Everyday Heroes

Decided I'd been such a good little reader last month that I could treat myself with a trip to the bookshop.  Couldn't decide what I fancied, so asked the Twittersphere and it certainly came up trumps!

'All My Friends of Superheroes'
by Andrew Kaufman
(Telegram, 2006)

I've just finished 'All My Friends are Superheroes' by Andrew Kaufman. This short novella (just over 100 pages in my edition) is the story of Tom and his superhero wife the Perfectionist.  At their wedding reception, a jealous ex hypnotised the Perfectionist and he's been invisible to her ever since.  It's now several months later and, thinking she's lost him forever, the Perfectionist has decided to move to a different city.  But Tom is still nearby, his heart disintegrating, desperately trying to work out how to break the spell cast over his bride.   As they board  the plane to Vancouver, he realises this is his last chance to make her see him again.  But can he do it before they land and her new life begins?


'All My Friends are Superheroes' isn't everyone's cup of tea.  It thrives on metaphor and allegory, creating an almost reality in the style of Neil Gaiman.  These are not the caped and spandex-swathed superheroes of comic books or movies, these are people whose key character traits define them and, even when negative, give them strength and make them special.  It was interesting to see the way the author had taken mundane and everyday characteristics and turned them on their heads.

Overall, this is a book about identity and relationships.  Charming and interesting though the story is, however, I can understand why some readers would feel a bit peeved by a book this short costing as much as a 300-400 page paperback.  I usually try to think in terms of how much I'd pay for other things, like magazines, but perhaps the novella and short story market would be given a boost if books like this were priced differently.  Otherwise there's a risk they will always miss out because people will only buy them at a discount, by which time it's too late for them to be a bestseller.

I've already decided this is going to be a Christmas present for a few people this year, however, and want to read more by this author.  But if they're all this short, whether I will buy more books or borrow them from the library, only my bank balance can tell.