When the books were being nominated someone wondered if the British contingent would like "Dunces". I certainly did! It's very Pythonesque - all those silly costumes and extreme cartoonish characters. Even a parrot! Though very live... I was worried the book might not live up to my image of New Orleans - a fun, party town full of zanies. But no worries. It only added some new images. I wonder if the Levy Pants scenes were an inspiration for the Office?
So, all in all, it was a very funny book. I was slightly disappinted by the complete lack of depth. Given that Ig was a devotee of Boethius I was looking for some indication of how medieval philosophy impacted on his life. This turned out to be like looking for a summary of Western philosophy in the Python "footballing philosophers" sketch. So don't expect any deep insights into the human condition. But it was very funny.
