I’ve read The Hearing Trumpet, which was presented earlier on the blog by my cat.

The book is described as an “occult twin of Alice in Wonderland” but I don’t think it’s accurate. If it can be compared to any book at all then it’s probably a very drunk version of Narnia.

The author, Leonora Carrington, was an eccentric person. She would cover her feet with mustard while sitting in a restaurant and would serve her guests breakfast made of their own hair that she had cut off while they were sleeping. Thus, I’m not sure if Leonora needed the help of any substances to create this book or it came to her naturally.

The book feels like a lucid dream controlled by a fantasy loving person. The story starts with an old lady and cats but quickly progresses to a fairytale touched up by an apocalyptic approach. I’m not even sure if Leonora Carrington wanted to write the book or the book just happened accidentally while Leonora was having fun imagining her dream world.

The Hearing Trumpet has a hilarious main character and is very quotable. Here are some of the quotes:

• “The fact that I have no teeth and never could wear dentures does not in any way discomfort me. I don’t have to bite anybody and there are all sorts of soft edible foods easy to procure and digestible to the stomach. […] I never eat meat as I think it is wrong to deprive animals of their life when they are so difficult to chew anyway.”
• “If I remember correctly writers usually find some excuse for their books, although why one should excuse oneself for having such a quiet and peaceful occupation I really don’t know. Military people never seem to apologize for killing each other yet novelists feel ashamed for writing some nice inert paper book that is not certain to be read by anybody.”
• “It is impossible to understand how millions and millions of people all obey a sickly collection of gentlemen that call themselves ‘Government’. […] It is a form of planetary hypnosis, and very unhealthy’”
• “I’m sure it would be very pleasant and healthy for human beings to have no authority whatever. They would have to think for themselves, instead of always being told what to do.”

I still can’t suggest this book to anybody because I’m not sure it’s possible to enjoy the book without hitting a moment of occult overdose at some point.

The Third Policeman was written by a person called Brian O’Nolan under the pseudonym Flann O’Brien. It was written between 1939 and 1940 but was published only much later by O’Nolan’s widow. It was called a masterpiece, but O’Nolan never learned about this. During his life two publishers refused to publish his book. One of the publishers told O’Nolan to “become less fantastic”. O’Nolan then placed the manuscript in his kitchen where he could see it, but told his friends that the manuscript was lost when it flew out of his car, page by page.

The Third Policeman is surreal, absurd and funny. I listened to the audiobook which is not the best medium for this book. It should be read to be understood better. Still, it seems like at some places the book is supposed to be too absurd to comprehend.

The Third Policeman is like Alice in Wonderland where Alice is a one-legged criminal and the Wonderland is macabre and even more surreal.

The aftertaste of the book is dark and haunting but you will laugh a lot while reading it. I laughed so hard I disturbed people around me. At some places, though, the book gets so tedious it feels like toothache. It is boring for the same reason as it is genius. The book’s essence is in its dialogues and philosophy. There are many references to the works of a fictional philosopher called De Selby. De Selby has lots of peculiar beliefs. For example, one of his theories is that the Earth is not a sphere but a sausage. For each such theory De Selby provides a proof. It gets simultaneously boring and funny, you never know which one will happen next. De Selby as a creation was so successful that he was used in other books too, one of which was written by a different author.

The ideas of The Third Policeman were used for Lost TV series. Also, I can see the resemblance between the book’s ideas and the ones of Lucifer TV series.

The Third Policeman is an influential book. It might be disliked by readers who prefer more action, but it’s the right book for people with an unconventional sense of humor who wouldn’t mind to be puzzled by impossible ideas.

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