Gorey's work defies easy classification. He is typically desribed as an illustrator, but this merely scratches the surface. His combination of words and pictures has led some to classify him as having been a cartoonist, while others regard him primarily as a writer who drew, or an artist who wrote. His books can be found in the humor and cartoon sections of major bookstores, but books like The Object Lesson have earned serious critical respect as works of surrealist art. His endless formal experimentations - creating books that were wordless, books that were literally matchbox-sized, pop-up books, books entirely populated by inanimate objects, etc. - complicates matters still further, not to mention the thorny issue of whether his books are best classed as literature for children or for adults. As Gorey told interviewer Richard Dyer: "Ideally, if anything were any good, it would be indescribable."