Books Like A Confederacy of Dunces

Joseph Heller

Like Ignatius Reilly, Yossarian is a deeply unheroic protagonist surrounded by absurd bureaucracy and a crowd of memorable misfits. Heller's satire of institutional nonsense has the same anarchic comic energy Toole brings to New Orleans.

Charles Dickens

Dickens fills his episodic comic novel with larger-than-life characters and farcical escapades, much as Toole does with Ignatius and his circle. Its loose, wandering structure suits readers who enjoyed the book's rambling set pieces.

Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra

Ignatius is often compared to a fat Don Quixote, and Cervantes's novel is the original comic study of a self-deluded dreamer colliding with the real world. Its mix of farce and tenderness will feel familiar to Toole's readers.

William Faulkner

Faulkner's Southern grotesques and dark sense of humour echo the atmosphere of Toole's novel. Readers who enjoyed its portrait of a decaying American South will find a similarly unsettling, morally tangled world.

Kingsley Amis

Amis skewers pretension, academic vanity and social posturing with the same comic precision Toole turns on Ignatius's self-importance. Its hapless, sardonic hero will appeal to fans of the book's satirical edge.

David Lodge

Lodge's witty novel sets an intellectual protagonist against the messy realities of industry, much as Toole sets Ignatius against the commercial world of New Orleans. Its sharp social observation and comic timing make it a natural next read.

Jerome Klapka Jérôme

This light, cheerfully digressive comic novel shares the joy of watching foolish characters stumble through ordinary situations. Its episodic humour and affectionate tone suit readers who loved the book's comedy.

P. G. Wodehouse

Wodehouse's farce is full of self-deluded schemers and absurd predicaments, delivered with brilliant comic dialogue. Fans of Ignatius's grand pronouncements and mounting disasters will enjoy its breezy chaos.

Terry Pratchett, Neil Gaiman

This comic fantasy mixes apocalyptic absurdity with an eccentric ensemble and sharp irreverence. Readers who relished Toole's lunatic energy and satirical wit will find a similarly playful, offbeat tone.

Walker Percy

Percy, who praised Toole's novel, writes about New Orleans with a wry, observant eye on Southern life and its alienations. It is a serious counterpart to the book's comic portrait of the city.

Kate Chopin

Chopin's novel of New Orleans society offers a sharp, observant portrait of the city and its social codes. Readers drawn to Toole's setting and its eccentric life will find a richly textured companion.