Book Club discussion

I was expecting to enjoy this book, but looking back I'll note that I've had some trouble with Southern literature. Or at least To Kill a Mockingbird. but maybe that was a school thing?

The back of the book had the word "fractious" as being used to describe the book. I think that's a pretty good descriptor of how the book is, that and meandering. The main character of this book is exceeding unlikable and kind of only kind of funny. So it's a book where you're not really cheering for the protagonist, just observing the ridiculous things he does. Not that Mr. Levy was more likable, but he seem more interesting to me.

The part about this book that I liked the most was definitely chapter 13 when everything finally circles back around and all the tales of the supporting characters are wound up to some sort of conclusion. Generally as a result of Reilly's actions creating the series of events that determined what happened to everyone.

I wouldn't call this my favourite book, and wouldn't put it at the top of my recommendations list, but it does have its moments. It's got a rich world and a lot of good characters. This whole book reminds me a lot of a tv show or a sitcom. It reminds me a lot of Family Guy and I can imagine a Mancuso or a Mr. Levy spin-off series. But in the end I'm not sure that the book is that funny, and I'm not really sure if this is a satire (academics?) or what the joke going here is.

This book also got me thinking about anti-heroes. I'm pretty sure Ignatius Reilly is an anti-hero, but he's not who I'd usually think about. I'd think more about Tony Soprano, or if you look up "anti-hero" on wikipedia you get Clint Eastwood from The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. But usually protagonists likeable, even if they're not people you would want meet. Reilly is someone who is quite unlikeable and who you would not want to meet.

I was also thinking how fiction can be a venue for this form of anti-hero, but I was trying to think about this from something like a songwriting perspective. How often do people write songs from the position of a narrator that is intentionally unlikeable, especially if it is not a criticism of that point of view? Does such a thing exist? Maybe part of the reason for this is that it's easier for the reader of a book to separate author from narrator than it is for the listener of a song. I think this is even true of actors who get type-cast because the audience has become accustomed to seeing them a certain way.