who had edited Catch-22), wanted him to trim the story and sharpen the plot, which Toole attempted to do. Years went by before Gottlieb finally rejected the novel, saying "It really isn't about anything." (Shades of "Seinfeld!") 

On a related (and belated) note: Back in April, our friend Octavio Roca kindly shared with me a delightful essay in LitHub titled "Finding Permission to Fail in A Confederacy of Dunces." I encourage any of you who share my enthusiasm for the novel to check that out.