Judith Lucy's book, The Lucy Family Alphabet, has been on the bestseller list since its release last month. Rather incongruously for a tale of dysfunctional family life, it's currently nestled between the ultra-cheery cookbooks Delicious Cupcakes and Bake.

Did Lucy expect the story of her odd, odd family to be such a hit?

"Not at all!" she laughs. "Mind you, this is kind of my approach to life: I go in with low expectations. Years ago, I actually released a live CD-"

I know. I bought it.

"Then you're a member of a very exclusive club. There's a warehouse somewhere in this great land that has thousands of copies of that CD, so I didn't actually expect anyone to buy the book."

Writing it was not an easy process, admits Lucy. "Mind you, I do challenge anyone to spend every day for a year thinking about their childhood and their parents and not wind up feeling like they were going a bit insane."

In retrospect, she says that laying bare the story of her childhood has helped her to move on. "Now I feel like - you know, I really don't want to use a word like 'processed', because I'm not Dr Phil - but I feel that writing the book was quite cathartic."

The past year has been particularly eventful for Lucy. She wrote the book, went through the break-up of a long-term relationship ("Get excited - I'm available!" she quips), and turned 40 in March.

I offer my belated birthday congratulations.

"What, for not dying?" comes the rapid-fire response. Clearly age has not wearied her trademark sarcasm.

Even as she hits the big 4-0, Lucy's trademark style remains unchanged. Her mop of curls and dash of red lipstick have been constant since she first appeared on The Late Show some 15 years ago.

"I basically locked onto a look when I was 15, and I don't really think I've changed it," she acknowledges. "I'm also fundamentally incredibly lazy when it comes to my appearance."

It's that laziness, she insists, that's behind the red lipstick: "It certainly wasn't a conscious thing, in terms of hoping that people would look at my face and think of my labia.'

In the late 90s, Lucy could be heard regularly on Fox FM's Martin Molloy show offering up her barbed commentary on celebrity culture. She even based a stand-up show around her celeb obsession. I suggest that, having read The Lucy Family Alphabet, the current exploits of Britney, Lindsay et. al. don't seem too far removed from her own tales of life as a drunken 20-something.

She responds in mock horror. "I think you'll find I always wore underpants!"

But weren't you on Rove a few weeks ago recounting a particularly graphic story about-
"Yes, I once threw up in my own underpants, but I did it in the privacy of someone's home!"

Well, you can't argue with logic like that.

On to political matters: like many comedians, her career blossomed through the grim Howard years, as our then-Prime Minister provided ample grist to her comic mill. Does she view Kevin Rudd as an improvement?

She lets out a long, deep sigh. "I think a sledgehammer in a suit with a wig would've been an improvement on John Howard."

Amongst all the bizarre childhood anecdotes, The Lucy Family Alphabet touches on one brief, friendly sojourn Lucy enjoyed with a clique of New York lesbians. Is this as far as she's strayed from her rampant heterosexuality?

"Oh no, I've given it a crack a few times," she says. "There was one evening where my best friend and I drank five bottles of wine and had a big old pash. When she told friends of ours what had happened, she told them that she found me 'revolting'. I had the good grace to just say it was an unexpected evening."

Any other lesbian liaisons you'd care to admit?

"I can think of at least two other women that I've kissed, but then it stops. I like cock, what can I do?"

Amen, sister.

"I'm preaching to the converted, I know."

It seems a good time to mention one observation I've made about Lucy's fan-base: women love her, gay men adore her. But a large proportion of the straight male population find her somewhat threatening.

"Is this why I'm single?" she asks. "You look at television and radio, and you don't actually see many women with - call me crazy - opinions. It all seems to be about, 'we just want women that are going to be warm and laugh at the men's jokes.' And I'm presuming that the people that make those decisions are straight men. Maybe I'm just not their cup of tea?"

For those who think Judith Lucy is their cup of tea, here's some good news: a new live show is on the horizon. She's been open about her past battles with anxiety, which almost hobbled her 2006 show I Failed. The season left her a physical wreck; battling eczema, back problems and a vicious case of Vaginitis.

But Lucy has decided to hit the road again. She's currently busy writing a show with the working title Judith Lucy's Not Getting Any Younger, which may make its debut at the next Melbourne International Comedy Festival.

"Next year I'll be back on the boards, and hopefully without the Vaginitis," she promises.
Now there's something to look forward to.

By NICK BOND

The Lucy Family Alphabet
By Judith Lucy
Available for all good bookshops