Synopses & Reviews
The Third Policeman is Flann O'Brien's brilliantly dark comic novel about the nature of time, death, and existence. Told by a narrator who has committed a botched robbery and brutal murder, the novel follows him and his adventures in a two-dimensional police station where, through the theories of the scientist/philosopher de Selby, he is introduced to "Atomic Theory" and its relation to bicycles, the existence of eternity (which turns out to be just down the road), and de Selby's view that the earth is not round but "sausage-shaped." With the help of his newly found soul named "Joe," he grapples with the riddles and contradictions that three eccentric policeman present to him.
The last of O'Brien's novels to be published, The Third Policeman joins O'Brien's other fiction (At Swim-Two-Birds, The Poor Mouth, The Hard Life, The Best of Myles, The Dalkey Archive) to ensure his place, along with James Joyce and Samuel Beckett, as one of Ireland's great comic geniuses.
Review
Nothing less than dazzling . . . maddening and dizzying . . . heady and exhilarating . . . it is literally funny as hell.
As with Scott Fitzgerald, there is a brilliant ease in his prose, a poignant grace glimmering off every page. -- John Updike
Synopsis
The Third Policeman is Flann O'Brien's comic novel about the nature of time, death, and existence. Told by a narrator who has committed a botched robbery and brutal murder, the novel follows him and his adventures in a two-dimensional police station where, through the theories of the scientist/philosopher de Selby, he is introduced to "Atomic Theory" and its relation to bicycles, the existence of eternity (which turns out to be just down the road), and de Selby's view that the earth is not round but "sausage-shaped." With the help of his newly found soul named "Joe, " he grapples with the riddles and contradictions that three eccentric policeman present to him.
Synopsis
With the publication of The Third Policeman, Dalkey Archive Press now has all of O'Brien's fiction back in print.
Synopsis
A most sardonic novel about life after death with the dead man telling the comic and terrifying story . . . a strange, original comic genius.
About the Author
O'Brien is the author of five novels including At Swim-Two-Birds, The Poor Mouth, and The Dalkey Archive and several volumes of essays and newspaper columns.