Nonfiction book that looks at irony. There is a little bit of explanation, but mostly quotations as examples.

I still don’t understand. By definition, it still sounds like sarcasm to me. Examples didn’t help. In addition, there are about 50,000 different types of irony, apparently. (OK, slight exaggeration.) A few examples were amusing (Billy Joel’s 11-year old daughter asking him not to sing – is this ironic?), but still didn’t help me understand. It started with explanations of the different types of irony, then a history of irony (all with examples). There were various examples of authors using irony, irony in pop culture (Alanis Morissette’s song, of course, mentioned more than once that those things aren’t ironic; The Simpsons, and other examples). At least it was fast to read. I liked that there were a number of Canadian examples. But I still don’t “get” it. Honestly, with all the various different types of irony, I’m probably more confused than ever. ( )

A helpful and funny guide to irony for the popular masses. Winokur is an excellent researcher and archivalist. I found that I had a very enjoyable time reading through the snippets of the history of irony. For what it is, this book is great. However, more serious ironists should check out Linda Hutcheon, Claire Colebrook, let alone the master in Soren Kierekgaard's doctoral dissertation itself. ( )