Review of 'Air Mail: Letters from the world's most troublesome passenger'

Air Mail: Letters from the world's most troublesome passenger by Terry Ravenscroft

air_mail.jpg A series of (real) letters written by the author to various airlines with ridiculous requests and questions such as asking how to ship an elephant, whether or not it is possible to have airline food delivered to his house, the risk of dingo attacks on a child during a visit to Australia, etc. In the book we follow the correspondence between Ravenscroft and the airlines who are bewildered, often failing to see the humour in the exchange, generally responding in an admirably professional manner despite the increasingly bizarre conversation.

I found for the most part this rather easy read decidedly not funny and often purile. This is the same sort of humour that is shared amongst young children and as such as the same level of sophistication. The only exception to this was the mild amusement I had in reading the letters to and from the Australian airline Qantas which resulted in several mild chuckles but otherwise I found the book simply silly. I can't really say I am a sophisticated reader but sometimes there are books I simply do not “get” – This is one of those books.

Silly but easy read. If you want a few small chuckles and don't want to particularly use too much brainpower this is the book for you.

Rating: “Not great, but not the worse”

Review Date: 2018-03-24


Genre: Travel

Publisher: Michael O'Mara Books Limited

Publication Date: 2007

ISBN: 9781843172796