I have never come across a book like this before. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying it's perfect or flawless or anything, I'm just saying it's very VERY different. It challenges all your preconceptions, obeys no laws or rules blindly. It is what it is and it's proud.

Small wonder the author struggled with it for so long, not just with writing it, but with getting it out into the world where we could find it and lose ourselves in its world.

This is really very radical, but it's very beautiful too, and even when it has its tongue firmly in its cheek it demands to be taken seriously. If you like to have everything make sense, if you like a clear cut beginning, middle and end, if you like straightforward plots with identifiable characters and recognisable places, and you like all the loose ends tied up and the motivations explained....well this really isn't for you. This is the kind of a book that manages to make all that sound very dull and old fashioned without even trying.

Some of this was written 20 or even 30 years ago, but it's still ahead of its time if you ask me.

This is very difficult to describe succinctly and probably not to everyone's taste but it's very different. Everything but the kitchen sink is in here. Part fantasy, part memoirs. Employing multiple styles. I found it very stimulating and rewarding, but at the end of the day I had more questions than answers. This is the first book in a series of five. I'm certainly intrigued enough to read more.

I suspect that not everyone will like this book. It depends very much on your expectations. It can be difficult on occasion, even bewildering, but it can also be profound, touching, and very beautiful. Defies all expectations of what a book ought to be. Multiple viewpoints, non-linear timeline, part fiction, part-non-fiction. MAN STRUGGLING WITH UMBRELLA refuses to be categorized or tied down to anything conventional for too long.

The author likens this to the unearthing of tantalising relics from a previously unknown lost civilization. This is just the first layer of discovery. It's the first in a series of five books. We will probably never know everything about the world MacNamara creates. Our imaginations must fill in the gaps. We will have to put two and two together and revise our theories as we go along like archaeologists do.