Book Review: THE THIRD POLICEMAN by Flann O'Brien

Monty Python, if it were Irish?

Book Review: THE THIRD POLICEMAN (1967) by Flann O'Brien

I have a fondness for surrealism in fiction. Stories that test the boundaries between dream and reality — in short, the opposite of realism. THE THIRD POLICEMAN is such a novel.

This very unusual book was written around 1940, but was published only after the author’s death. It received widespread attention when the TV series LOST (2004-2010) used it as a reference.

THE THIRD POLICEMAN is a comical nightmare about a journey into a surreal, yet unmistakably Irish landscape. What happens there reminds me of Monty Python sketches, if the cast had been working in Ireland instead of the UK.

You’d think a book from the late 1930s would seem dated, but to me it feels quite timeless — and above all dreamlike.

There exists a BBC radio adaptation of the novel ... but it omits the many amusing footnotes that are scattered throughout the original text. These footnotes refer to the fictional crank philosopher / mad scientist “De Selby”, whose works play an important part in the plot.

THE THIRD POLICEMAN is warmly recommended for lovers of absurdist humor.

Further reading:
Flann O’Brien, a.k.a. Brian O’Nolan (1911 – 1966) is well known for his comical novel THE POOR MOUTH (1940). It parodies a certain subgenre of literature where the characters endure endless hardship and misfortune, and is regarded as a classic of Irish literature.

The side character “De Selby” also got his own book — Flann O’Brien’s novel THE DALKEY ARCHIVE (1964).