"Oh, my valve!"

It took me around 50 pages to get my bearings but as soon as I did, humor and brilliance burst forth exponentially. This is the funniest book I have ever read.

Ignatius Reilly's overly dramatic turns of phrase are so good I need to make a reference list so I can incorporate them into my own habits. Gems like: "they are an affront to theology and geometry;" "Apparently I lack some particular perversion which today's employer is seeking;" and "Canned food is a perversion. I suspect that it is ultimately very damaging to the soul."

There are so many more but turns of phrase are only one reason I loved this book. The plotting is the other. Toole seamlessly plotted a small community of storylines in a way I haven't seen before. It was inspiring!

Not only do I highly recommend anyone read this but this one is going into my "books to re-read over and over again" list.