Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #141468 in Books
• Published on: 2000-11-24
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 176 pages

Synopsis
David's father goes off to war, leaving David and his mother to fight poverty and shame on their own in a small Southern town.

Customer Reviews

A pleasure for fans of 'A Confederacy of Dunces'
Although I'm familiar with his story, John Kennedy Toole's life seems so much sadder to me having read this. It shows that 'Confedaracy of Dunces' was no fluke - if he could write this well at sixteen then it seems that the reading world has been robbed twice over.

This story simply follows the life of a young boy in a rural, narrow-minded, American church town in a very linear way. It details the life and times of a kid called Dave and the hardships and intrigues that his family -mom, pop and the outrageous Aunt May - face living in a town that seems to run low on compassion and high on hypocrisy. At times the unoriginal subject matter did seem somewhat humdrum but then there were flashes of brilliance and fantastic comedy that not only pointed towards the author's only other book but made this book really shine in it's own right. I think I took this story on in the same way an adult would any story written by a person so young, with the thought that it would never get to me or say anything that would resonate too much but I was genuinely shocked and entertained. The genesis from simple story-teller to satirist and novelist in his own right is fantastic to observe. If you enjoyed 'Confederacy of Dunces' in any way then you must read this - it's a hidden gem, a real treat and makes you feel that much closer to the strange, sad story of this tragic author. In a way it gives you some access to John Kennedy Toole's character that we don't get in his main work because this book is so much more poignant and, I believe, personal.

IMPRESSIVE DEBUT FOR A 15 YEAR OLD
How come this hasn't been reviewed yet?

This is an excellent view of how the churches ruled the small towns in the early '50's.

It only gets 4 stars because of a terrible ending.

Wothwhile as a companion piece to Confederacy
Confederacy is Toole's masterwork, but this, his only other known work of fiction, is also of some note and has value as a companion piece. The youthful seeds of themes developed in the later work can be seen here, and it is an enjoyable and undemanding read, although of no great profundity. Having said that, he was only 16, and it is as good as anyone could expect from someone so young.