I picked up A Confederacy of Dunces years ago and I wasn't ready for it at all—I think I read a page and a half and set it back down. But I came home from my latest trip to New Orleans and felt like I was ready to tackle one of that city's classics. Even so, it was slow going until page 180 or so when things really clicked for me. I'm not sure if there was anything special about that sequence (when Ignatius first visits Paradise Vendors) or if that's just how long it took for me to become immersed in Ignatius J. Reilly's world, but from there to the end of the book I was enthralled and wildly entertained.

FuzzyCo grade: A+