Good review by Kiersty--please read it, too. My sister gave me this Paul Squires book for Christmas and insisted that I read it. Throughout this book I found love, life, and legend. Enchanting and unusual, open this Box and you'll find the crown jewels, each gemstone glistening like a silmaril. Artists, musicians, creative people--read this book! Unique writing that builds a new monument from the fallen stones of traditional architecture. The result is alive with light and shadow, air and water, fire and earth. An impeccable creation, and an incomparable experience in literature. I liken it to the first time I heard ‘Trout Mask Replica’--a personal revelation. Paul Squires’ book ‘The Puzzle Box’ is a work of generous genreless greatness, absolutely beautiful in every way. He is so obviously a talented writer. To say, "I hope to read much more from Mr. Squires," somehow falls short of the appreciation that I intend this to be.

'I am always tempted to spell I smally and Artist with a capital, and to abandon the harbour of good grammar for wild and exotic rhythms. But I restrain myself.'

The modesty with which this book is presented is apt considering how much a leap of faith is required in order to be able to fully appreciate the words within. It is a curious cacophony of the most exhilarating kind, that quickly melds into an invention of a new era in poetry and prose. Traditionalists will no doubt stamp and scream with indignation but it is likely that their voices will be drowned out by those that can plainly see the underlying skill and intelligence with which each page has been crafted.
The book begins with a letter to Mr Velasquez, thanking him for the Puzzle Box and it is a hidden explanation for all that follows. There is no single way to look at any of the characters, any of the storylines or any of the places, as it is only by reading it with pure abandonment that you can absorb the whole picture. It travels over land, sea and, most importantly, time, to bring you snapshots of humanity within which there is a commonality, not just with the Puzzle Box and its curious secret, but with the dreams around them as they work their way towards some unknown redemption.
This is not a book that requires the reader to trust the author. More, the author asks the reader to trust their own instincts to interpret the prose whichever way they wish, taking from it whichever grains flicker those emotions inside of them, with his intense visuals and sound. Although on a first reading it may be hard to absorb the full context of each piece, it is likely that this will become a treasured addition to your bookshelves and one which you will return to many times with the surety that there will always be more to discover within its pages.

Kiersty Boon.