Review: Air Mail by Naomi Bulger

ISBN #: 978-1-4502-3549-5

Page Count: 103

Copyright: 2011

Book Summary:

(Taken from back cover)

Reclusive old Mr. G. L. Solomon's favorite things are single malt whiskey, Steve McQueen movies, and gingersnap cookies.  He hates processed cheese, washing detergent commercials, and the way the teacup rattles in the saucer when he picks it up.  Solomon has become accustomed to his lonely routine in Sydney, Australia - until the day he begins receiving letters in his mailbox from a complete stranger.

On the other side of the world, Anouk is a mentally delicate young woman living in New York who insists she is being stalked by a fat woman in a pink tracksuit.  When Anouk declares to Solomon that she is writing "from the Other Side," the old man breaks away from his daily grind of watching soap operas and reading Fishing World and travels to New York to find her.  As he is drawn into Anouk's surreal world of stalkers and storytelling, marbles and cats, purgatory and Plato, Solomon has but one goal - to unravel the mystery before it is too late.

Mandy's Review:

Cover

To make the cover look like a postcard was ingenious.  I think it original and shows the creative imagination of one smart individual.

Plot/Main Characters

Although this book was short, it causes a reader to think while, and after, reading it.  It was definitely ... interesting and different.

Anouk is a strange person.  She writes letters to a person she doesn't know and spills out all her feelings.  I have yet to figure out why she includes a memento with each letter, but I do think it a neat idea.

Mr. Solomon is an older gentleman stuck in his routinely ways.  I won't say he's lonely because he seems rather content on his own.  For some reason, though, one of Anouk's letters causes something in the old man's brain to spur him into action.  As a result, he travels to New York on his very first trip out of his Australian homeland.

What then results is that the old man changes ... he becomes more outgoing and constantly experiences new things.  Will he find Anouk?  Can he help her?

Overall

This was a smartly written book.  Definitely an entertaining quick read that will make you think "what if ..."