A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole

A Confederacy of Dunces is a great book, has an amazing back story and is set in New Orleans, do I need to say anything more? OK, I'll say a little more. John Kennedy Toole wrote a book when he was 16 years old. Nothing happened to it. He went to graduate school and became a professor and wrote another book. Nothing happened to it either. In fact it was rejected by Simon and Shuster because, "it wasn't about anything" (didn't Sienfeld make a lot of money doing nothing?). Over time, Toole became so despondent he quit working, drank heavily and ultimately committed suicide at 31. His mother picked up the torch and kept trying to get the book published. Eleven years later, LSU press published 2500 copies (that are now very valuable) and the book went on to win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1981.

Now to the book itself. New Orleans is one of my favorite cities, and this book captures the rhythm and the language of the city better than any other book ever written (and that includes any Tennessee Williams play). You'll meet a lot of weird and wonderful people, such as the eccentric Ignatius Reilly; a man who thinks everyone else in the world pales in comparison to his genius, despite the fact he as only left New Orleans once in his life, and only got as far as Baton Rouge. This book is dark and hilarious and you'll find yourself laughing out loud. One thing is for sure, you will never walk through New Orleans' French Quarter and see a Lucky Dog cart again without thinking of this book.