I picked up a copy of The Dong With a Luminous Nose by Edward Lear for the title.  It was wrapped in cellophane, so what lay between the covers was a mystery.  I knew the illustrations would be good, because Edward Gorey is always good, but I was dead curious about what Lear was getting at with this peculiar title.  Was it a book about Vietnamese currency?  Would the words ‘Long’ and ‘Silver’ also appear?  Nah. Too twentieth century.  Turns out, the Dong is just a dong…not a name or an appendage, just the Dong.  Like, the Dude, I suppose, or the Donald.  As for his luminous nose, well, I’ll explain later.

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