Fantastic jump down a rabbit hole with Martin shaw. He gives a no BS approach. I reread this just to make sure I fully grasped everything he wrote. The way he uses 3 myths to show the relevance in the world today is fascinating. Networked but not connected.

4.75 Stars — Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review

— smokehole is also a deep, deep rabbit hole. Martin Shaw’s mind-bending narrative gives the reader an exploration of their own psyche and the end result is — **insert superlative** — This is no trick, it’s a clear and concisely derived consequence that Shaw has carefully and wonderfully orchestrated, and it’s a rollercoaster ride of an experience.

Once you enter the Smoke hole there’s no turning back. The message is clear as crystal, but it’s as if viewed through a magnifying glass that has been smoked in wood-chips, and no matter how had you squint, wipe the lens, that crystal clear world Shaw has created will only become clear once the book is finished.. where you’ll then ponder if the magnifying glass was smoked in wood-chips at all in the first place. Confused? Well that’s exactly where he wants you! Time is but a modern-invention, the atom — when observed — alters its behaviour!

A brilliant, burning, gritty social commentary — Smoke Hole is an exercise in diminished capacity, blended with the ever expanding awareness that comes with understanding that you are reading about the very real and jaunting experience of today’s observer.

Wonderfully composed, never rushed yet never ill-paced, this is a thinking-humans book, that not only stays with you but grows in your consciousness exponentially day-by-day until you are ready to receive it’s true gift..

Bravo, Mr Shaw.

#smokehole #Netgalley

Thank you to Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Shaw’s gift is his storytelling and his ability to use myth to explore and illuminate our lives today. In this book, he uses three stories to examine the current climate we face, where we are so ‘networked but not connected’, over-stimulated but losing imagination, distant from others and, most crucially, ourselves.

If you struggle with metaphor then this might not be the book for you. Shaw talks about his deep love of metaphor and the richness and layers that come from looking at truth through the eyes of a story rather than simple fact on paper. I am much the same way and so found real depth in his writings. Whereas, someone who doesn’t enjoy a metaphor perhaps would struggle to look through the layers of language to find meaning for themselves. You can decide for yourself!

I found Shaw’s actual writing beautifully lyrical. I found myself rereading sections over, not just because of the ‘thunk’ I felt in my soul as some truth resounded but because his way with words is poetic and I wanted to read it slower and enjoy morsel.

I’m still processing this book, returning to whole sections I highlighted and doing further research into myths and ancient rituals Shaw mentioned. I felt I needed to do that to have a more solid understanding of some terminology he used that I felt clueless about or simply because something intrigued me and I want to know more. I certainly feel drawn to reading more about smoke holes and spyglasses! There were sections that I didn’t connect with or find resonance in, but I expect that in a good book; I want the voices I don’t always agree with.