h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Hi there. I thought I'd pop by to say that I enjoyed your Gadfly Entry. I hope you won't mind me making use of it to try to attract some gadflies to h2g2 Friends of Tibet (A2170982).

It brought a smile to see Ignatius J Reilly included in your list of gadflies. A friend and workmate of the happy summer lent A Confederacy of Dunces to me and I loved it. Such a sad story behind the story though.

Cheers,

JTG

I'm glad you enjoyed the Entry. Feel free to use it (the Communist authorities probably regard the whole 'Free Tibet' movement as nothing but gadflies, so it's appropriate).

'Confederacy of Dunces' is one of my favourite books, and it would never have been published if the author's mother hadn't been so persistent. Thank heavens she was. I'm surprised no one has tried to make a film - although Hollywood would probably make a hash of it.

Thanks. The way things are going, more and more of us are going to be labled gadflies.

There was a 'Confederacy of Dunces' movie either in production or nearly so. Unfortunately, the studio (I believe it was Miramax) had shelved it, the last I heard. It would make a great movie.

Have you read John Kennedy Toole's other book, Neon Bible? It was written when he was only 15, and published posthumously. It shows amazing sensitivity for such a young man. What a tragic waste of such a remarkable talent. There is a film version of Neon Bible.

JTG

No, I haven't read the other book. This sounds like a good excuse to visit Amazon.com. I agree, Toole's death really was tragic. I can't understand the depths of despair that lead a person to commit suicide. (A friend who suffered from periodic depression once said that you feel so awful that, if there was a pill on the other side of the room that would magically cure you, you couldn't muster the energy to walk over to get it.) We can only imagine what Toole would have written had he lived.

How does that old chestnut go? How different the world would be if Hitler had died young and Mozart lived to a ripe old age! If only...