All My Friends Are Superheroes [Paperback]

Andrew Kaufman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 19, 1999

All Tom's friends really are superheroes.

There's the Ear, the Spooner, the Impossible Man. Tom even married a superhero, the Perfectionist. But at their wedding, the Perfectionist was hypnotized (by ex-boyfriend Hypno, of course) to believe that Tom is invisible. Nothing he does can make her see him. Six months later, she's sure that Tom has abandoned her.

So she's moving to Vancouver. She'll use her superpower to make Vancouver perfect and leave all the heartbreak in Toronto. With no idea Tom's beside her, she boards an airplane in Toronto. Tom has until the wheels touch the ground in Vancouver to convince her he's visible, or he loses her forever.

Editorial Reviews

Review

’This book is like a kiss in the afternoon sun. Somebody should write Mr. Kaufman a letter and thank him for his tender heart and the way he puts things down so gently. I expect this story will replace boxes of chocolates and flowers in courting rituals to come.’ – Sheila Heti, author of How Should a Person Be?

’Here, the words "modern" and "mythology" hang together in such a wonderfully close and inventive embrace. This is a story that will steal up quietly and seduce with its originality and wit.’ – Terry Griggs, author of Cat's Eye Corner

’Andrew Kaufman's novel is funny like the quiet cracking of a heart. Here's a world so absurdly perfect in its realization that any tangent down a literary rabbit hole pulls up yet another oddball, mind-striking truth. The Fantastic Four was never so phenomenal.’ – Lee Henderson, author of The Man Game

From the Back Cover

Andrew Kaufman is a writer, filmmaker and radio producer. His writing has appeared on the McSweeney's website. He has completed a Director's Residency at the Canadian Film Centre and his film Aberistiwith was screened at festivals across Canada and Europe. He currently works as a producer for CBC Radio in Toronto.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 120 pages
• Publisher: Coach House Books; 1 edition (October 19, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1552451305
• ISBN-13: 978-1552451304
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 5.7 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #267,460 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Simply satisfying, July 14, 2004

By 

Crazy Kid (Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: All My Friends Are Superheroes (Paperback)

All My Friends Are Superheroes by Andrew Kaufman is like getting the precise helping of your favourite food the very moment you crave it.

An excellent read that holds up over time. I first read it late last year and recently brought it with me on a road trip. Despite knowing exactly how things turn out I found myself falling for the characters again.

Do yourself a favour and buy two copies. That way you won't have to give yours away.

I'm looking forward to Kaufman's next work.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Superheroes Loving Large in Canada, December 17, 2008

By 

alldayReader "readallday" - See all my reviews

This review is from: All My Friends Are Superheroes (Paperback)

I loved this book from the first page straight through to the last page. This book is funny (laugh out loud) and fresh. It is a charming and suave love story with a most original wrench thrown in the machinery of love. No one needs to die or mistakenly break up or fall in with evil in this love story; a mere disappearance will do. Our hero (normal, not super) becomes invisible on his wedding day but only to his wife. He has to reinstate her vision of him or he will lose her forever. How's that for a premise? Actually, it sounds almost Shakespearean but given all the superheroes floating and flying and slinking around, dipping in and out, this is not Elizabethan England.

In fact we are in Canada and superheroes abound (of course: we all know about the low crime rates and fantastically cheap health care). The powers of these superheroes, at times listed in encyclopedic fashion, are indeed super and quite urbane. Their unique powers make perfect sense in the crazy world that we live in. My favorite (and I will only give away one but trust me, these superheroes are brilliantly imagined) is Mistress Cleanasyougo: "At the end of every day she folds her clothes. She never leaves scissors on the table, pens with no ink are thrown in the trash, wet towels are always hung up, dishes are washed directly after dinner and nothing is left unsaid." You go, girl.

Even with such fantastic powers, just because "you're special really doesn't mean anything. You still have to get dressed in the morning. Your shoelaces still break. Your lover will still leave you if you don't treat her right."

And so our normalhero Tom must figure out how to save his superhero wife and himself and thier marriage, but using only the good old standby powers of love and faith and ingenuity. Let's hear it for the regular Joe, er, Tom.

Great good comes from reading great books. [...]

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Short and sweet...but too short?, June 22, 2007

By 

mfaromantic (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: All My Friends Are Superheroes (Paperback)

I am really torn about my ultimate response to this novella. As many others have already said it is a simple, cleverly-written sweet little story. The crispness and freshness of both the language and the premise make it charming and so very hard to resist. I loved the descriptions of the superheroes and how Mr. Kaufman was able to cast this world of everyday superheroes without making it ridiculous or absurd or weird but completely relatable and engaging.

My one criticism is that I think it lacked a level of depth that would have made this a perfect reading experience for me - particularly in regards to the two main characters and their relationship. I think the novella would have benefitted from a little more development. Similarly, I think the scenes on the plane on the way to Vancouver could have been utilized better to create more tension and anxiety - a greater sense of peril. Tom spends the first few hours of the trip just watching her sleep and thinking back rather than doing more. And while a simple ending generally suits a simple story - I was left a little let down with the end - wishing it had given me more to relish.

That being said, with a simple and clever story like this, the slightest overreach might have thrown it all off and I commend Mr. Kaufman for staying true to the story throughout - even if I might wish for a little more.