The Third Policeman

So I finished reading The Third Policeman by Flann O'Brien.  This is a strange strange little book. But I have to say that there is definitely a panoptic moment near the end of it that might prove useful in future writing.  However, the silver lining comes, strangely after book has ended. there's a page where the author is writing to william saroyan telling him that he thinks he could turn the book into a play.  In this letter, he basically explains the premise of the story that you don't get if you haven't been reading particularly well.  I'll try not to give away the entire story, but O'Brien explains that the story is a metaphor for what he thinks hell must be like for those who have earned a ticket there.  It's a place where you have to live the same events over and over again, never learning that you are dead or that you're even in hell.  What this letter doesn't make clear, though, is another odd thread that weaves through the book, and honestly, this may have been explained in the front matter to the book that I skipped (as is my generally rule since I don't want to have the story spoiled for me before I even start it).  The main character is constantly talking about a philosopher--de Selby--who I assume is a fictional person created to add a farcical element to the story.  Throughout the book, there are footnotes that explain particular aspects of de Selby's research, since the main character fancies himself to be a foremost authority on de Selby and has hopes of publishing a book about him and his work.  I had thought that eventually there would be some kind of parallel between the critics of de Selby's work who are alluded to in the footnotes and the main characters of the novel, but if there is supposed to be some parallel, I gotta admit that I didn't quite catch it.  Interestingly enough, in O'Brien's letter to Saroyan he does say that the story is intended to be funny, and yet he also expresses his uncertainty as to whether or not the comedy actually comes across.  I, too, wonder about this so-called comedic element that the story is supposed to have.  The back cover of the book that gives the typical snapshot of what the book is about also says that it is supposed to be funny.  I just didn't get the humor.  I mean yes, the business with the bicycles is funny, but if I were recommending this book to someone, I certainly wouldn't tell them that it's funny.  Then again, maybe it's just a kind of dry humor I failed to get.  

The good news is that finishing the book gives me another check mark on my exam lists, and check marks are what I am all about these days.  The next book up:  Felicia's Journey by William Trevor.