Oooo-wee!

“When a true genius appears in this world you may know him by the sign that the dunces are all in confederacy against him.”

- Jonathan Swift

Ok…so as you’ve figured out I finally managed to finish “A Confederacy of Dunces” and I must say that it was absolutely brilliant! Utter genius! Not since Coetzee have I been this smitten by an author… He has a way with words that left me reeling! The novel is a satirical account of the misadventures..(misdemeanors?!) of one flatulent and exasperating Ignatius J Reilly, a self-professed savior-of-the-world and blubbering idiot with a penchant for adding to the misfortunes of everyone that he chances upon! Add to the mix a liberal dose of the nonsensical in the form of various superfluous characters like his poor mother Irene (heroine in this formidable saga), the coquettish stripper Darlene and her ambitious Cockatoo, poor bumbling Patrolman Mancuso, sodomist and fashionistra extraordinaire Dorian Greene, the lurid Levys, devious Miss Lee, languid Jones who’s forever hiding behind his glasses and racist grunts and of course that mangy minx Myrna Minkoff, love/hate interest of our unlikely hero. The result is a complicated yet well-orchestrated masterpiece that culminates, after many comic hitches and pit stops, with grand pomp and flourish! A definite must-read and newest addition to my 100 best books of all times! Seventeen thumbs up!

I had a chance to finish Confederacy on the train ride back from Chennai where I was visiting Shivi and his girlfriend Nasim for the weekend. And what a weekend it was! Managed to get in shopping (sarees, silver, home accessories), great food ( pizzas, steak, chops, bone soup, Kerala parathas, bheja fry), partying( ..the Leather Bar absolutely rocks! That DJ could teach a couple of our Bambaiya counterparts a thing or two!) and of course my US Visa! Am now totally equipped to pack my toothbrush and whisk off sans warning to New York for the weekend, darlings!

Also managed to get in some unscrupulous movie watching this last week! Saw Snake Eyes (..fun), Phenomenon (...preachy) and Bringing out the Dead..(…totally and astutely skewed!). Nicholas Cage plays an overworked and edgy pre-medic/ambulance driver working the graveyard shift in Manhattan’s crime/drug infested districts. His decline into the dark side and final reemergence is the basis of this exceptionally well-directed (Scorsese) flick. He is aided in his venture by a brilliant cast led by Patricia Arquette, John Candy, Ving Rhames & Mark Anthony. Deep. dark and totally wonderful! Reminded me a little of Trainspotting in the way that it takes abject horror and puts a comic yet human spin on it. Another Top 100 addition…

So all in all a good week/weekend and its back to work time..:). Also it's been two whole years since my first post on this here blog so will put up a celebratory type article tomorrow...more when it happens!