I had the pleasure of reading Andrew Kaufman's novella 'All My Friends are Superheroes' over two metro rides and a lazy Sunday evening in my office. The book is witty, short and fun. Tom is a normal guy surrounded by friends who are all superheroes. He falls in love and marries 'The Perfectionist', only problem is 'The Hypnotist', an ex of his wife hypnotized her into believing that Tom was not there. So he became invisible to her and the whole book is revoled around his efforts to become visible to his wife again.
On the surface this book seems like a witty novella without anything to do with real life. We meet with characters who have a specific superpower and Tom is the only person without any power of his own. But while reading about the characters it becomes clear if you think a little that they are portrayal of what people in real life actually are. We all have a friend who is obsessed over perfection or a friend who is obsessed with money and so on. We meet these characters as superheroes. Not the kind of superhero who masquerades around saving or killing people. They are normal people with a certain trait that is prominent in them.
In just over a 100 pages, Kaufman has managed what numerous other authors take more than twice to portray. In a humorous manner he has simplified the understanding of the human pysche. You will feel sadness for Tom, jealous because of the superpowers and ultimately joy when true love breaks all shackles to make Tom visible again to his wife. The ending although expected that the protagonist will ultimately get the girl, the way the story is not over till the last sentence is enough to make you hooked. Also the fact that it would take you only a couple of hours at the most to read this book is an added bonus.
I am now looking forward to reading more from Kaufman and I thoroughly recommend this book to everyone. Give it a go and I guarantee, you will not be disappointed.
Title: All My Friends are Superheroes
Author: Andrew Kaufman
Publisher: Telegram Books, 2006
Pages: 111
Price: $10
Rating: 4/5
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