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The Third Policeman

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The Third Policeman

By: Flann O'Brien
Narrated by: Jim Norton
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About this listen

Flann O'Brien's most popular and surrealistic novel concerns an imaginary, hellish village police force and a local murder.

Weird, satirical, and very funny, its popularity has suddenly increased with the mention of the novel in the TV series Lost.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your My Library section along with the audio.

©1967 Flann O'Brien (P)2012 Naxos AudioBooks Classics Dark Humour Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Literature & Fiction Satire Small Town & Rural Funny Comedy Witty Cycling Mind-bending Thought-Provoking Scary

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Editor reviews

Why we think it's Essential: Jim Norton turns this wild post-modern romp into an accessible absurdist story that sounds as though it has been narrated by a studio full of talent. This modern classic can often make little sense when read, but Norton never misses a beat. While the story ranges from life to afterlife and everywhere in between, Norton keeps us grounded, entertained, and totally engrossed. You might've missed it in lit class, but don't let it roll by now. — Chris Doheny

Critic reviews

"If ever a book was brought to life by a reading, it is this presentation of O'Brien's posthumously published classic. Norton individually crafts voices and personalities for each character in such a way that a listener might imagine an entire cast of voice talent working overtime....[He] ties the ribbon on a perfect presentation of this absurd and chilling masterpiece." ( Publishers Weekly)
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May be my favourite novel anyway - but Jim Norton's reading is gold. Or Omnium.

My favourite audiobook, hands down

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Fantastic crime novel, brilliantly narrated, provoking the full intellect, impossible to film. 'Is it about a bicycle?'

Impossible to film!

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...it is a diabolical pancake by all means of comprehension. Ride it at your own risk.

For sure...

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If you like the absurdity of Monty Python this book is for you! Can’t believe it’s not more well known, an absolute master of the English language!

Funny and Absurd

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excellent book surreal and imaginative comical and portentous a fantastic and dark tale superb .

Brilliant

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Firstly I am astounded that the manuscript was rejected and such was the feeling if rejection, that the author deemed it 'lost' by and it was published posthumously. Secondly the humour is on an incredible level, subtle but evident in the thoughts and actions of the characters and their surroundings. To say to much will incur spoilers. This is very much a book where in the world of the damned and dead - rules and laws (not even the law of gravity) hold good. All that there is scope for is back-chat and funny cracks (adapted from a quote by the author).

A vivid and descrptive story set in early Irish lands

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This is a favourite book of mine, first enjoyed about sixty years ago when I was a student. Now it is given a gorgeous reading from one of the greatest actors around; Jim Norton. He lets the wonderful story speak for itself, and he submits to the author's creative brilliance without turning into caricature. A perfect combination of author and performer.

A masterpiece of crime detection. Or not.

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Makes Alice in Wonderland seem like a dull domestic melodrama by Jane Austen. An insane brilliant meditation on purgatory and guilt as the protagonist, enamored of the mad theories of de Selby, loses all touch with reality and self. O'Brien, whose first language was Gaelic, descriptively writes like no one else and Bishop Brennan kicks it right up the erse.

top

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Be patiently open-minded and this book delivers an hysterical account of existence and reckoning, heightened by the pitch perfect lilt of an Irish accent.

Laugh out loud absurdity

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Flann O'Brien's novel has spawned many imitations and derivatives, including The Sixth Sense and Groundhog Day. It is a masterpiece of grim comic restraint, so staged that the breathless love scene with a bicycle towards the end is not in the least surprising. Jim Norton reads it with unfailingly impeccable appropriateness.

A fecund adventure

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