First published 1994
In the sweltering heat of New Orleans, Ignatius J. Reilly—a massive, slovenly intellectual trapped between delusion and desperation—gets booted from his comfortable domestic routine. Forced to find work, he stumbles into a series of catastrophic jobs that expose his complete incompetence and social dysfunction. From a humiliating stint as a hot dog vendor to increasingly bizarre attempts at social protest, Ignatius wages war against modern life with his outrageous self-importance. His long-suffering mother, the city's colorful characters, and Ignatius's own grandiose worldview collide in a comic hurricane of misadventure. One man's epic inability to function becomes a hilarious descent into urban chaos.
Genres: satire, literary-fiction, american-fiction, 20th-century, comedy
Vibes: character-driven, humorous, thought-provoking
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, social-misfit
Setting: New Orleans
Period: 20th-century
394 pages · Paperback · Grove Press