This book was not at all what I expected, but I loved it. The characters were super funny and the plot was great. I wished I had found this book sooner!

A bit too clever for my taste. A guy who is the only non-super hero of all of his friends- however his friends are all lame superhero's.. . Feels like a SNL skit that starts of funny, but goes on way oo long.

My thanks to Coach House Books for a review copy via NetGalley of the unabridged audiobook edition of ‘All My Friends Are Superheroes’ by Andrew Kaufman in exchange for an honest review. It was read by the author.

This quirky novella was Kaufman’s 2003 debut. The audiobook is based on its 10th anniversary edition that contains additional descriptions of a number of Toronto’s resident superheroes that are interspersed between chapters of the main tale.

Tom is a normal man living in Toronto. All of his friends are superheroes including his fiancée, the Perfectionist. However, on their wedding day Hypno, her jealous ex-boyfriend, hypnotised her to believe that Tom is invisible. He can do nothing to make her see him.

Six months pass and she is sure that Tom has abandoned her. So she’s decided to move to Vancouver and leave the heartbreak behind. As she boards the plane Tom accompanies her. He has until the plane lands to convince her that he is visible….

Given the listings of superheroes with eccentric names and abilities, it was hard not to be reminded of 1999 cult film, ‘Mystery Men’. I could certainly appreciate why this book has become a favourite amongst Kaufman’s fans. It is a sweet fable about love, super powers, and the superhero in all of us.

Andrew Kaufman has a great reading voice and imbues the reading of his novella with great energy. He clearly knows how to communicate the story’s various moods.

As such I was intrigued enough to order its 2013 illustrated print edition. Once in my possession I will amend my review to include any extra thoughts.

This audiobook was simply a delight. Mr. Kaufman’s dry, approach to reading this story, that is obviously seeped in metaphor and satire, grounded it perfectly. It could have been easy to read it like it was farce, but of course, it isn’t a joke. There is a lot to learn in this book about way more that superheroes. I am so sad I hadn’t read it until now.

I really enjoy this book. I've read it before a couple of years ago and thought it was so fun and written in a great, unique way. It's short but feels like a whole book and it's one I would happily read over and over

an entertaining little book, very cleverly written. It has a simplicity and is magically beautiful.. This has a very unique read i would recommend it as a little feel good book.

I feel like there was some big metaphor in this story and I missed it, so I missed the entire point of the story.
The story is creative, the prose jerky and weird in a good way, mirroring the way Tom's life moves after meeting the superhero The Amphibian and making friends with his friends and suddenly you're hanging out with people with the first name "The" and dating girls who's powers are hard to describe or live with.
The story is odd, which I like. Some of the best giggles I've reading in too long a time was with the lists of superheroes with weird or absurd powers. Like a guy who could procrastinate better than anyone else, or a woman who shrank whenever she had a certain thought.
The absurdness carries into the main plot; on their wedding day, a bride is hypnotized by her ex-boyfriend to not see her new husband. And she doesn't, because of course she doesn't. How Tom deals with this seems to be some extended metaphor, like something I'd find in a Night Vale episode. So for some readers, this story is absurdly awesome, and for some (me) this is weird and thought-provoking, but not a great read.
**I received an advance copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was a total snoozefest. I gave up at 57% because it's just the author listing stupid super heroes that he made up with a little bit of boring relationship stuff mixed in. The narration was fine and it was pretty easy to listen to despite being boring.

If you want to try it out, a normal guy falls in love with a super hero who's ex-lover hypnotizes her into not being able to see the normal guy. Then normal guy follows her around trying to figure out how to get her to see him again. Maybe something exciting happens eventually, I will never know. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

The title was intriguing and at first the book was interesting, However, it was a bit confusing to me and questions arose as I read it. I feel that for a HS library, it would not be a good addition to our collection.

“Tom and the Perfectionist sit in the designated waiting area of Gate 23, Terminal 2, Lester B. Pearson International Airport. It’s 10:13 a.m. Tom watches the Perfectionist check the address on her carry-on luggage. She tugs the tag. It’s the third time she’s done this. She looks around the airport lounge. There are more people than seats. She can’t figure out why no one has taken the empty chair to her right.

The chair to her right isn’t empty. Tom sits in this chair. To the Perfectionist, Tom is invisible. He’s been trying to convince her he isn’t since August 14th, their wedding night, six months ago. Tom has whispered and shouted. He’s made phone calls and sent faxes, telegrams and emails. Mutual friends have tried to convince her that Tom isn’t invisible. They can see him. She can’t. Tom is invisible only to the Perfectionist.”

𝑺𝒚𝒏𝒐𝒑𝒔𝒊𝒔

All Tom's friends really are superheroes.

There's the Ear, the Spooner, the Impossible Man. Tom even married a superhero, the Perfectionist. But at their wedding, the Perfectionist was hypnotized (by ex-boyfriend Hypno, of course) to believe that Tom is invisible. Nothing he does can make her see him. Six months later, she's sure that Tom has abandoned her. So she's moving to Vancouver. She'll use her superpower to make Vancouver perfect and leave all the heartbreak in Toronto. With no idea Tom's beside her, she boards an airplane. Tom has until the wheels touch the ground in Vancouver to convince her he's visible, or he loses her forever. The tenth anniversary edition of Andrew Kaufman's perennial favourite, All My Friends Are Superheroes, includes a new catalogue of superheroes.

𝑴𝒚 𝒐𝒑𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒐𝒏

I love the concept behind 𝑨𝒍𝒍 𝑴𝒚 𝑭𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒔 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝑺𝒖𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒐𝒆𝒔 by international bestselling Canadian author, Andrew Kaufman. The slim book has a winning title, incorporates humour, fantasy and magic realism, and is unique and refreshing.

As an audiobook it’s easy listening — 2.6 hours — and narrated by the author, which I always enjoy. I wish the characters had been fleshed out and Kaufman had written more about Tom (the only character who is not a superhero) and the Perfectionist’s relationship.

There’s no doubt that Kaufman is an ingenious writer. (Think Richard Brautigan’s 𝑰𝒏 𝑾𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒎𝒆𝒍𝒐𝒏 𝑺𝒖𝒈𝒂𝒓.) I believe 𝑨𝒍𝒍 𝑴𝒚 𝑭𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒔 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝑺𝒖𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒐𝒆𝒔 will appeal to readers who enjoy short, quirky and witty stories. Chances are, if you like Tom Robbins and Douglas Adams, you’ll enjoy Andrew Kaufman’s writing, too.

A huge thanks to @NetGalley and @coachhousebooks for the audiobook.

Tom has only a few short hours to convince his wife that he hasn't abandoned her and they'd be better together. The problem? She's been hypnotized to believe she can't see him. In a world where stress and trauma can transform ordinary people into superheroes, Tom's only hope might be the advice of his enemies.

While this little book is constantly poking fun at superhero tropes and relationship assumptions, it is remarkably deft at making observations about why people become weird. While the adult themes are a bit too mature for most of my students, I'll definitely be suggesting this book to my book club, as it has a lot hidden under the surface that bears discussion. Andrew Kaufman was really a delight to listen to, and I'm glad I got the audiobook version.

Subtle, dry, and delightfully absurd, Andrew Kaufman's All My Friends are Superheroes is a hoot. I'm pretty sure I know almost all of those "friends", I'm pretty sure most of us do!

The audio is peformed beautifully by the author, who (in my opinion) could easily have a second career. In addition to a lovely speaking voice, Mr. Kaufman's comedic timing is excellent.

4.5Stars
I read an ARC copy of this thanks to NetGalley!

I loved this book. This caught my attention because it said Superheroes, basically and it definitely had plenty of those. I loved that the everyday was sprinkled with this magic of really odd superpowers.
I listened to this on audio and the Author narrates it. It was just pure fun and escapism. It was littered with metaphor everywhere but it wasnt bogged down in 'assess your life' type of feels. It was just straight up silly fun and i loved it. It didnt quite have the 5star feel immediately for me but this could end up being a reread for me - which i dont, if ever, do.
It has left me wondering what my superhero name and power would be though and i guess this will keep me thinking about it for quite a while.

**Reviewing the audiobook**

I read the paperback a few years ago and absolutely adored this book - gave it the full 5*, however this audiobook version i just didn't like. The narrator was whiny and deadpan, and it just took all the joy and magic out of the book for me.
I urge everyone not to listen to the audio version, but to read the actual book.

The actual book is absolutely beautiful. It's so clever, and so joyous.

This was quirky and charming. I would have liked it a lot more if it had been more of a cohesive story rather than partly a story and partly a collection of random superheroes/metaphors. Most of them were clever and fun but that format got old after a while. It was short and I enjoyed it enough though.

The author Andrew Kaufman was a a brilliant narrator. I listened to All My Friends are Superheroes in one afternoon. A delightful way to spend two and a half hours. This is a story that you will want to share with friends.

Fitting in and finding love is hard. This is a charming modern day fable which we can all relate to. The story is about Tom, not a super-hero, who married a superhero The Perfectionist. On their wedding night Hypno, The Perfectionist’s ex-boyfriend hypnotises her into making Tom invisible to her. For the last six months Tom has been trying to make her see him, but she thinks he’s disappeared.

This updated edition includes The Compendium of Superheroes - Greater Toronto Area, which provides a lovely update on 32 of Toronto’s 249 superheroes. Each superhero is special, common, gifted, clumsy, triumphant, extraordinary. You’ll recognise your friends and yourself in these superheroes - At the end of the day, we are all superheroes.

Huge thanks to Netgalley and Coach House Books for making this advanced audiobook available for a fair and honest review.