"The Third Policeman" is Flann O'Brien's brilliantly dark comic novel about the nature of time, death, and existence. Told by a narrator who has committed a botched robbery and brutal murder, the novel follows him and his adventures in a two-dimensional police station where, through the theories of the scientist/philosopher de Selby, he is introduced to "Atomic Theory" and its relation to bicycles, the existence of eternity (which turns out to be just down the road), and de Selby's view that the earth is not round but "sausage-shaped." With the help of his newly found soul named "Joe, " he grapples with the riddles and

弗兰·奥布莱恩————————作者

（Flann O’Brien,1911—1966）

本名布莱恩·奥诺兰（Brian O’Nolan）,爱尔兰小说家、剧作家、讽刺作家。出生于北爱尔兰蒂龙郡斯特拉班市,毕业于都柏林大学学院,供职于都柏林地方事务部,并以笔名“迈尔斯·纳·戈帕林”（Myles na gCopaleen）在《爱尔兰时报》上长期开设专栏,撰写讽刺性文章。作为后现代主义文学的开拓者和奠基人之一,奥布莱恩与乔伊斯、贝克特并称为“爱尔兰现代文学三杰”,以其荒诞、幽默、讽刺、戏仿的独特风格,为后世留下了《双鸟泳河》《第三个警察》等不朽经典,直接影响了唐纳德·巴塞尔姆、库尔特·冯内古特、吉尔伯特·索伦蒂诺、伊什梅尔·里德等小说大师的创作。

刘志刚————————译者

高校教师,英语文学译者。译有G.K.切斯特顿随笔集《改变就是进步？》（2010）、D.H.劳伦斯游记《意大利的黄昏》（2015）、哈罗德·布鲁姆文学批评集《剧作家与戏剧》（2016）及部分诗歌、散文作品。