Transvestia

ON THE SECRET SERVICE OF HIS MAJESTY, THE QUEEN, by Sol Weinstein; Pocket Books #10172, New York; 128pp., $1.00 (1966)

A farcical account of Isreal Bond, Hebrew Agent Oy Oy Seven, protecting the person of a royal visitor who is definitely NOT heterosexual - and an Arab at that! To do the job, Bond must also dress; reluct- antly, and secretly fearing that he might LIKE it! And he does, for a while, but a melee in the Gayboy Club ends up with Bond in tears, tortured with the thought "I have just killed a man by striking him with a purse.' VERY camp, in every sense of the word, but a few good laughs; for one, Bond's victim was wearing Transves-Tights and was a member of the Gayfia. In this case, borrow, laugh, and return did.

C

same as I

THE BALLAD OF DINGUS MAGEE, by David Markson, Blond Publ., London 25/- ($3.50) (Also available in US as a paperback at about 75¢, and just barely worth it.)

A broad parody of all the bad Westerns you ever read or saw, with too many bad jokes but quite a few good ones too. An ambitious young gunman, whose rep- utation has been built mainly by taking credit for crimes in which he had no part, is the bane of a bung- ling sheriff. At the height of the action, both take refuge in the local brothel (having tricked two other citizens into fighting it out in the dark street). The fugitive disguises himself as one of the girls so effectively that he is able to trick the sheriff into helping him escape with a trunk containing the Madam's ill-got gains. The Madam, who has been fighting his side of the battle in HIS clothes, forces the sheriff to wear hers for the chase. Read, laugh and discard.

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