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A comic trip through hell in Ireland, as told by a murderer, The Third Policeman is another inspired bit of confusing and comic lunacy from the warped imagination and lovably demented pen of Flann O'Brien, author of At Swim-Two-Birds. There's even a small chance you'll figure out what's going on if you read the publisher's note that appears on the last page.
Book Description
Fiction. The last of O'Brien's novels to be published and now reissued by Dalkey Archive, THE THIRD POLICEMAN is Flann O'Brien's brilliant comic novel about the nature of time, death, and existence. Told by a narrator who has committed a botche d robbery and brutal murder, the novel follows him and his adventures in a two-dimensional police station where he is intruduced to "Atomic Theory" and its relation to bicycles, the existence of eternity (which turns out to be just down the road), and the view that the earth is not round but "sausage-shaped."
Customer Reviews:
On par with Alice.......2007-08-07
A nonsensical tale, somewhat resembling Alice In Wonderland in ridiculousness by verging on insanity. For the 1940's it was well ahead of its time, and unpublished for 27 years because of this. Not recommended for those expecting an easy read.
Half-Plastered Pasted-Up Pastiche.......2007-07-27
This is not so much a novel as a series of vignettes, tied together by a very loose story about a man's descent into the underworld. Rather than Dante's "Inferno" however this is closer to Amos Tutuola's "Palm Wine Drinkard" as non sequitur follows non sequitur with dizzying regularity. Tutuola's novel at least follows a sort of dream logic as the narrator approaches Deadtown, but O'Brien's hero merely experiences one bizarre episode after another -- a maybe murder, a police station where they imprison bicycles, an internal voice named Joe, colors that cannot be named, houses inside of houses and invisible roads to eternity, winds that determine one's lifespan... and so forth. It is all very confusing.
The book also shares some similarities with Joyce's "Finnegans Wake" in its playfulness with language, invention of new words, extended lists of odd word associations, circular structure and both were written in 1939 -- although Flann's is nowhere near as dense or all-engaging.
During the whole book the narrator is plotting a study of fictional author de Selby who harbors some very strange ideas of his own -- the creation of houses without walls, the dilution of water, the origin of night as a black gas which is instantly consumed by any light -- in short, an alchemist transported to modern day. In the world of this novel, de Selby is a famous and respected author, which gives some indication of what passes for normal here.
For me this wasn't a "comic novel" as it is often described, because the intentional illogic wasn't particularly amusing. It got rather tedious in fact after the 20th or 30th non sequitur.
Absurd and surreal.......2007-07-22
The Third Policeman is a wonderfully absurd, philosophical and surreal book - imagine a cross between James Joyce, Salvador Dali and David Lynch. While in retrospect I have to say that the book is wonderful, to be honest it really drags for long stretches. Particularly many of the footnotes, some of which are clever and funny while others are tedious and meandering. I actually thought of giving up on the book about halfway through. HOWEVER...I stayed with it because I had the feeling that it would redeem itself at the end and thankfully this turned out to be the case. This is definitely a book that will challenge you, stay in your head after you read it and will satisfy your literary appetite if you're in the mood for something very different and bizarre. If you're reading this because you're a LOST fan (which I am) I would say that I don't know if The Third Policeman offers any clues as to what's going on - rather, it offers some insight into the inspiration for the show. Recommended.
Silly Absurdism.......2007-06-27
Nick Drake was "rediscovered" because a Volvo commercial played Pink Moon. O'Brien was similarly rediscovered because a character in Lost was spotted (you had to look close to see it) reading this book. This has sparked a renaissance for the book, and host of new reviews touting it as the "source of Monty Python's humor," etc. Though the book is funny, it's also extremely repetitive, and I would admonish Python fans to not get too excited by such comparisons. I personally found little similarity. The Third Policeman is more like Kafka's The Trial, and, I might add, is also not as funny. It is remarkable how many people are stating that O'Brien was a "postmodernist," when it is obvious that here he is actually making fun of such thinking, not touting it. In Candide, Voltaire used Pangloss to make fun of Leibniz; here, O'Brien is using his fictional philosopher for a similar purpose. Such commentators seem to miss the point that O'Brien is stating that if postmodernists were correct the world would to him be a hell of sorts; and so, thank goodness they are not correct. Just look at the absurdities present: riding a bike makes you part bike and the bike part you; since it takes light measurable distance to travel in space looking at yourself in a series of mirrors shows you a younger and younger version of yourself; it gets dark because of an accumulation of black air caused by volcanic activity (how then does it get light again?) It's amazing that some people could so entirely miss the butt end of O'Brien's jokes while claiming to praise his work. Amazing.
Are you a Lost fan?.......2007-06-17
Then read this book because it will give you hints to as what is going on in the series. If you are not a fan, this is a good book about a man, his bike, policemen, a world that can grant any wish, and of course...murder.
Customer Reviews:
Silly Absurdism.......2007-06-27
Nick Drake was "rediscovered" because a Volvo commercial played Pink Moon. O'Brien was similarly rediscovered because a character in Lost was spotted (you had to look close to see it) reading this book. This has sparked a renaissance for the book, and host of new reviews touting it as the "source of Monty Python's humor," etc. Though the book is funny, it's also extremely repetitive, and I would admonish Python fans to not get too excited by such comparisons. I personally found little similarity. The Third Policeman is more like Kafka's The Trial, and, I might add, is also not as funny. It is remarkable how many people are stating that O'Brien was a "postmodernist," when it is obvious that here he is actually making fun of such thinking, not touting it. In Candide, Voltaire used Pangloss to make fun of Leibniz; here, O'Brien is using his fictional philosopher for a similar purpose. Such commentators seem to miss the point that O'Brien is stating that if postmodernists were correct the world would to him be a hell of sorts; and so, thank goodness they are not correct. Just look at the absurdities present: riding a bike makes you part bike and the bike part you; since it takes light measurable distance to travel in space looking at yourself in a series of mirrors shows you a younger and younger version of yourself; it gets dark because of an accumulation of black air caused by volcanic activity (how then does it get light again?) It's amazing that some people could so entirely miss the butt end of O'Brien's jokes while claiming to praise his work. Amazing.
Average customer rating:
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The Third Policeman
Flann O'Brien
Manufacturer: Lancer
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 Genre Fiction
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ASIN: B000NDK7T8 |
Book Description
This digital document is an article from Irish University Review: a journal of Irish Studies, published by Irish University Review on September 22, 2002. The length of the article is 8462 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
Citation Details
Title: Queering knowledge in Flann O'Brien's The Third Policeman.
Author: Andrea Bobotis
Publication:
Irish University Review: a journal of Irish Studies (Refereed)
Date: September 22, 2002
Publisher: Irish University Review
Volume: 32
Issue: 2
Page: 242(18)
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Average customer rating:
- Am giving this 5 stars because I really really really liked Robert!
- Witty and Entertaining
- I can't quite give it 4 stars
- Continuation of Whirlwind Wedding
- Utterly Enjoyable
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Whirlwind Affair
Jacquie D'Alessandro
Manufacturer: Dell
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
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ASIN: 0440237130
Release Date: 2002-10-29 |
Book Description
Can an unconventional liaison turn into the love match of the season?
After the scandalous duel that made her a widow, Alberta Brown was left destitute--and in possession of a cache of ill-gotten goods. Determined to right the wrongs of her thieving husband, she sailed to England to locate the owner of a gentleman’s ring bearing an intriguing coat of arms. But a series of mishaps on- board soon convinced Allie that she was enmeshed in a perilous game. Yet none was more dangerous--or irresistibly tempting--than the dashing stranger waiting on the dock.
The marriage-minded Lord Robert Jamison was searching for a woman who aroused that certain something. He never expected to find her in this uncommonly pretty, fiercely independent American he’d been asked to escort back to a splendid country estate. Allie was in grave danger--worse, she vowed never to marry again. Yet Lord Robert’s will was just as strong--and he planned to make this maddening creature his wife, even as passion drove them into each other’s arms...and a reckless liaison flamed into the season’s most indiscreet and irresistible affair of the heart.
Customer Reviews:
Am giving this 5 stars because I really really really liked Robert!.......2006-01-08
When I read the prequel "Whirlwind Wedding", I really got interesed in Robert, Austin's brother. Robert is witty, funny, charming, but he also had a secret from his past.
Allie also has a secret, and between these 2 & their secrets, it takes awhile to get hers out into the open & solved, then, in the last 50 pages or so, his secret is revealed & solved.
Robert & Allie were cute together, but I especially adored him.
She was fine, but he was great! My only regret is that because this fun loving couple had such a serious relationship, that playful lovemaking just was not on their agenda, though you get the idea that had the story continued, we would have seen Robert's playful nature come out during their intimate moments.
On the 1-10 scale, I'd give this a 9.9, the only thing holding it back was taking so long for their secrets to be revealed & dealt with, and Robert being so serious during their intimacy.
Witty and Entertaining.......2004-08-23
I too found fault with Allie's refusal to love Robert for what he presents to her--a noble, caring, and brave man. His "secret" was fairly stupid (why didn't he just tell Allie? the "honor and vow" excuse didn't really fly) and therefore their "reasons" for allowing themselves to separate seemed contrived. However, the dialogue between them was so sparkling and their chemistry so great I ultimately overlooked that.
It was also annoying how people kept "fisting their hands," having "eyebrows that shot upwards," and kept "capturing each other's mouths." Towards the end, the exact same sentence appeared twice! "He erased the distance between them with three long strides." A few pages later, the Evil Villain did the exact same thing! Still, the story was so engaging it really overrode these objections instead of being mired under by them.
I can't quite give it 4 stars.......2004-08-09
Ahhhh, Robert. A truly beguiling hero: Kind, generous, handsome, sexy, charming, and actually looking for true love and a forever marriage. A few of those in real life would marvelous.
Allie....she's no Elizabeth (Whirlwind Wedding). Sure, she hurt, scarred, but she's so sad that she's often boring. When she's not boring, she's often annoying because she refuses to see Robert for who he is. Instead, she sees him as just like her toad of a (dead) husband. Even though Robert does nothing but smile and act like the charming man he is to make her think so. Oh, and he has a secret. Not once does she think his secret is a matter of honor. She never gives him the benefit of the doubt. He has to risk his life for hers to make that happen. Sheesh!
The book was slow and rather plodding for the first half--despite abductions, attempted murder, robberies, and so on. Robert & Allie had to get to Bradford Hall for real excitement to kick in. Their relationship didn't move forward until then either. The second half of the book was much better, even though Allie was still annoying at times. It was nice to see Elizabeth & Austin again. Caroline was there, too, but Miles was merely window dressing, and I missed him. New character, Michael, was interesting, but there seems to be no forthcoming book for him. Indeed, it would a trial to fit it into the sub-genre's requirements.
This effort is nowhere near as good as Whirlwind Wedding, but readers of that book will want to read Robert's story, and he is a swoon-worthy hero.
Continuation of Whirlwind Wedding.......2004-06-04
Allie promised Elizabeth that she would be with her for the arrival of her first born. So Allie Brown arrives from America to England to visit her bestfriend from childhood Elizabeth Matthews Jamison (from WWW). She is a widow and has been in mourning for 3 years now and while she is in England she has plans to return a mysterious ring, more than likely stolen by her thieving husband. Elizabeth remembers Allie as being happy and exciting- always with a smile on her face. But when Robert Jamison (from WWW) arrives to bring Allie home from the ship he finds a woman that shows nothing but sadness and disappointment in life. Robert has decided that it is time to bring a bride home himself after his brother, Austin, brings Elizabeth home (in WWW). And after little time together, Robert decides Allie is for him but how can he convince Allie of that when she has pledge to never again risk her heart to another. And then there is the ring... and someone that wants to murder Allie over that ring because Allie knows more than she is suppose to about her dead husband's dealings. So the story gets deep- the plot thickens.
It is a sweet and loving story about the passion Allie and Robert share, along with the suspense over the ring. Definitely and recommended read!
Utterly Enjoyable.......2003-08-25
Whirlwind Affair is another charming Jacquie D'Alessandro novel filled with secrets, fun, passion and heartbreak.
American Alberta Brown (mentioned as heroine Elizabeth's best friend in Whirlwind Wedding) sails to England to visit her childhood friend Elizabeth, the Duchess of Bradford, and to perform the final deed that will right the wrongs of her thieving and now dead husband. Having previously given her heart to a charming and handsome man who turned out to be a criminal and philanderer, Allie is determined never again to trust a man and certainly never to marry again.
But she doesn't count on meeting the charming and handsome Lord Robert Jamison, Elizabeth's husband's younger brother. Robert collects Allie when her boat docks in London while Elizabeth is about to deliver her second child at Bradford Hall in Kent. It is isn't long before Robert, who has been looking for a bride, realizes that Allie is the woman he's been searching for all his life. Unfortunately Allie, who finally gives into their mutual physical passion, is determined to never again risk her heart.
The developing relationship between Robert and Allie is beautiful, fun and heartbreaking. Soon they are both endangered by the man who repeatedly seeks to murder Allie because of the dangerous information she possesses. The plot takes off and-though the mystery is easy to unravel-keeps the reader on the edge of her seat with its fast-paced action.
The characters are intelligent, warm and delightful-even the secondary characters like the hilarious Baroness Gaddlestone and her rambunctious dog "boys" Teddy, Eddie and Freddie. Scenes between Allie and Robert sparkle with fun and passion. The happy, closely knit family at Bradford Hall is so feisty and fun that the reader wishes she could be a part of it.
This is an utterly enjoyable Regency romance (brimming with the love of life, spouse and children) that should not be missed!
Book Description
Cut adrift after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Afghanistan has become a political no-man's-land. Historically an artifical "buffer state", Afghanistan has in recent years become the geopolitical playground of a variety of competitng interests - the Americans, the Saudis, Russians and Pakistanis, let alone drug barons, arms dealers and oil interests.
Afghanistan's unstable and problematic history is now further complicated by the emergence of the Taliban - one of the most conservative and least understood Islamic movements in the world.The Taliban continues to grab the headlines, most notably for their appalling treatment of women, and their connections to Osama bin Laden.
Investigative journalist Michael Griffin draws numerous interviews with key protganists, and offers a fasccinating eyewitness picture drawn from three extensive trips to Afghanistan. He paints the fullest picture yet of the Taliban movement, its origins, beliefs, religious and political ethos, and the character and impact of its particular brand of fundamentalism. In the process he reveals the controversial nature of the Taliban's links with the CIA, Saudi Arabia and other vested interests. Who is to blame for the present situation? What conspiracies and collusions led to this pass? The author's conclusion reveals his view of where the "smoking gun" is pointed.
Customer Reviews:
REVEALING.......2007-05-12
Not being as grammatically proficient as some of the other reviewists, I can only add my observation.
While being a difficult book to read, not easy flowing as in a novel, the subject of this book is so well researched and packed with facts, that slower reading is required to assimilate all the info.
To me Afghanistan has always been a vague cauldron of politics.
Michael Griffin's book has opened this 'mystery' of politics by explaining in detail the interaction of all neighboring countries, especially Pakistan who plays a leading role in the politics of the area and the Taliban.
Very informative reading. If you are interested in politics read it, if not read Harry Potter.
Highly recomended, most intelligent book I've read in a decade.
Some good stuff on Afghanistan.......2001-11-30
There is some good stuff in this book about America's new friends in the war for freedom and against terrorism, the Northern Alliance. I've noticed recently some commentators saying that the Northern Alliance leaders had nothing to do with the massive bloodshed in Afghanistan from 1992-96 and that was all the fault of Gullubdin Heckmatyar. Well, according to this book Heckmatyar's organization received through Pakistan about half of all the money funnled by the West and the reactionary Arab regimes into the Jihad against the Soviet Union in the 80's. He the guy wholikes to throw acid in women's faces who don't wear the burkha and has been involved in the drug trade, though his influence has been reduced dramatically in the past few years. After the communist government was overthrown in April 1992, Heckmatyar began massively bombarding civillians in Kabul. President Rabbani made him prime minister of his government in mid-93 but he took to bombarding Kabul again on Janary 1st 1994 along with general Rashid Dostum and the Shiite group Hizb-i-Wahdat, two of the prominent members of the current Northern Alliance. The Taliban drove them away in February 1995 shortly before they began their own massive bombardment of Kabul. In May 1996 Rabbani, who recently reinstalled himself in Kabul, once again made Heckmatyar prime minister and bans on certain forms of entertainment were introduced, as well as Sharia law and Islamic dress code and so on.
Other mass killings are described in this book like those by like the current northern alliance forces of Ahmad Massoud's army in the Shia Hazarajat and Abdul Malik, whose forces defected from Dostum's government to allow the Taliban to capture Mazar-i-Sharif in May 1997 but almost immediately turned against the Taliban and conducted a Saddam Hussein-like massacre of Taliban prisoners of war and it seems, thousands of civillians.
Of course it is hard to reach the utter barbarism of the Taliban. There is no need to repeat the horrific details. They emerged as a group friends in Kandahar province in late 94' who gained noteriety for fierce piety and honesty in contrast to the former Mujahadeen warlords whose forces were running around looting and raping and killing everybody. The U.S. clearly hoped that the efforts of Unocal to make arrangements with the Taliban leaders for a trans-Afghanistan oil pipeline from Turkmenistan would succeed. The dictator of Turkmenistan had switched allegiances from Bridas of Argentina to Unocal. After the whole thing blew up and they were left with a regime that was sheltering Osama Bin Laden, the monster that the Reagan adminstration helped create in the 80's, and serving as a conduit for drug smugglers (The Northern Alliance people are very heavy into that business also though Griffin does not say this).
Al Quaida is a very decentralized organization. Bin Laden may not have known about Sept 11. The evidence presented for his involvement by the British government has been rather thin. Griffin says that the evidence for him being involved in the attacks on the U.S. embassies in August 1998 and his relationship to the Al Shifa medicine plant in the Sudan which Clinton blew up is very tenuous. (...)
The prose style in this book is in parts really leaden. One gets the feeling that the book as a whole was not edited very well.
swamped.......2001-11-13
The first few pages of this book are informative, but in the same way a few pages on europe might summarize its history from the 16th century onward. I was so overwhelmed that I gave up.
Insightful!.......2001-10-20
Don't look here for flowery prose; this is an academic accounting of the modern history of Afghanistan and the origins of the Taliban movement. In a flood of chronological detail, Michael Griffin traces the political evolution (or devolution) of the country from the 1973 fall of King Zahir Shah, through Soviet occupation and horrifying civil war, to the birth and victory of the Taliban. Playing a central role in this history is Osama Bin Laden, whose presence in Afghanistan severely muddied an already bleak environment. Griffin is even-handed in his analysis - misogynistic Taliban, expansionist Pakistanis and disingenuous U.S. administrations all receive sharp criticism. We [...] strongly recommend this clear-headed history of a now critical region to all readers.
War children, it's just a shot away, it's just a shot away.......2001-09-28
Michael Griffin has stitched together a narrative on the Taliban movement from literally hundreds of local and international news reports. Much of his material consists of ýcomments on commentsý and rumor and innuendo, all fused into a reality that provides the reader with a book at once informative, and also hyperbolic. Indeed the civilized world will be put more than ill at ease by the authorýs description of the barbaric behavior engaged in by a collection of factions, all of who have played some role in the rise of the Taliban.
In a real sense it's as if the competing tribes are behaving like some turbaned group of Mafia families playing a round robin playoff in a deadly game of tissue damage. The goal is to decide who will rule the money flows from the proposed trans Caucausus and central Asian pipelines that will run from the world's largest oil reserves in Azerbaijan, Kazakstan and Turkmenstan. Follow the money and overlay the story with the imposition of the Taliban's idea of Islamic law and you have the picture. Like most ruling eliteýs they set rules for others that they themselves only hint at following.
The author provides you with all the geopolitical drama of the constantly shifting tribal and religious alliances which will determine Afghanistanýs fate. This tale differs little, except in style, with the contrast between a society that builds and a society that destroys. What has the Taliban built? Contrast this with their destruction of the Bhuddist sculptures of Bamiyan, their denial of basic education to the people, their grisley public amputations and inhumane executions of those who disagree with their religious doctrine. For the politically correct they donýt treat their women very well either. Indeed they've overseen a destruction of their own socio-economic sphere of the world.
Balint Vazsonyi's book "America's 30 years war" is instructive in comparing societies that engage in "building up" with those that engage in "tearing down". Abe Lincoln once said that there are two ways to have the biggest house in town; build it or tear everyone else's down. Ipso the attack on America re the WTC and the Pentagon.
When America withdrew from the Afghani theatre after the fall of the USSR, the Taliban won in their Mafioso version of "going to the mattresses". This book gives you all the available details. It's best to remember that all wars seem to be fought over money in the name of religion. In that sense this conflict appears to be no different.
Average customer rating:
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WHIRLWIND AFFAIR
Manufacturer: Dell
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: 0739429620 |
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