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matthewcpeck's reviews
586 reviews
The Third Policeman by Flann O'Brien
5.0
'The Third Policeman' is a comedy about eternity. I'm baffled this near-perfect novel was rejected at the time of its original completion - and even now requires a cameo on LOST to gain a cult following. If you like Haruki Murakami, David Foster Wallace, humor of the absurd, philosophy, and the rare postmodern novel that wraps up nicely, I suggest you seek out this book.
I read O'Brien's 'At Swim-Two-Birds' before this. That novel is every bit as inventive, but 'Policeman' is considerably more compelling and even moving, benefiting from a linear storyline and opaque narration. At the same time - like Murakami or David Lynch - scenes and passages seem like a dream when recalled.
An insoluble pancake.
I read O'Brien's 'At Swim-Two-Birds' before this. That novel is every bit as inventive, but 'Policeman' is considerably more compelling and even moving, benefiting from a linear storyline and opaque narration. At the same time - like Murakami or David Lynch - scenes and passages seem like a dream when recalled.
An insoluble pancake.
The Peculiar Memories of Thomas Penman by Bruce Robinson
4.0
Being a fan of Bruce Robinson's incomparable films WITHNAIL & I and HOW TO GET AHEAD IN ADVERTISING, as well as Simon Pegg, I was immediately intrigued upon seeing Pegg gush about this book to NPR (http://www.npr.org/2011/08/30/136584429/appreciating-the-awkward-absurdity-of-adolescence). I'd had no idea that Robinson was also a novelist. Despite occasional stylistic habits that annoy (too many ellipses at the ends of paragraphs!), he's a natural. He is English, after all.
In spite of a mouthful of a title that seems to promise forced quirkiness, 'The Peculiar Memories Of Thomas Penman' is never unconvincing. Thomas has few odd traits, but they don't smother his character (unlike many other coming-of-age novels of the past 20 years). From its opening episode of high-school humiliation that rivals 'American Pie' and 'The Inbetweeners' to its toughly bittersweet denouement, Robinson's novel is uncanny at evoking the angst, absurdity, and yes, the horniness of being an adolescent boy. And it's funny enough to have you snickering in public.
'TPMoTP' has feces, exploding crabs, slapstick fights, terrifying gales, and tender, lyrical love scenes. It also has people and places that ring unmistakably of recollection - Robinson grew up in Boadstairs, Kent, the book's seaside setting. Along with the semi-autobiographical 'WITHNAIL & I', 'TMoTP' makes a splendid and shockingly hilarious double-bill about post-war British life.
In spite of a mouthful of a title that seems to promise forced quirkiness, 'The Peculiar Memories Of Thomas Penman' is never unconvincing. Thomas has few odd traits, but they don't smother his character (unlike many other coming-of-age novels of the past 20 years). From its opening episode of high-school humiliation that rivals 'American Pie' and 'The Inbetweeners' to its toughly bittersweet denouement, Robinson's novel is uncanny at evoking the angst, absurdity, and yes, the horniness of being an adolescent boy. And it's funny enough to have you snickering in public.
'TPMoTP' has feces, exploding crabs, slapstick fights, terrifying gales, and tender, lyrical love scenes. It also has people and places that ring unmistakably of recollection - Robinson grew up in Boadstairs, Kent, the book's seaside setting. Along with the semi-autobiographical 'WITHNAIL & I', 'TMoTP' makes a splendid and shockingly hilarious double-bill about post-war British life.