Ignatius Rising: The Life Of John Kennedy Toole Summary and Reviews

Ignatius Rising: The Life Of John Kennedy Toole
by Rene Pol Nevils, Deborah George Hardy

Ignatius Rising: The Life Of John Kennedy Toole
List Price: $19.95
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Book Summary Information

Author: Deborah George Hardy, Rene Pol Nevils
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2005-04
ISBN: 0807130591
Number of pages: 234
Publisher: Louisiana State University Press

Book Reviews of Ignatius Rising: The Life Of John Kennedy Toole

Book Review: Welcome if flawed biography of a tragic author.
Summary: 4 Stars

If ever there was a biography long overdue it is that of John Kennedy Toole, and Ignatius Rising, by Rene Nevils and Deborah Hardy, remedies this deficiency. He is a truly tragic figure in modern literature, and the great "what-if " of American literature. His output was as small as his life was brief: 33 years ago he died at his own hand when in only his early thirties. His persistent and unsuccessful attempts to publish his roman à clef, A Confederacy of Dunces (whose hero, Ignatius O'Reilly, is the source for the biography's title) were a major factor leading to his suicide. After his death his mother valiantly continued the crusade for publication, succeeding finally in 1980 when to the amazement of many, the book immeditaely won the Pullitzer Prize.

Ignatius Rising lays open to view the facts,as far as they can be discerned, of Toole's life. The reading of his two novels, Confederacy and The Neon Bible, already a marvellous experience, is enhanced by knowledge of his life. The biography does have its faults. Its tone and style is rather journalistic, though very readable, and the authors often make assertions or deductions on the basis of scanty evidence, or evidence not apparent to the reader. The resulting tendency on the authors' part to fill in the gaps can be off-putting to a critical reader. Also the question of Toole's sexuality, probably crucial to his suicide, is adverted to by means of the retelling of certain events, but is nowhere explored in depth. This is an unfortunate omission though it may reflect the authors' desire not to dscend to the obsession of so much modern biography; if so, they make no mention of this.

The biogrpahy is especially rewarding in its treatment of Toole's grande dame of a mother, and its detailed narration of her attempts to get Toole's book published over many years after his death is very well done. Indeed Mrs Toole becomes virtually a co-star in this book to Toole himself: once you have read about her you the reader will see that this would have suited her very well! Her influence on Toole is discussed, as is the effect of Toole's social milieu in New Orleans. The portrait of New Orleans is especially helpful for the non-American reader like this writer.

It is clear that Nevils and Hardy are devoted to Toole, just as AJ A Symons became fascinated with Frederick Rolfe 60 years earlier, and there are resonances of Rolfe in the life and writings of Toole. Ignatius Rising is a most welcome gift to the admirers of John Kennedy Toole. If at the very least it inspires others to delve deeper in to the mysteries of Toole's life, the book has more than justified the effort the authors have put into it.

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