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The Passengers
Between October 2018 and March 2021, Will Ashon collected voices - people talking about their lives, needs, dreams, loves, hopes and fears - all of them with some connection to the British Isles. He used a range of methods including letters sent to random addresses, hitchhiking, referrals from strangers and so on. He conducted the interviews in person, on the phone, over the internet or asked people to record themselves. Interview techniques ranged from asking people to tell him a secret to choosing an arbitrary question from a list.
The resulting testimonies tell the collective story of what it feels like to be alive in a particular time and place - here and now. The Passengers is a book about how we give shape to our lives, find meaning in the chaos, acknowledge the fragility of our existence while alleviating this anxiety with moments of beauty, love, humour and solidarity.
The resulting testimonies tell the collective story of what it feels like to be alive in a particular time and place - here and now. The Passengers is a book about how we give shape to our lives, find meaning in the chaos, acknowledge the fragility of our existence while alleviating this anxiety with moments of beauty, love, humour and solidarity.
366 pages, Hardcover
Published January 1, 2022
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569 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
October 18, 2022
The Passengers is a collection of interview snippets, from one sentence to several pages in length, collected from people in the British Isles between October 2018 and March 2021. The interviewees essentially tell stories from their lives, some of them secrets never recounted to anyone else. All are presented without any biographical details and there is no obvious uniting theme, other than living in Britain. When I heard of the book, I was expecting it to be something along the lines of Svetlana Alexievich's magnificent polyphonic narratives. These collect testimonies reflect upon nationally traumatic events, such the Chernobyl disaster (Chernobyl Prayer: A Chronicle of the Future), Soviet-Afghan War (Boys in Zinc), and collapse of the USSR (Second-Hand Time). Such a format would be ideal for a book on experiences of the Covid-19 pandemic, I think. Thus the absence of overarching focus or theme in The Passengers surprised me. It is missing an introduction or afterword explaining the project. Only the dust jacket briefly mentions this, no further details are included in the book itself. I wonder what Ashon asked his interviewees and what his aims were. Alexievich also gives her interviewees a name or pseudonym and age, sometimes accompanied by their job or similar epithet. This minimal information about interviewees makes a difference to the reader, I think. Although I liked the way Ashon's fragments are presented symmetrically by length, they are entirely without contextual information.
Despite these reservations, I found the diversity of voices in The Passengers highly compelling. While some interview snippets were mundane and forgettable, others were really moving and powerful. Unsurprisingly, the most horrifying and upsetting were from asylum seekers who had fled danger and death only to be treated appallingly by Britain's cruel and punitive immigration system. Given the time period covered, the pandemic and lockdowns come up pretty regularly albeit not systematically. Although I found the book very readable, I don't feel like I could draw conclusions. It metaphorically slipped from between my fingers. While Alexievich's books provide insight into national issues via many voices, The Passengers doesn't cohere in the same way. In the absence of a topic or theme, it feels more like a collection of disconnected conversations than a chorus. So while I enjoyed it and found many of the fragments striking, it wasn't quite the book I think it could have been. I hope there are more projects like this, though, as the polyphonic format is full of wonderful potential.
Despite these reservations, I found the diversity of voices in The Passengers highly compelling. While some interview snippets were mundane and forgettable, others were really moving and powerful. Unsurprisingly, the most horrifying and upsetting were from asylum seekers who had fled danger and death only to be treated appallingly by Britain's cruel and punitive immigration system. Given the time period covered, the pandemic and lockdowns come up pretty regularly albeit not systematically. Although I found the book very readable, I don't feel like I could draw conclusions. It metaphorically slipped from between my fingers. While Alexievich's books provide insight into national issues via many voices, The Passengers doesn't cohere in the same way. In the absence of a topic or theme, it feels more like a collection of disconnected conversations than a chorus. So while I enjoyed it and found many of the fragments striking, it wasn't quite the book I think it could have been. I hope there are more projects like this, though, as the polyphonic format is full of wonderful potential.
September 14, 2022
Acc surprised by how much I enjoyed. Cuter for knowing some of the contributors are my clients 🤍
March 13, 2023
The main reason I noticed this book was because the cover design immediately brought to mind Craig Taylor's Londoners. This must surely have been intentional. It sounded like a very similar concept -- interviews with "ordinary people" giving insight into their lives.
Yes and no. Londoners is long interviews with named people, given context and background, talking about their lives, and creating a vivid picture of London in all its diversity. You feel as if you know something about them.
Ashon's book is snippets ranging from a single sentence (well, strictly speaking , in one case ... nothing at all) to three or four pages. None of the interviewees has a name and their accounts are anonymised, removing any possibly identifiable details. They don't recount their lives -- they might tell a secret, describe an incident, say something about their beliefs, talk about their childhood, their family, dreams. The effect is very different from Londoners -- it's like overhearing snippets of conversation in a pub or on a bus. You get peeks into someone else's head. Often it turns out to be a strange place, but sometimes there's a spark of recognition, of common feeling. Some are banal, some moving, some quite shocking. He did quite a few of the interviews during the pandemic so people are often talking about how they felt during lockdown.
If you're curious about other people's inner lives, it's a good book to dip into. Ashon has clearly thought carefully about construction and juxtaposition -- as I neared the end I realised he'd started out with single sentences, gradually increasing to paragraphs and pages. The middle contained the longest accounts and then it dwindled once more to paragraphs, sentences, and silence. Not for everyone, and I didn't enjoy it as much as Londoners, but still an intriguing read.
Yes and no. Londoners is long interviews with named people, given context and background, talking about their lives, and creating a vivid picture of London in all its diversity. You feel as if you know something about them.
Ashon's book is snippets ranging from a single sentence (well, strictly speaking , in one case ... nothing at all) to three or four pages. None of the interviewees has a name and their accounts are anonymised, removing any possibly identifiable details. They don't recount their lives -- they might tell a secret, describe an incident, say something about their beliefs, talk about their childhood, their family, dreams. The effect is very different from Londoners -- it's like overhearing snippets of conversation in a pub or on a bus. You get peeks into someone else's head. Often it turns out to be a strange place, but sometimes there's a spark of recognition, of common feeling. Some are banal, some moving, some quite shocking. He did quite a few of the interviews during the pandemic so people are often talking about how they felt during lockdown.
If you're curious about other people's inner lives, it's a good book to dip into. Ashon has clearly thought carefully about construction and juxtaposition -- as I neared the end I realised he'd started out with single sentences, gradually increasing to paragraphs and pages. The middle contained the longest accounts and then it dwindled once more to paragraphs, sentences, and silence. Not for everyone, and I didn't enjoy it as much as Londoners, but still an intriguing read.
May 10, 2023
Like sitting on a night bus and getting a fleeting glimpse into people's heads
October 24, 2022
Being an audio producer, I am obviously keenly interested in oral history. I'm a huge fan of Studs Terkel and Svetlana Alexievich. But Will Ashon has no gifts for drawing out the finer details of people. This is a stunningly awful collection of banalities, even with promising beginnings such as someone swallowing a nail or another person getting on a flight on September 10, 2001. Ashon is a total incompetent. He doesn't know how to follow up or draw out the vital moments that define a person's life. 180 little pastiches from random people (including one silent one) and this is the best he can do? Seriously? I'm completely baffled by this book's praise in the UK. Nearly everyone is interesting if you get to talking with them. But Ashon has found the dullest fucking people in the world. People who don't know how to tell a story. People who he cannot guide or shape in any way. A colossal disappointment, given the admirable experiment here.
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June 24, 2023*3.5
I find it odd that the questions weren't included. Readers are left to guess what the question was, which is sometimes doable and other times could be anyone's guess.
This book would make a semi-effective time capsule as it cuts across various sectors of society and there is no analysis given, no filter from Ashon, of the responses.
Some responses are quite insightful, but the majority were rambling and unoriginal. Not everyone has something ground-breaking to say.
I find it odd that the questions weren't included. Readers are left to guess what the question was, which is sometimes doable and other times could be anyone's guess.
This book would make a semi-effective time capsule as it cuts across various sectors of society and there is no analysis given, no filter from Ashon, of the responses.
Some responses are quite insightful, but the majority were rambling and unoriginal. Not everyone has something ground-breaking to say.
August 4, 2025
These anonymous insights into people's secret thoughts gives humanity to a world where we are often surrounded by what I can best describe as NPCs.
Every day, dozens walk past my house, I can walk past 100s, and drive past 1,000s of humans and never really consider the fact they are 'real' people. To me, they are just the background noise to my life. Yet this book, due to its anonymous nature, helps to paint a far more vibrant painting of the human life that surrounds me.
This book contains a wide range of stories and secrets. Some are light-hearted, some are philosophical, and some are absolutely heartbreaking. As I was reading this book, whenever someone walked past the window I thought "could this be their story?". The beauty of the book is I will never know.
I think it is a book where it is rude to read each entry too quickly, and to move onto the next to abruptly. This is particularly true for the long and more profound entries. They've taken the opportunity to pour their heart unto a complete stranger - the least I can do as a reader is to read and listen to their story. Each story was transcribed in a way to try and mimic how it may have been said (if spoken interviews) rather than try to standardise spelling/syntax etc., which helps to aid humanity to the text.
I enjoyed that layout of the book, with each entry getting progressively longer before getting progressively shorter. It added a fun dynamic to reading the book. I also enjoyed the blank entry near the end. I think the correct way to read this entry is to pause and consider: What would you have said if asked about your secret?
I only have two small complaints about the book. First, whilst the aim of the book is to show humanity (with I guess a 'more in common' approach), I felt that some voice, perhaps more dissenting or anarchic, were missing. Perhaps they would have disrupted the flow of the narrative, but as the book it representing a cross-section of society, I expected to have my views challenged a bit more.
Secondly, I occasionally found the covid references a bit jolting, and felt that it dates what could otherwise be a timeless book. That being said, there are likely other cultural touchstones I've missed that will date it when looking back in the future.
On the note of the future, I do think this is a book which will provide a different experience each time you read it. there were entries that were more poignant to me due to my own current experiences. If I revisit this book in the future, I'm sure different entries would speak out to me.
This book is effectively a written version of The Listening Project from Radio 4. The main difference is the anonymous entries.
Every day, dozens walk past my house, I can walk past 100s, and drive past 1,000s of humans and never really consider the fact they are 'real' people. To me, they are just the background noise to my life. Yet this book, due to its anonymous nature, helps to paint a far more vibrant painting of the human life that surrounds me.
This book contains a wide range of stories and secrets. Some are light-hearted, some are philosophical, and some are absolutely heartbreaking. As I was reading this book, whenever someone walked past the window I thought "could this be their story?". The beauty of the book is I will never know.
I think it is a book where it is rude to read each entry too quickly, and to move onto the next to abruptly. This is particularly true for the long and more profound entries. They've taken the opportunity to pour their heart unto a complete stranger - the least I can do as a reader is to read and listen to their story. Each story was transcribed in a way to try and mimic how it may have been said (if spoken interviews) rather than try to standardise spelling/syntax etc., which helps to aid humanity to the text.
I enjoyed that layout of the book, with each entry getting progressively longer before getting progressively shorter. It added a fun dynamic to reading the book. I also enjoyed the blank entry near the end. I think the correct way to read this entry is to pause and consider: What would you have said if asked about your secret?
I only have two small complaints about the book. First, whilst the aim of the book is to show humanity (with I guess a 'more in common' approach), I felt that some voice, perhaps more dissenting or anarchic, were missing. Perhaps they would have disrupted the flow of the narrative, but as the book it representing a cross-section of society, I expected to have my views challenged a bit more.
Secondly, I occasionally found the covid references a bit jolting, and felt that it dates what could otherwise be a timeless book. That being said, there are likely other cultural touchstones I've missed that will date it when looking back in the future.
On the note of the future, I do think this is a book which will provide a different experience each time you read it. there were entries that were more poignant to me due to my own current experiences. If I revisit this book in the future, I'm sure different entries would speak out to me.
This book is effectively a written version of The Listening Project from Radio 4. The main difference is the anonymous entries.
July 1, 2023
Eclectic stories/comments short and long from a wide cross section of unattributed British residents. Bleak, mundane and humorous cross-hatched.
At first I thought I would read from start to finish but soon started hopping around as I found it quite relaxing to sometimes settle down to anonymous, random remarks and sometimes enjoyed some slice of life stories.
The cadence of the book resembled the snatches of conversation you hear in short spurts or when sitting close to a conversation near you. People are endlessly fascinating, come out with complete gems and complete drivel. Maybe I am just nosy, but I loved it!
At first I thought I would read from start to finish but soon started hopping around as I found it quite relaxing to sometimes settle down to anonymous, random remarks and sometimes enjoyed some slice of life stories.
The cadence of the book resembled the snatches of conversation you hear in short spurts or when sitting close to a conversation near you. People are endlessly fascinating, come out with complete gems and complete drivel. Maybe I am just nosy, but I loved it!
September 23, 2025
I was interested by the concept of this, but disappointed in the execution. A lot of the time, I felt like I was missing some important context to really understand each individual story. I felt that the overall book was about 100 pages too long - I had to take a break from the book for a while and return after a few weeks in order to finish it. I did like that each entry enabled me to hear the voice of the person through the use of spelling and grammar. Unfortunately, the good idea and the individual voices is not enough to earn this book more than two stars.
September 4, 2022
A book full of wisdom and joy, sadness and sorrow, pleasure and pain.
A cross-section of samples of the human experience in Britain in our time. It is as much of a piece of literature as it is an anthropological work of art and a compelling case for the power and importance of diversity of thought.
I found it utterly addictive, and I know that is a book I will read again and again and learn something every time.
A cross-section of samples of the human experience in Britain in our time. It is as much of a piece of literature as it is an anthropological work of art and a compelling case for the power and importance of diversity of thought.
I found it utterly addictive, and I know that is a book I will read again and again and learn something every time.
November 5, 2024
“In the simplest form, I love waking up in the morning and the sun’s out. Especially in the current environment. Y’know, what we’re living in at the moment, it makes a hell of a different when the sun‘s shining. I can go downstairs, open the patio doors, the little’un can run amok, wreck all me garden [laughs]. In the simplest possible terms, it’s lovely to wake up with the sun shining.”
March 30, 2024
Just like with life I wanted more and more. And that’s not a bad thing. A book that’s more a vibe, encapsulating what it feels like being alive now in every sense- don’t expect to finish this book with any closure and just enjoy the ride. Just like with life.
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June 18, 2025I thought this would be good as a going-to-sleep listen, but it’s too disjointed for that. This disjointed mess also meant I didn’t feel the urge to keep listening on consecutive nights, so I’ve DNFd it.
Very interesting concept though! I think it may work better as a physical book than an audio.
Very interesting concept though! I think it may work better as a physical book than an audio.
Want to read
June 7, 2023NA
July 9, 2023
I liked the mix of people's stories, it was an interesting read. I think it adds something not knowing exactly what questions were asked to get the answers he got.
February 10, 2024
Enjoyable and easy read. Lots of interesting ideas/fears/dreams/secrets revealed by strangers. But none of the views are inappropriate eg no overt sexism, racism, conspiracy theories etc, so it’s a sanitised snapshot of the UK.
April 5, 2024
Passengers is a good book, it is a great insight to the different struggles and joys of life and a great reminder that everything is subjective. But none of the stories ever fully captivated me
April 23, 2023
This non-fiction book was quite surprising due to the unusual method the author chose: he decided to let the voices of random citizens from Britain express their thoughts as they are. We get into the stream of thoughts, experiences, and emotions of regular persons, drivers, pensioners, war veterans, refugees, and so on. As they say, to not judge a book upon its cover; these voices teach us not to judge a person upon their appearance, as one does not know the story anyone carries. I felt that many voices could turn into extraordinary novel protagonists, and The Passengers could serve as an excellent stimulus for creative writing endeavors.
All in all, I could appreciate the work Will Ashon has put into this book, his effort to help people open up and drop masks so they can offer something tender and personal and express their vulnerability to the rest of us.
All in all, I could appreciate the work Will Ashon has put into this book, his effort to help people open up and drop masks so they can offer something tender and personal and express their vulnerability to the rest of us.
October 27, 2022
Surprised that I enjoyed this unusual book as much as I did.
As you will have seen from other reviews, the contents seek to create a portrait of contemporary Britain told through the testimonies of its inhabitants. Will Ashon collected voices between October 2018 and March 2021 - people talking about their lives, needs, dreams, loves, hopes and fears - all of them with some connection to the British Isles. He used a range of methods including letters sent to random addresses, hitchhiking, referrals from strangers and so on. He conducted the interviews in person, on the phone, over the internet or asked people to record themselves. Interview techniques ranged from asking people to tell him a secret to choosing an arbitrary question from a list.
The result is necessarily uneven, and no one particularly makes original statements, but that variety is one of the book’s strengths, together with the humour in some of the sections. It’s an enjoyable read, naturally easy to dip in and out of, and it makes you think (well me, anyway).
It’s the pleasure of the mental journey.
As you will have seen from other reviews, the contents seek to create a portrait of contemporary Britain told through the testimonies of its inhabitants. Will Ashon collected voices between October 2018 and March 2021 - people talking about their lives, needs, dreams, loves, hopes and fears - all of them with some connection to the British Isles. He used a range of methods including letters sent to random addresses, hitchhiking, referrals from strangers and so on. He conducted the interviews in person, on the phone, over the internet or asked people to record themselves. Interview techniques ranged from asking people to tell him a secret to choosing an arbitrary question from a list.
The result is necessarily uneven, and no one particularly makes original statements, but that variety is one of the book’s strengths, together with the humour in some of the sections. It’s an enjoyable read, naturally easy to dip in and out of, and it makes you think (well me, anyway).
It’s the pleasure of the mental journey.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews