All My Friends Are Superheroes by Andrew Kaufman

My feelings for The Tiny Wife, the first book by Andrew Kaufman that I read, can only be described as adoration (2010). So I went into his debut book, All My Friends Are Superheroes, which was first released almost ten years prior, with great expectations. The way Kaufman depicts superheroes is just one of the novella’s many endearing qualities.

Accepting how little of a difference your superhero name actually makes is the last step in the process. Okay, so there’s this thing you can do, something no one else on the earth can do like you can. You are special because of that, but specialness itself is meaningless. In the morning, you still have to get dressed. Your shoelaces continue to fray. Your lover will still leave you if you don’t treat her right.

The crux, as we discover through excellent metaphor within metaphor, is that a superhero’s powers frequently have to do with how other people “see” or “relate” to you and are only useful in certain situations (indeed, some of them will frequently feel like a curse).

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However, if these abilities are seen in the proper context, in the appropriate light, or from a certain angle, benefit may result. What Kaufman proposes is a subtle “glass half full” analogy, to put it crudely.

Fantastically Sweet

The way Kaufman places the surreal into the ordinary is incredibly engrossing and frequently moving. This tale has the sweetness of a cupcake. It is simple to understand how it became a cult favourite. Despite its enviable charm and cleverness, this edition in particular (with its addition of “32 brand new superheroes”) did not live up to my expectations.

My favourite maxim, “more is less,” is shattered by All My Friends Are Super Heroes. You shouldn’t put all those toppings on a single cupcake just because you prefer cupcakes with rainbow sprinkles, chocolate flakes, gummy bears, and toffee shards on top, etc. What seems to be first refreshing starts to sound clichéd; it’s so sugary that some readers might experience something akin to diabetic shock. I think I would have liked the original better.

In the ten years between the release of All My Friends Are Superheroes and The Tiny Wife, Andrew Kaufman clearly developed as a writer. The impact is greater because the latter, while examining identical issues, does so more selectively and thoroughly on a far deeper level.

About The Book

Superheroes are a reality for all of Tom’s buddies. Tom even wed the Perfectionist, a superhuman. But at their wedding, the Perfectionist is made to believe that Tom is invisible by her ex, Hypno. Nothing he does will get her to notice him.

The Perfectionist is relocating to Vancouver because she believes Tom abandoned her six months later. She’ll make advantage of her superpower to escape the heartache. She gets on the plane without seeing Tom is sitting next to her. Tom must persuade her that he is there before they land, or else he will never get her back. A beautiful and hilariously bittersweet ode to love.