Jodee Blanco

LACKING TASTE, DECENCY, THEOLOGY AND GEOMETRY

There are a few good books about John Kennedy Toole and his Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, “A Confederacy of Dunces.” “I, John Kennedy Toole” is not one of them.

It’s not a biography like “Butterfly in the Typewriter.” Nor is it a memoir like “Ken and Thelma.” Instead, it’s what Toole’s protagonist Ignatius J. Reilly might have denounced as an “abortion.”

The book is a disorganized, plodding narrative that adds little to the show more Toole story. It’s a shame because one of the authors, Kent Carroll, was an editor at Grove Press when it bought the paperback rights to “Confederacy.”

Worse, it disrespects Toole’s memory with fictionalized nonsense. One example: Toole gets an erection thinking about author Flannery O’Connor, who was twelve years older and crippled by a debilitating disease. It also posits that the fastidious Toole was Ignatius, a slob. Toole’s mother and friends have denied this.

In addition, the book’s main premise will be hard for some readers to accept: that Toole deliberately killed himself so he could be famous. Even Ignatius, portrayed as a voice in Toole’s head, was in on the decision. He then came to regret it because Toole was no longer alive to let him out of his manuscript box coffin.

Carroll’s role in launching “Confederacy” as a Grove paperback is commendable and a worthy addendum to what is already known. But more detail would have been nice, especially since his involvement with the book ultimately cost him his job.

Other than that, it seems that the authors had so little new to offer that they had to resort to fiction. Even that has its limits, given that the book is well padded with national news events from the timeline of Toole’s life.

To Toole fans who who already know the story behind “Confederacy”: This book could seal your pyloric valve. show less

This is a must-read for parents and educators. It's amazing that Jodee survived her childhood; she must have an incredibly resilient spirit. I could hardly believe that most of the adults in her life kept telling her that the bullying she endured was just "kids being kids." I share her outraged opinion that kids ganging up on one other kid to literally beat her black-and-blue is NOT normal kid behavior! While some of the teasing and cliquish behavior may be typical of kids--especially show more teens--that does not mean it's acceptable. Jodee's resulting depression and eventually thoughts of violent revenge show how important it is for adults to help stop and prevent bullying. show less

I don't write many reviews (I'd rather spend the time reading more books). When I do contribute a review, it's usually because I think the book is excellent and want to call other readers' attention to it, or because I think it is not worthy of one's time and I want to warn off other readers. This book, unfortunately, falls into the latter category.

My interest in "I, John Kennedy Toole" stems from knowing four persons who knew Toole (one of them a childhood friend, two of his coworkers, and show more a student whom he tutored). I also had a (mercifully) brief acquaintance with his mother in 1980, and I can confirm that the authors' depiction of the dominating, delusional Thelma Toole is spot-on (and is the reason I gave the book a second star). Otherwise, I can add little to the two excellent and incisive reviews that have been posted already.

This book contributes little beyond sadly chronicling a dysfunctional family that happened to include a prize-winning author. At its worst, it gives life to Toole's fictional character Ignatius J. Reilly, treating him as a person rather than a character in a novel (well, two novels, counting this one): e.g., "When Kenny [Toole] and Ignatius returned from Wisconsin..." (page 177). The contributor of one of the dust-jacket testimonials enthused, "I love the twisting time frame!" but this reader did not.

Although the blurb asserts that the story behind Toole's novel "A Confederacy of Dunces" is "mostly unknown," it is not undocumented. Readers who want to know more about Toole's background would be well advised to seek out articles or "Butterfly in the Typewriter," a biography by Cory MacLauchlin. show less

Bullying is seen from inside out in Jodee Blanco’s book of school-age memoirs, from her elementary school years through her high school graduation. By revealing what it felt like to be the subject of bullies who both verbally and physically abused her over the years, she reveals an often dark and hidden side of childhood. Hoping to expose this issue to parents and teachers, she is also providing a forum for those who suffer from this issue as well as those who torment others to finally be show more frank. At the end of her own story, Blanco provides a resource list for those who either want to learn more or share their stories.

Truthfully, I was appalled by the content this book. Maybe this is the behavior of schoolchildren now, but I don’t remember such physical assaults on taunted kids from my own period of youth. Perhaps I was in a more protected environment or perhaps I was oblivious to it. I do remember the loneliness of being “left out”. However, what was described in this book was even crueler than simply just being “left out”.

At first, I thought not to read the book as it seemed written and directed to a younger readership. However, I decided to finish this book because I felt the subject was important, the writing style was engaging, and I’d wanted to know more about the subject of bullying.

What I took from this book was a warning for parents, teachers, and fellow students to be aggressive in the fight against bullying. Too often, it leaves scars that have a major negative impact on individual lives. People who think that much of themselves and who denigrate others should never be allowed that much power.

The ending of this book was disappointing. Instead of the author talking about available resources, she simply makes a two-page list. In addition, she goes to her school reunions and actually seems to make light of what was done to her as that, as they say, “is history”. My question is why no one was held liable for their despicable actions either at the time they occurred or even years later? Everyone, years later, seemed as if those cruel actions by individual children simply faded away with the present time and adulthood. show less