The Third Policeman (Paladin Books) - Softcover

"His writing is invariably compared to those other Irish greats, Joyce and Beckett, but for me he is infinitely more accessible and much funnier." (Sue Arnold, The Guardian)"What fun not to know which direction any sentence will take." --Christina Hardyment, The Times

The book begins by detailing an odd relationship between two men. A flashback shows something is amiss, and the scene unfolds to a horrible crime. The story suddenly falls into a fantastical, almost stream-of-consciousness, tale of time-travel, with one of the men journeying with police officers in an investigation of a missing bicycle. This complicated novel s saving grace is an unexpected ending, and Jim Norton's narration. He employs varying tones and pitches, and one of the officers' voices is a wonderful Indian-British accent with a friendly, commanding authority. This story will irk some listeners; others will be intrigued. (At the end, listeners learn why the shift to the fantastical happens so fast.) There s little character development, but listeners won't mind as Norton does a good job as guide. --AudioFile

A thriller, an 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.

"Wonderful. 'The Third Policeman' is a great masterpiece of black humour"
GEORGE MACKAY BROWN

"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"
OBSERVER