{"id":428,"date":"2010-09-25T14:08:11","date_gmt":"2010-09-25T14:08:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/?p=428"},"modified":"2010-09-30T14:10:36","modified_gmt":"2010-09-30T14:10:36","slug":"lost-agus-the-third-policeman-suiomh-tairgi-no-%e2%80%9cscavenger-hunt%e2%80%9d-liteartha","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/lost-agus-the-third-policeman-suiomh-tairgi-no-%e2%80%9cscavenger-hunt%e2%80%9d-liteartha\/","title":{"rendered":"Lost agus The Third Policeman: Su\u00edomh T\u00e1irg\u00ed n\u00f3 \u201cScavenger Hunt\u201d Liteartha?"},"content":{"rendered":"

By now, some of you may have checked out The Third Policeman<\/em>.\u00a0 Ar l\u00e9igh t\u00fa \u00e9?\u00a0 Ar thaitin s\u00e9 leat? (Freagra\u00ed samplacha th\u00edos).\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s interesting to consider the role of this \u00farsc\u00e9al<\/strong> and the many other oibreacha liteartha<\/strong> mentioned in the series Lost<\/em>.\u00a0 Would it be considered \u201csu\u00edomh tairg\u00ed<\/strong>\u201d (product placement)?\u00a0 Not really, is d\u00f3cha<\/strong>, since there\u2019s nothing to suggest that anything was prearranged with na foilsitheoir\u00ed<\/strong>, let alone le Flann O\u2019Brien, an t-\u00fadar<\/strong>, since he died in 1966.<\/p>\n

But if it wasn\u2019t su\u00edomh tairg\u00ed<\/strong> done d\u2019aonturas<\/strong>, it certainly had a similar effect.\u00a0 Sales peaked, even before viewers could actually see an t-eipeas\u00f3d<\/strong> in which The Third Policeman<\/em> appeared (5 Deireadh F\u00f3mhair<\/strong>, 2005, i S.A.M<\/strong>.), due to leaks in the media (d\u2019aonturas?<\/strong>).\u00a0 If I had had the r\u00e9amhamharc <\/strong>to think of it at the time, I would have started checking the book\u2019s online sales ranks ar an toirt.\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n

Meanwhile, all I can do is check the current rankings before I publish this blog and wonder if 8000 l\u00e9itheoir\u00ed an bhlag seo<\/strong> on Facebook would make much difference in the staitistic\u00ed<\/strong>, even if everyone bought a copy, and that specifically from the vendors I\u2019m now tracking (Amazon and Barnes & Noble).\u00a0 Of course, this isn\u2019t an exact science, at least not in my limited practice.\u00a0 Many of you may have already read the book, or might read it from the library, in which case the sales ranks would show no activity.\u00a0 But still, the increase in sales of the The Third Policeman<\/em> measured a total of about 10,000 to 15,000, depending on how you count the spike and how long it\u2019s considered to have lasted.\u00a0 And there are almost 8000 of us on this site.\u00a0 Maybe I should even buy a c\u00f3ip nua<\/strong>, for good measure.\u00a0 Food for thought, p\u00e9 sc\u00e9al \u00e9<\/strong>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Having said all that, a few more pointers about the book might be useful.\u00a0 Apparently the introduction to the latest edition is full of spoilers, so I wouldn\u2019t read that before reading an t\u00e9acs \u00e9 f\u00e9in<\/strong>.\u00a0 It\u2019s not in my 1990s edition, so I have to admit, n\u00edl an r\u00e9amhr\u00e1 sin l\u00e9ite agam f\u00f3s<\/strong>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Another important feature of this book is that it is a foilseach\u00e1n iarbh\u00e1is<\/strong>, originally written in 1940 and rejected by all the publishers O\u2019Brien sent it to during his lifetime.\u00a0 If that is taken into consideration, then it greatly predates some of the other speculative, fantasy, or science-fiction literary works mentioned or alluded to in the series, like A Wrinkle in Time<\/em> (1962) and Watership Down<\/em> (1972).\u00a0 Some of the Lost <\/em>works, of course, like the Dickens, are much earlier.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A third point about The Third Policeman<\/em> is that opinions are highly polarized about the book.\u00a0 Is bre\u00e1 le cuid mh\u00f3r \u00e9 ach is fuath le cuid eile \u00e9<\/strong>. \u00a0One l\u00e9irmheas custaim\u00e9ara<\/strong> on www.amazon.com<\/a> said the writer wanted his money back from l\u00e9iritheoir\u00ed <\/strong>Lost<\/em> (not from Amazon), because he felt the TV show ahd induced him to buy a book he didn\u2019t really like.\u00a0 A variation of the infamous \u201ccosaint<\/strong> Twinkie\u201d? Takes all kinds!<\/p>\n

How long did the lucht f\u00e9achana<\/strong> have to actually digest the title of the book that provides such an underpinning to the story.\u00a0 Soicind amh\u00e1in<\/strong>.\u00a0 Pretty much on the nose, according to all I\u2019ve read.\u00a0<\/p>\n

And that makes for an interesting contrast between gn\u00e1thshu\u00edomh tairg\u00ed <\/strong>(ruda\u00ed mar<\/strong> Coca-Cola n\u00f3<\/strong> Reese\u2019s Pieces), a second category that I\u2019ll call \u201csu\u00edomh tairg\u00ed liteartha<\/strong>\u201d (for want of a pre-existing temr), and f\u00f3gra\u00edocht<\/strong> as such.\u00a0 The audience had one second to catch the title, The Third Policeman<\/em>.\u00a0 Most ads last for c\u00faig shoicind d\u00e9ag<\/strong> or tr\u00edocha soicind<\/strong>.\u00a0 If the writers of a TV show incorporate literary referecnes, and actual copies of the books, I\u2019d say we\u2019re looking more at r\u00e9amhthagairt\u00ed liteartha<\/strong> than at product placement.\u00a0 It just becomes more visceral when we actually see the product than when the tagairt\u00ed <\/strong>are intended for the printed page (like Mrs. Norris, the cat, in the Harry Potter series, created long before J. K. Rowling, a Jane Austen fan, dreamed that the books would be so succesful and end up being filmed).<\/p>\n

So perhaps we should see the book\u2019s role in the series more as part of a literary scavenger hunt.\u00a0 Do bhar\u00fail<\/strong>?\u00a0 Why didn\u2019t I translate \u201cscavenger hunt,\u201d you might ask?\u00a0 I thought about it, but I don\u2019t really see much precedent for combining the Irish words for scavenging (glanadh amach<\/strong> or scroblach\u00f3ireacht<\/strong>) with \u201chunt,\u201d for which there are several words (t\u00f3ra\u00edocht, fiach, seilg<\/strong>, srl<\/strong>.).\u00a0 It could make an impressive mouthful, though, to say \u201ct\u00f3ra\u00edocht scroblach\u00f3ireachta<\/strong>\u201d!\u00a0 That final \u201c-a\u201d is added because we have an ainmfhocal c\u00e1il\u00edochta<\/strong>, which means it will be sa tuiseal ginideach<\/strong>.\u00a0 Got it?\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Have I tempted you to read the book yet?\u00a0 T\u00e1 s\u00fail agam<\/strong>, since it\u2019s one of my favorites.\u00a0 And thinking about that October 5 date gives me one more reason to write about the topic again soon — the five-year anniversary of one of the most effective literary product placements in TV history.\u00a0 And it\u2019s a great, if baffling, read whether or not you\u2019re a leant\u00f3ir Lost<\/em> go smior<\/strong>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Freagra\u00ed: Ar l\u00e9igh t\u00fa X?\u00a0\u00a0 L\u00e9igh \/ N\u00edor l\u00e9igh.\u00a0 Ar thaitin X leat? Thaitin \/ N\u00edor thaitin.\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n

Gluais: gn\u00e1th-, <\/strong>ordinary; go smior<\/strong>, to (the) marrow (like \u201cdyed-in-the-wool\u201d), iarbh\u00e1is<\/strong>, posthumous; r\u00e9amhamharc<\/strong>, foresight; r\u00e9amhthagairt, <\/strong>anticipatory allusion<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By now, some of you may have checked out The Third Policeman.\u00a0 Ar l\u00e9igh t\u00fa \u00e9?\u00a0 Ar thaitin s\u00e9 leat? (Freagra\u00ed samplacha th\u00edos).\u00a0 It\u2019s interesting to consider the role of this \u00farsc\u00e9al and the many other oibreacha liteartha mentioned in the series Lost.\u00a0 Would it be considered \u201csu\u00edomh tairg\u00ed\u201d (product placement)?\u00a0 Not really, is d\u00f3cha…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-428","post","type-post","status-publish","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/428","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/36"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=428"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/428\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":430,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/428\/revisions\/430"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=428"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=428"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=428"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}