Review: All My Friends Are Superheroes by Andrew Kaufman

All Tom’s friends really are superheroes. Tom even married a superhero, the Perfectionist. But at their wedding the Perfectionist is hypnotized by her ex, Hypno, to believe that Tom is invisible. Nothing he does can make her see him. Six months later, the Perfectionist is sure that Tom has abandoned her, so she’s moving to Vancouver. She’ll use her superpowers to leave all the heartbreak behind. With no idea that Tom’s beside her, she boards the plane. Tom has, until they touch down, to convince her he’s there, or he loses her forever.

I had seen this book recommended a few times by various people on You Tube. I had also read The Tiny Wife (also by Kaufman ) and loved it so I was excited to read this one. It is only about eighty pages long so it is perfect if you’re looking for a quick read through a train journey or before going to sleep. I read it in pretty much one sitting. This book is quirky and it has a lovely idea behind it.

The writing style makes the story engaging in my opinion and it is easy to read.

Looking at some of the other reviews, I feel that perhaps it is a little bit of a marmite book. You are either going to love it or hate it – you get it or you don’t. Personally, I loved it. Tom is an ordinary person’ with no superpower. His wife, the perfectionist is convinced by her ex that he does not exist and to me, this story is about fighting to keep that one person against all odds. There is a really lovely message of appreciating the people around you.

I liked the idea that personality traits could be seen as a superpower; that ordinary things about you could be seen as special. This book has a very unique take on the world and I liked the quick focuses of all the different characters within the book. There is not much in terms of character development. You’re not going to get much with a book this short. This is a little glimpse into the life of two people and the relationship between them.

I finished this book with a smile having taken something positive from it.

I loved this novella. If you like quirky and unusual than I think you’d love this book. It’s a lovely little love story coupled with ‘personality superpowers’

All My Friends Are Superheroes is published by Telegram Books, February 2006. It’s available from most major bookshops or as an e-book.)

by

Novel Kicks

About Novel Kicks/Laura...
Novel Kicks was founded in 2009 and is run by Laura who is currently living in Hampshire, and lives with husband, Chris and her cat, Buddy. She would love to be a writer. She’s trying to write the novel she thinks so much about. She’s loved reading and writing since ‘Creative Writing’ classes in primary school. When not trying to write the novel or writing snippets of stories on anything she can get her hands on, she loves reading, dancing like a loon, and watching Project Runway and Ugly Betty (her two TV guilty pleasures.) She also has an obsession with chocolate and Jammie Dodgers.