Mini Review – Ayoade on Top

From Goodreads: At last, the definitive book about perhaps the best cabin crew dramedy ever filmed: View From the Top starring Gwyneth Paltrow.

In Ayoade on Top, Richard Ayoade, perhaps one of the most ‘insubstantial’ people of our age, takes us on a journey from Peckham to Paris by way of Nevada and other places we don’t care about. It’s a journey deep within, in a way that’s respectful and non-invasive; a journey for which we will all pay a heavy price, even if you’ve waited for the smaller paperback edition.

Ayoade argues for the canonisation of this brutal masterpiece, a film that celebrates capitalism in all its victimless glory; one we might imagine Donald Trump himself half-watching on his private jet’s gold-plated flat screen while his other puffy eye scans the cabin for fresh, young prey.

I thought this was hilarious. Anyone that is a fan of Ayoade, will most likely enjoy this book. I decided to pick this up as an Audiobook as I read along and I am really glad I did. There are a few jokes that do work so much better in that format than reading only. The audio book is also read by Richard Ayoade which really adds to the experience of the book with excellent delivery and comic timing.

Ayoade has a very witty, wordplay filled sense of humour that really just had me laughing from page one. While this book focuses around the "dramady" View from the Top you don’t require any knowledge of the movie to enjoy this read. The pivotal scenes are impeccably describes and then punctuated with anecdotes and observations that had me bursting out loud with laughter. I wouldn’t call this a humourous take down of a bad movie but a book that really delves into the well played and well loved troupes found in these kinds of movies and holds them up so we can admire all that is both wonderful and funny about them. Overall for me this was the perfect book for current times a great little chunk of escapism to make you laugh.