No Spoilers.
In my last year of university, my dissertation tutor wanted me to read this book. While it sounded interesting enough, the only way I could get a copy was by buying it online and I was trying not to buy any books because my suitcase was heavy enough as it was. I think I lost marks for not reading this book.
Well, I’ve read it now. It’s a superhero book by a Canadian author and it takes place in Canada (kind of) but that’s where the similarities between this book and mine end. I’m still trying to figure out why my tutor was so adamant that I read this, but it’s in the past and I’m realizing I don’t actually care that much.
All My Friends Are Superheroes by Andrew Kaufman is about Tom, a man who is made invisible to his superhero wife, The Perfectionist. There’s nothing he or any of their friends can do to convince The Perfectionist that Tom has not left her. So the Perfectionist is moving on. All the way to Vancouver, in fact, and she has no idea Tom is next to her on the plane. He has until they land to convince her he’s there, or their lives as a couple will be officially over. Apparently.
I’ll warn you first. This is a very casual novel. It’s the kind of thing you pick up in an airport during a stopover and finish before boarding. It’s not a meaty read that will change your life, but it’s enjoyable.
Tom is one of those protagonists that is from the world as we know it and is introduced to a whole other world in the book so that we can follow along and get the same intros as he does, like Harry Potter in the Wizarding World or Percy Jackson at Camp Half-Blood.
A lot of the story, possibly even the majority of it, is made of flashbacks. Yes, Tom is on the plane, but we keep going back to meet other characters and see what happened and so on. I was fine with this, but apparently there are people who prefer books that take place on airplanes in their entirety. There was a bit at the end where I thought the timing wasn’t done very well, but I think Kaufman did it how he did to up the ante a bit. That annoyed me, but didn’t get in the way of the rest of it too much so it was easy to overlook.
Lastly, there’s quite a bit of surrealism throughout the book. Some people may not enjoy that kind of thing. I’ll admit, the first example of surrealism took me by surprise. I’m not used to that style, but I went along with it and it became one of the highlights of the book. The surreal aspect definitely makes this book stand out and if you’re into that or you’re just curious, I’d recommend you check it out.
Precarious Writer 
I would never, ever suggest putting a book in your bibligraphy that you didn’t read, but also I *ahem* heard of people putting books in their bibliography that they didn’t read…
This is an oddly specific one for required reading. When I hear “Canadian superhero” I think Scott Pilgrim and Wolverine.
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Both really great “superheroes” in their own way. I personally love Deadpool as well, but I suppose he’s more of an antihero.
As for my ECP, my tutor specifically said he wanted me to use it as a comparison in my essay and was disappointed that it was never mentioned. I’m not sure having it in my bibliography would have been enough.
Yes, it is oddly specific, isn’t it? Almost as if he’d just read it and it was the only superhero book he’d ever read and was eager for me to write something exactly like it for his reading pleasure…
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One of the woes of writing at university: do you stick to your guns and write what you actually wanted to write, knowing you might get a lower grade, or trample your integrity and do exactly what you’re told even if you don’t like it, and probably get a better grade for it?
I have to say … I trampled my integrity a few times. xD
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