A charming novella from Canadian filmmaker Andrew Kaufman, All My Friends are Superheroes tells the story of Tom – all of Tom’s friends are indeed superheroes, but not in the DC / Marvel sense. Most of them are people defined by regular and recognisable traits – the Stress Bunny, the Couch Surfer, the Dancer, the Sloth, the Chip – while some of them, notably Tom’s friend the Amphibian and his nemesis, Hypno, have powers of a sort. Tom’s fiancee is a superhero too – the Perfectionist – and that’s where Tom’s problems lie.

At Tom’s wedding to the Perfectionist, her ex, Hypno, used his powers to hypnotise her to not see Tom – so now Tom does have a superpower, and a very unwelcome one at that: he’s invisible to the woman he loves. None of the other superheroes can help him with his dilemma, as he tries to find a way to become visible again. Every time he touches the Perfectionist it hurts her, and she apparently can’t hear or see him. When she decides to move cities, bereft at the inexplicable disappearance of her new husband, Tom is on the seat next to her on the plane, but can he find the perfect thing to say or do that will snap her out of Hypno’s spell?

All My Friends Are Superheroes is a wonderfully romantic little book – and it’s also about how remarkable people are. Ultimately, by the terms in which Kaufman defines superpowers, we are all superheroes too – it’s all a matter of perspectives, and no spandex costumes are needed (I could be The Book Geek, the Frustrated Librarian or Mr Grumpy). The solution to Tom’s problem is elegantly simply, once he thinks about it properly, and the end result is a charming and highly recommended short read.

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