In
Postmodern Literary Theory: An Introduction (1997), Lucy identifies
postmodernism as a continuation (albeit not by conscious or deliberate means) of
romanticism, especially in the form of ideas associated with the
Jena romantics in Germany in the late-18th and early-19th centuries. His discussion is influenced by the work of French philosophers
Philippe Lacoue-Labarthe and
Jean-Luc Nancy. Lucy argues that postmodernism should be distinguished from
poststructuralism, and especially from deconstruction as associated with the work of
Jacques Derrida. Lucy's work is notable for its sense of humour, and for taking popular culture no less seriously than philosophy. The increasing tendency in his later work towards a philosophical engagement with contemporary events is strongly informed by Derrida's
Specters of Marx and the idea of democracy-to-come, which is the linchpin of Lucy's account of the importance of deconstruction in
A Derrida Dictionary (2004). Much of Lucy's recent work has been collaborative, and directly concerned with contemporary Australian cultural events and figures. His book with Steve Mickler,
The War on Democracy: Conservative Opinion in the Australian Press (2006), pits a hard-left Derridean concept of democracy against what the authors argue are the "undemocratic" interests represented in the work of several prominent Australian media commentators (whom they refer to collectively as "Team Australia"), including
Miranda Devine,
Gerard Henderson,
Janet Albrechtsen and
Andrew Bolt. The book was shortlisted for the
Gleebooks Prize for Critical Writing at the 2008
New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards. Among other recent works, Lucy's co-edited collection (with Chris Coughran),
Vagabond Holes (2009), is a tribute to his idol,
David McComb, lead singer and songwriter for Australian rock band
The Triffids, which defies the conventions of a rock biography in its deconstruction of the notion of an autonomous self or identity. Contributors include
Nick Cave,
Mick Harvey,
John Kinsella,
DBC Pierre, and Lucy's own adopted sister,
Judith. His book,
Pomo Oz: Fear and Loathing Downunder (2010), engages with (among other issues) debates surrounding secondary-school English teaching in Australia, while taking a deconstructive slant on the
Bill Henson scandal, the
Children Overboard Affair and
The Chaser's
prank motorcade at the 2007 APEC Australia summit in Sydney. A significant section of the book is devoted to a discussion of John Kinsella's poetry in relation to deconstruction, with reference to Kinsella's friendship with Derrida. Ranging across diverse topics, and working in multiple styles, the book offers a further elaboration of Lucy's work on democracy-to-come. His final book,
A Dictionary of Postmodernism, was published posthumously by Wiley-Blackwell in 2015. The book, edited by
John Hartley (academic), was completed by Lucy's friends and colleagues Robert Briggs,
Claire Colebrook, John Hartley, Tony Thwaites, Darren Tofts, and
McKenzie Wark. ==Critical reception==