Reviews with content warning for Fatphobia - The Confederacy of Dunces

Reviews tagging 'Fatphobia'

The Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole

6 reviews

narpetcards's review against another edition

challenging slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.5

Look, this wasn’t for me.
That being said, this innately feels ableist, sexist, racist, and while I understand that there are differences in what we find acceptable over time, I struggle to find the humour in laughing at someone who clearly is unwell. It’s only funny to laugh at people when you’re punching up, and this is very clearly punching down.

Content Warnings

niamhbereading's review against another edition

Go to review page

funny medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

i picked up this book because the foreword was so touching. the book was not as touching. i'll start w/ what i like:

it was funny! the conflict was silly so i didn't take the book too seriously. the protagonist, ignatius, talks like a thesaurus & it's fun too read.

there were many characters & they were all distinct. they each played a role & had unique personalities, so reading each one of them was compelling.

i liked the new orleans setting. i've never been there but the author must have a genuine love for this city.

ok now for what i don't like:

every chapter followed the same formula: mrs reiley sends ignatius off to work. ignatius gets into a fight w/ someone there. they argue using big words & ignatius is a general asshole. he returns home to mrs reiley & she's distraught bc his son is an asshole. rinse & repeat. it got boring once i caught the pattern.

there's some homophobia & racism in this book. there's a black character- jones- & he speaks with a thick accent written into his dialogue. every word of his is written phonetically. i'm white so i can't 100% say this is racist, but it did rub me the wrong way. also some homophobic insults are thrown around, too.

ignatius is a fatphoic stereotype. a lot of his bad actions are followed up w/ "and he's FAT!" i'm fat too & this rubbed me the wrong way.

Content Warnings