I'm way overdue for one of these.
It is a great pity that John Kennedy Toole is not alive and well and writing. But he is not, and there is nothing we can do about it but make sure that his gargantuan tumultuous human tragicomedy is at least made available to a world of readers.
--From the Forward by Walker Percy
7 comments:
I got my oil changed at a quick lube one time. The mans name was Ignatius Muckle.
My dog was in the car and before I could warn him, he grabbed the door handle and opened the door. Good Old Monkey Dog went for his throat and Mr. Muckle's eyes went wide and would not go near the car again.
I was holding back laughing the entire time, Ignatius Muckle, what a curse his parents cast on him.
I need to read the book again. Maybe I can find the book on LP album and just listen to it.
Mom
I am about at page 100, where the Levy's are sitting in their living room jawing at each other, and I must say that this book is very, very funny. Ignatius is probably one of the best written characters I have ever come across.
Getto: You're so freaking lucky. Oh, the joy you have to come!
mom: It's true his parents cursed him, but wow, what a name. Ignatius Muckle. Definitely sounds more like a character in a book.
geto boy: Yep, you're luck.
Okay, I need to supplement the quote about the book with a quote from the book:
“Pardon me, sir,” Ignatius called. “Do you retail here?”
The man’s watering eyes turned toward the large visitor.
“What do you want?”
“I would like to buy one of your hot dogs. They smell rather tasty. I was wondering if I could buy just one.”
“Sure.”
“May I select my own?” Ignatius asked, peering down over the top of the pot. In the boiling water the frankfurters swished and lashed like artificially colored and magnified paramecia. Ignatius filled his lungs with the pungent, sour aroma. “I shall pretend that I am in a smart restaurant and that this is the lobster pond.”
“Here, take this fork,” the man said, handing Ignatius a bent and corroded semblance of a spear. “Try to keep your hands out of the water. It’s like acid. Look what it’s done to the fork.”
“My,” Ignatius said to the old man after having taken his first bite. “These are rather strong. What are the ingredients in these?”
“Rubber, cereal, tripe. Who knows? I wouldn’t touch one of them myself.”
“They’re curiously appealing,” Ignatius said, clearing his throat. “I thought that the vibrissae about my nostrils detected something unique while I was outside.”
Ignatius chewed with a blissful savagery, studying the scar on the man’s nose and listening to his whistling.
"Call me Ignatius" ...Wasn't this the beginning of Moby Dick?
josh: I think you're thinking of The Hobbit, right? "In a hole in the ground lived Ignatius...."
YES! WAY overdue C.O.D. plug. This is a great pick. I remember being really taken by how well Toole made Ignatius out to be such a slob. I could almost taste the processed meat and smell the steam out of that rancid boiler.
Getto is in for a treat with the Levy folks! Oh man! LOL!
I have a request - please find one about him being "injured." Dude's the most dramatic hypochondriac EVER!
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