The Third Policeman
Published on 17. April 2001
Book
Paperback/Softback
240 pages
978-0-00-711521-1 (ISBN)
Description
A thriller, a hilarious comic satire about an archetypal village police force, a surrealistic vision of eternity, the story of a tender, brief, unrequited love affair between a man and his bicycle, and a chilling fable of unending guilt, The Third Policeman is comparable only to Alice in Wonderland as an allegory of the absurd. Distinguished by endless comic invention and its delicate balancing of logic and fantasy, The Third Policeman is unique in the English language.
Reviews / Votes
"Flann O'Brien learned from Joyce the art of tuning language to a lyrical pitch, which he could then turn to his purpose, whether it was to be plain foolery, unconcealed indignation or high comedy. The best of his contemporaries and many subsequent Irish writers have much to thank him for." Sunday Times "Flann O'Brien is inventive, his storytelling is swift and sure, making the eccentric seem natural and the commonplace hilarious." The Times "Even with Ulysses and Finnegans Wake behind him, James Joyce might have been envious." ObserverMore details
Series
Edition
New edition
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
HarperCollins Publishers
Edition type
New edition
Product notice
Paperback (UK-A)
Dimensions
Height: 178 mm
Width: 111 mm
Weight
131 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-00-711521-1 (9780007115211)
Copyright in bibliographic data is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or its licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
New editions
Person
Flann O'Brien was one of the many pseudonyms of Brian O'Nolan, author of the classic novel At-Swim- Two-Birds and, under the name Myles na Gopaleen, writer of a celebrated satirical column in the Irish Times which appeared daily for almost thirty years. Highly praised by Samuel Beckett and James Joyce, amongst others, O'Brien is regarded as one of the great comic writers of the twentieth century. He died in 1966.