“Is it not true to say that a man of taste has no taste, and that a man of principles has no principles?”
— A philosophical musing during a conversation, touching on the nature of identity and perception.
Archivist's Choice
The Third Policeman
Flann O'Brien (2019)
Genre
Fantasy / Mystery
Reading Time
240 min
Key Themes
See below
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In a world where bicycles have souls, policemen debate human-bicycle transformation, and a murdered man's ghost offers commentary, a desperate scholar falls into an absurd, repeating eternity after a strange crime.
Synopsis
A nameless narrator, obsessed with the philosopher de Selby, commits murder to fund his book. He and his servant, Divney, plan to rob and kill Mathers. After the murder, the narrator fixates on the missing money and enters a surreal world. He meets three odd policemen—Sergeant Pluck, MacCruiskeen, and a 'third policeman'—who believe people exchange atoms with bicycles, becoming bicycles themselves. The narrator's journey involves talking to his soul (Joe) and Mathers' ghost, who explains their situation. He discovers the police station is a confusing, non-Euclidean space, and reality shifts. The narrator realizes he died during Mathers' murder and is now in a personalized purgatory, trapped in a cycle of repeating the crime and the absurd journey.
Reading time
240 min
Difficulty
Hard
Pacing
Variable
Mood
Absurdist, Philosophical, Darkly Comic, Surreal, Existential
✓ Read this if...
You enjoy absurd humor, philosophical puzzles, surrealism, and a unique take on the afterlife, with a strong dose of Irish wit.
✗ Skip this if...
You prefer straightforward narratives, clear resolutions, or realistic fiction, and dislike ambiguity or dark, existential themes.
Plot Summary
The Murder and the Obsession
The unnamed narrator, a scholar focused on the philosopher de Selby, faces financial trouble, threatening his de Selby commentary's publication. He lives with John Divney, an acquaintance since childhood who has become rich through dubious means. Divney suggests robbing the wealthy Phillip Mathers, known for keeping large amounts of cash. Though hesitant, the narrator, driven by his desire to publish his work, agrees. During the robbery, Mathers is brutally killed with a spade. The narrator thinks Divney did it, but later vaguely remembers striking Mathers himself. They bury the body, and the narrator is troubled by the crime, experiencing strange visions and a growing detachment from reality.
The Search for the Money
After the murder, Divney becomes secretive about the stolen money, claiming he buried it and will get it later. The narrator, tormented by guilt and suspicion, grows impatient. He often visits Mathers' burial site, where he feels unsettling sensations and hears faint, disembodied voices. Convinced Divney is trying to cheat him, the narrator decides to dig up the money himself. However, despite his thorough search, he finds no money, only a strange, unknown box. He confronts Divney, who denies wrongdoing and suggests the narrator is imagining things, further isolating the narrator in his increasingly strange reality.
The Policeman's Station
Following a cryptic note from Divney, the narrator goes to report Mathers' disappearance to the local police, hoping to divert suspicion. He travels through an increasingly strange landscape, where familiar places seem distorted. He finds a police barracks that defies normal physics, appearing to exist in multiple places at once. Inside, he meets Sergeant Pluck and Policeman MacCruiskeen, two officers obsessed with bicycles. They discuss a pseudo-scientific theory that frequent bicycle riders exchange atoms with their machines, leading to a partial soul transmigration. This theory is presented seriously, further disorienting the narrator as he tries to understand his situation.
The Third Policeman and the Omnium
During his stay, the narrator learns about the Third Policeman, a mysterious, all-knowing figure named O'Cunassa who is rarely seen. Policeman MacCruiskeen, a skilled craftsman, shows the narrator a series of intricately nested, identical wooden boxes, demonstrating matter's infinite divisibility. He also introduces 'Omnium,' a basic, invisible substance that makes up everything. This philosophical discussion, with O'Brien's unique logic, further blurs the lines between reality and absurdity for the narrator. He tries to talk about Mathers' disappearance but is constantly sidetracked by their odd fixations.
The Cell and the Talking Joe
The narrator is eventually confined to a cell in the barracks, supposedly for his safety or for some vague bicycle-related infraction. During his imprisonment, he begins long, internal conversations with what he believes is his soul, which he names 'Joe.' Joe is cynical, knowledgeable, and often critical, commenting on the narrator's actions and thoughts. This internal monologue becomes central to the story, offering philosophical insights and dark humor. The conversations with Joe deepen the narrator's self-reflection and his growing grasp of his predicament, though Joe's true nature remains unclear.
The Pursuit of Mathers
The policemen, finally interested in the Mathers case, conclude that Mathers is not just missing but has become a ghost. They believe he is behind various disturbances and bicycle thefts. Sergeant Pluck and Policeman MacCruiskeen, with the narrator, begin a surreal chase across the countryside, encountering strange events and increasingly distorted landscapes. The chase is less about finding a living person and more about understanding the metaphysical aspects of Mathers' ghostly existence, drawing the narrator deeper into the policemen's peculiar world. The narrator struggles to reconcile their fantastical theories with his memory of the murder.
The House of Mathers and the Coffin
During the chase, the narrator returns to Mathers' house. He enters and finds Mathers' body in a coffin, seemingly undisturbed and, to his surprise, still warm. This impossible discovery deeply troubles the narrator, challenging his understanding of time and death. The policemen, however, are unfazed, interpreting it through their own logic related to 'Omnium' and the strange properties of their world. The scene highlights the novel's theme of an afterlife or alternate dimension where reality's rules are altered, blurring the line between the living and the dead.
Mathers' Confession and the Eternity
Mathers, now fully communicating with the narrator, explains he knew about his murder and has been experiencing a form of eternity. He reveals that the narrator, Mathers, and Divney are all trapped in a repeating, hellish afterlife, where the events leading to the murder will happen endlessly. Mathers describes 'eternity' as a moment stretched indefinitely, a place where time and space are fluid. He recounts his own post-mortem experiences, confirming the surreal nature of their existence. This conversation explains the true nature of the world the narrator has entered and the results of his actions.
The Return to the Road
After Mathers' revelations, the narrator, with his internal voice Joe, decides he must escape this bizarre dimension. He leaves Mathers' house and tries to retrace his steps, hoping to find a way back to his previous reality. The landscape remains disorienting and illogical, with roads leading to unexpected places and familiar sights appearing in new, unsettling ways. His conversations with Joe intensify, with Joe often pointing out the futility of his efforts and the inescapable nature of their situation. The narrator's journey becomes a desperate, but ultimately pointless, search for an exit from his self-created purgatory.
The Encounter with Divney and the Repetition
As the narrator travels, he meets a younger John Divney, who does not recognize him. The narrator realizes he has returned to the moment just before Mathers' murder. He sees his younger self and Divney planning the crime, and he watches the entire sequence of events unfold again, including Mathers' death. This horrifying realization confirms Mathers' earlier explanation of an eternal, repeating cycle. The narrator understands he is trapped in a perpetual loop, condemned to relive the consequences of his actions indefinitely. The novel ends with the narrator recognizing 'the Third Policeman' in the very first policeman he met, solidifying his inescapable fate.
Principal Figures
The Narrator
The Protagonist
Descends from a state of moral compromise into a surreal, cyclical damnation, gradually realizing the true nature of his post-mortem existence.
Joe
The Supporting
Remains a consistent, cynical voice throughout, guiding the narrator towards understanding his damnation.
John Divney
The Antagonist/Supporting
Introduced as a deceptive friend, his actions are the catalyst for the narrator's damnation, and he is revealed to be a fellow prisoner in the eternal cycle.
Phillip Mathers
The Supporting
Transforms from a murder victim into a guide, explaining the true nature of the afterlife and the repeating cycle.
Sergeant Pluck
The Supporting
Remains a consistently eccentric and unhelpful guide, embodying the illogical rules of the afterlife.
Policeman MacCruiskeen
The Supporting
Remains a consistently philosophical and meticulous figure, demonstrating the deep absurdity of the narrator's new reality.
de Selby
The Mentioned
His philosophical ideas serve as a foundational, albeit absent, element that shapes the narrator's worldview and tragic trajectory.
Themes & Insights
The Nature of Reality and Perception
The novel constantly questions what is real and how perception shapes reality. The narrator enters a world where physics, time, and logic are fluid. The policemen's 'bicycle theory,' MacCruiskeen's 'Omnium,' and the infinitely nested boxes all challenge common understanding. The narrator's deteriorating mental state and his conversations with Joe further blur the lines between objective reality and subjective experience. This theme is most clear in the police barracks and Mathers' house, where impossible things become normal.
““When you are everywhere, you are nowhere. When you are no place, you are every place.””
Guilt and Damnation
At its core, the novel explores guilt and its consequences, appearing as eternal damnation. The narrator's murder of Mathers starts a chain of events that leads him to a repeating, hellish afterlife. His torment is not external punishment but an internal, self-perpetuating loop of reliving his crime. The conversations with Joe, his conscience, highlight his fault, while Mathers' explanation of 'eternity' confirms the inescapable nature of his fate. The ending, with the repetition of the murder, powerfully shows this theme.
““I was guilty of the murder of Mathers. That was the beginning of it.””
The Absurdity of Bureaucracy and Authority
The local police force shows the absurdity of authority. Sergeant Pluck and Policeman MacCruiskeen care more about their strange 'bicycle theory' and philosophical thoughts than actual law enforcement. Their investigations are illogical, their conclusions are fantastical, and their methods are nonsensical. They represent a bureaucratic system that has lost touch with practical reality, mirroring the narrator's own descent into the illogical. Their interactions with the narrator are both comedic and unsettling, showing the futility of seeking rational help in an irrational world.
““The gross and net result of it is that people who never think of bicycles can be said to be in a dream, deprived of their natural senses and not truly alive.””
The Cyclical Nature of Time and Existence
The novel reveals a repeating understanding of time, where past, present, and future are not linear but eternally repeating. Mathers explicitly states that they are all trapped in an 'eternity' that is a perpetual recurrence of the events surrounding the murder. The ending, where the narrator watches his younger self and Divney commit the murder again, clearly confirms this theme. This repeating structure reinforces the idea of inescapable fate and the lasting consequences of one's actions, creating a deep sense of dread.
““And I saw that the road ahead was the road that was behind me and that the world was an endless ring, and I was on it.””
Plot Devices & Literary Techniques
Unreliable Narrator
The narrator's perception of reality is increasingly distorted and his memory faulty.
The unnamed narrator's mental state rapidly deteriorates after the murder, leading to a highly subjective and often contradictory account of events. His memory of the murder itself is hazy, and he struggles to distinguish between reality, hallucination, and the bizarre rules of the world he enters. This unreliability forces the reader to question everything, mirroring the narrator's own confusion and adding to the novel's surreal atmosphere. His internal dialogues with Joe often challenge his perceptions, further highlighting this device.
Personified Soul (Joe)
The narrator's conscience and inner voice made manifest as a separate character.
Joe is the narrator's personified soul, who engages him in extensive, often philosophical, conversations. This device externalizes the narrator's internal conflict, guilt, and self-awareness. Joe acts as a critical, cynical, and knowledgeable commentator, providing insights into the narrator's predicament and the nature of the afterlife. This allows for both deeper character introspection and a unique way of delivering exposition and thematic commentary without breaking the narrative flow.
Anaphora / Cyclical Structure
The repetition of events, particularly the murder, creating an eternal loop.
The novel employs a cyclical structure, culminating in the narrator witnessing the very murder he committed being re-enacted, implying an endless loop. This device is crucial for conveying the theme of eternal damnation and inescapable fate. The narrative literally circles back to its beginning, forcing the narrator (and the reader) to confront the perpetual consequences of his actions. This creates a sense of profound hopelessness and underscores the idea that the 'eternity' is a relentless repetition.
Absurdist Logic
The use of illogical and nonsensical reasoning presented with complete seriousness.
Flann O'Brien employs absurdist logic throughout the novel, particularly through the policemen's 'bicycle theory' and MacCruiskeen's philosophical discussions. These theories, while utterly nonsensical, are presented with such earnestness and detailed pseudo-scientific explanation that they create a disorienting effect. This device highlights the breakdown of rational thought in the narrator's world and serves as a satirical commentary on intellectual pretension and bureaucratic inefficiency, making the bizarre feel strangely plausible within the novel's context.
Critical analysis
Notable Quotes
“When you are a boy you are a member of the human race, but when you become a man you are a member of the human race for the first time.”
— A character's reflection on the transition from youth to adulthood, implying a deeper understanding of existence.
“The earth is not a sphere, but a sausage.”
— A bizarre assertion by one of the policemen, part of the novel's surreal cosmology.
“A man who is not a man is a man.”
— A puzzling statement that plays with the concept of being and non-being, characteristic of the book's logic.
“The great part of a day is spent in the morning, and the great part of a morning is spent in the bed.”
— A seemingly mundane observation that, in context, highlights the peculiar rhythms of life in the book's world.
“It is a poor mind that cannot find an explanation for anything.”
— A character's cynical remark on the human tendency to rationalize even the most irrational events.
“Bicycles are almost as complicated as people.”
— A policeman's deep fascination with bicycles leads to this comparison, blurring the lines between animate and inanimate.
“The longer a thing is used, the more of the user it absorbs.”
— Part of the atomic theory of bicycles, where objects gradually exchange atoms with their owners.
“When you have taken a path, you must continue on it, even if it leads to the grave.”
— A grim reflection on commitment and destiny, as the protagonist finds himself trapped by his choices.
“The universe, you must understand, is a great machine, and the parts are not all working together.”
— A character's explanation of the chaotic and often contradictory nature of existence.
“Everything is either a bicycle or not a bicycle.”
— A simplistic yet profound logical statement from one of the policemen, revealing their skewed worldview.
“The trouble with a book is that you never know what it's about until you've read it.”
— A self-referential comment that could apply to the experience of reading 'The Third Policeman' itself.
“It is a queer thing, the mind. It has its own way of playing tricks.”
— A character's acknowledgment of the deceptive and unreliable nature of perception and memory.
“The end is never the end. It is always the beginning of something new.”
— A cyclical view of existence and events, reflecting the novel's non-linear and recurring themes.
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Key Questions (FAQ)
The narrator is driven by an overwhelming desire to publish his definitive work on the eccentric philosopher de Selby. Lacking the necessary funds, he resorts to robbery and murder, believing the ill-gotten gains will finance his scholarly masterpiece's publication.
About the author
Brian O'Nolan, better known by his pen name Flann O'Brien, was an Irish civil service official, novelist, playwright and satirist, who is now considered a major figure in twentieth-century Irish literature. Born in Strabane, County Tyrone, he is regarded as a key figure in modernist and postmodern literature. His English language novels, such as At Swim-Two-Birds and The Third Policeman, were written under the O’Brien pen name. His many satirical columns in The Irish Times and an Irish-language novel, An Béal Bocht, were written under the name Myles na gCopaleen.
