599. The Third Policeman

The Third Policeman
Flann O'Brien
1967
Around 210 pages

By now, we are all aware of how I feel about wacky Irish comedies. The humor never lands for me, the characters never behave in believable ways, and the stories can often be wrapped up as, the main character was either tripping out of his mind, or he was the dead the entire time. Either way, that kind of ending tends to render the plot of the novel pointless. 

Our unnamed narrator (sigh) is a scholar of the fictional de Selby, a scientist and philosopher. He breaks his leg (we don't know how), and befriends John Divney, who runs a farm and pub. I'm not sure why the author chooses to withhold so much information from the reader. I guess it's supposed to be intriguing. Anyway, our narrator and Divney decide to kill a wealthy local man, but they have some disagreements about who should get the cash box.

I didn't gel with ole Flann last time, and I don't gel with him now. Skip.

RATING: **---

Interesting Facts:

Featured in an episode of Lost with the intent of providing context for the show's complex mythology. The sales of the book in the three weeks following its mention equalled what it had sold in the preceding six years.

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