The Third Policeman

I stumbled on this I don't know how, but what a fortuitous chance! The story of an irish guy besotted with the fictional philosopher de Selby (lots of footnotes / excerpts about the fantastical de Selby). Our character becomes enamored a plan to steal a strong box full of money in an old man's house and things don't go well. Soon he is a fairly twisted kind of Ireland with odd policemen constantly checking mysterious dials and visiting an intriguing eternity nearby. I hesitate to describe too much but this one is re-reader for sure. I adored this book. ( )

I first read "The Third Policeman" 50 years ago. Then, I found it confusing but humorous; now, I find it comparable to "Crock of Gold" by James Stephens but with more playful use of language. It's a surreal fantasy, well within the Irish fable tradition, with a bit of a mystery. What caught my eye in this reading was the wild use of words (similar to the humor of Norm Crosby) and quirky metaphors. The central story, about a murder in the execution of a robbery and the recovery of the loot, is almost secondary to the surreal encounters in a magical landscape. I enjoyed suspending my disbelief and going with the flow. ( )

I read it. I may read it again. I am still confused. I will reserve judgment until that time.

A comic novel that has a dream-like quality and is also fable-like. The main character commits a murder in the first few pages. After some unnerving encounters he ends up at a police station where people merge with their bicycles and bicycles merge with their humans. They explore an underground world where anything is possible and the tensions is high when he is considered guilty. The section on the joy of riding the perfect bicycle is marvellous. Plenty that made me laugh out loud and other sections that made no sense at all. ( )

audio fiction (3.5+ hrs), A thief/murderer has a surreal dreamlike experience with the Irish police.

I loved the narration (at 0.75 speed), it had terrific deadpan delivery; I wasn't able to follow the story as well due to my being easily distracted as well as the frequent digressions and nonsensical characters, but I enjoyed it. Reminds me a lot of Alice's adventures through the looking glass, with every character affected by his own unique madness. ( )