'All My friends are Superheroes' by Andrew Kaufman
This book was gifted to me by one of my creative writing students who thought I aught to read it, and she was right! It's a quirky little book that you can consume in one sitting and is nice and slim - perfect for a train or plane journey.
It's basically a romance with the usual underpinning tension of 'will the couple get together', but in this case, the couple are already together, married in fact, however Tom was made invisible to his wife, by a jealous ex-lover, at their wedding. His challenge is to make himself visible to her, before their plane lands in Vancouver and she starts her new life without him.
As the title suggests, all of Tom's friends are superheroes. They have an exaggerated quality or characteristic, which the reader may just recognise, in a slightly muted form, in the people around them, causing a wry smile or a wince, depending on where you stand in relation to the recognised quality. For example, The Stress Bunny, whose power originates in her Catholic up-bringing, has the power to absorb everyone else's stress so is, unsurprisingly, very popular. Unlike The Couch Surfer, who takes in a different way, able to sustain himself without a job, home, partner or much in the way of food, but who, ultimately, people can only tolerate for so long.
This book isn't elevated to elevating literature, although it does challenge some contemporary mores in an entertaining and different way. It is also a merciful 108 pages in length which makes it an achievable read for the slow or reluctant reader. I would suggest giving it a go.
Verdict: Read
It's basically a romance with the usual underpinning tension of 'will the couple get together', but in this case, the couple are already together, married in fact, however Tom was made invisible to his wife, by a jealous ex-lover, at their wedding. His challenge is to make himself visible to her, before their plane lands in Vancouver and she starts her new life without him.
As the title suggests, all of Tom's friends are superheroes. They have an exaggerated quality or characteristic, which the reader may just recognise, in a slightly muted form, in the people around them, causing a wry smile or a wince, depending on where you stand in relation to the recognised quality. For example, The Stress Bunny, whose power originates in her Catholic up-bringing, has the power to absorb everyone else's stress so is, unsurprisingly, very popular. Unlike The Couch Surfer, who takes in a different way, able to sustain himself without a job, home, partner or much in the way of food, but who, ultimately, people can only tolerate for so long.
This book isn't elevated to elevating literature, although it does challenge some contemporary mores in an entertaining and different way. It is also a merciful 108 pages in length which makes it an achievable read for the slow or reluctant reader. I would suggest giving it a go.
Verdict: Read
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