All My Firends Are Superheroes - Andrew Kaufman (1)

Andrew Kaufman is a great writer. I read the tiny book "The tiny Wife" in December and loved it. "All My Friends Are Superheroes" is also a super good book. Short with it's 106 pages and it made me laugh and wounder how Kaufman's brain works that can come up with all the things he writes about.

It's about Tom, a non superhero, that is married to The Perfectionist. She has a bit of a jealous ex boyfriend, Hypno, that hypnotize The Perfectionist not to see Tom. Tom does all to make her see him again.

All the friends that Tom has are superheroes, he's the only one without super powers, and the book presents some of the superheroes. Falling girl is my favorite, but there are so many good ones.

FALLING GIRL

Falling girl won't go higher then the second floor of any building. She's never set foot on a balcony and the floor is the only place she'll sit. A small sample of things she's fallen from includes trees, cars, grace, first-story windows, horses, ladders, bicycles, the wagon, countless kitchen counters and her grandmother's knee.

Smoking beside the Ear on winter night, she wiggled deeper under the sheets and admitted the only thing she's never fallen from, or into, was love. 'If that's how you do it, I would have done it,' she said. Then she leaned over to butt out her cigarette and fell out of the bed.

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THE COUCH SURFER

Empowered with the ability to sustain life and limb without a job, steady companion or permanent place of residence, the Couch Surfer can be found roaming from couch to couch of friend's apartments all around the city.

The Couch Surfer is not only able to withstand long periods of acute poverty but is also able to nutritionally sustain himself with only handfuls of breakfast cereals, slices of dry bread and condiments. Mysteriously always has cigarettes.

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The next night Tom stated having pains in his chest. The first one came at ten in the evening. It was sharp and enduring. He doubled over but it passed. The next two hours later; by the morning they came every ten minutes. The Perfectionist was sleeping and he knew not to touch her. He called the Amphibian.

'Hey.' said Tom.

'Hey,' said the Amphibian.

'Ahhhh,' said Tom. A pain shot through his heart.

'What is happening?'

'Pain in my chest.'

'Sharp and enduring?'

'Yes.'

'But recurring?'

'Yes!'

'In great frequency?'

'Less then ten minutes now.'

'I'm sending over a doctor.'

'What is it?'

'He's the best there is.'

'Tell me what it is!'

'Your heart is breaking,' said the Amphibian said.