Two Writers, One Gone

I began thinking about it on the daily trot, after reading another review of Iguanas. “I fell in love with Franny,” wrote Mayra, and again it struck me: how could she? Is Franny still making friends, even in the afterlife?

Seems so!

Well, not much surprises me down here. Reality is different in Puerto Rico, as different as the air. So I looked at the ocean, took a breath, and then got thinking about another writer—far greater. John Kennedy Toole, and if you haven’t read A Confederacy of Dunces, stop everything. Get the book. Unplug the phone. Cancel your life for two days. Read.

Well, that's probably unnecessary advice—the book has sold 1.5 million copies. Has also been translated in 18 languages. So you’ve likely read it, and know the curious story behind it. How the book was rejected, how the author despaired and then suicided, how the mother barged into Walker Percy's office after mercilessly harassing him with calls and letters. She demanded that he read it.

There is something about a mother’s love!

What you might not know is that the book was at least partially written in Puerto Rico.

Toole was drafted in 1961. Not being obvious cannon fodder, he was shipped to Puerto Rico, to teach English to the recruits. (Do I hear bells ringing?) He rose meteorically—his word—and got a private office. That’s when he started to write Confederacy.

The insanity and unreality of Puerto Rico itself has been interesting at all times that it was not overwhelming. (Great agreement errors in this sentence, I fear).

That’s what he had to say about Puerto Rico. And knowing Puerto Rico lends an interesting take on Confederacy. The main character is completely unlike any other character in fiction—insane, unkempt, learned. The plot stumbles along in its own illogical way. The absurdities pile up.

I won’t know without doing more research than I want how much of the book was written in Puerto Rico. But I’ll go out on a limb.

The book could only have been written in Puerto Rico.