Abnormally Happy: A Gay Dictionary

Description

66 pages
Contains Illustrations
$4.95
ISBN 0-919573-41-X

Publisher

Year

1985

Contributor

Reviewed by Joan McGrath

Joan McGrath is a Toronto Board of Education library consultant.

Review

With an avowed debt to Ambrose Bierce’s Devil’s Dictionary, this collection of fiendishly amusing definitions takes a look at twentieth century life from a decidedly different perspective and is heavily (but not totally) oriented to gay life (gay being provided with the definition that gives the collection its title, Abnormally Happy). Sly, funny, at times wickedly pointed, as in such definitions as “civil rights — An official recognition that a minority contains a substantial number of voters”; “faith healing — The art of making irreversibly handicapped people feel guilty about their faithlessness.” The back cover illustration of sheep engaged in “unnatural acts” — i.e., singing, dancing, smoking, and drinking — should be a warning to us all. Short and funny, with clever cartoon illustrations.

Citation

Summerbell, Richard, “Abnormally Happy: A Gay Dictionary,” Canadian Book Review Annual Online, accessed October 13, 2024, https://cbra.library.utoronto.ca/items/show/35750.