funny, really, very I for ironic

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GoodTaste

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The liberary books arrive, six of them, smelling of ink and weighing about a hundredweight; funny, really, very I for ironic. But at least it means there's something to talk to Barry about.

Source: Alphabet by Kathy Page (P40)

I don't get the exact meaning of "very I for ironic". Is it grammatical or an infromal use meaning "very ironic for me"?
 

Barque

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He seems to mean "very ironic". I don't know why he calls it ironic however; we don't know enough of the background.

Is it grammatical
He's using a noun phrase as an adjective. It's informal use.
 

Tarheel

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It seems to be highly original usage

library
 

jutfrank

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Given the title of the book 'Alphabet', it appears that the writer is using a literary device by referring to the alphabet, based on the way that we typically say:

A for 'apple'
B for 'bread'
C for 'cucumber'

etc.
 

GoodTaste

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Given the title of the book 'Alphabet', it appears that the writer is using a literary device by referring to the alphabet, based on the way that we typically say:

A for 'apple'
B for 'bread'
C for 'cucumber'

etc.

I for 'Ironic"... So is it a humour or posing a stance of being self-effacing?
 

jutfrank

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Are you reading this book? How far through are you? Why is it called 'Alphabet'?
 

GoodTaste

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Are you reading this book? How far through are you? Why is it called 'Alphabet'?
I just picked up randomly some pages to read. The contents of the book is peculiar:
Contents
B....................1
A....................101
C....................211
Afterword and Thanks......263

It tells the story of a man called Simon Austen in Thatcher's Britain who's illiterate yet highly intelligent and serves as an unforgettable, haunting character at the novel's heart.

I am still not sure why the author, who was Writer in Residence at a British prison in 1992, calls it Alphabet.
 
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