I am currently studying a module in Comparative Literature at university. This semester we are reading and discussing plays, a new one every week. I am really enjoying it, as I don't read much in the way of drama for pleasure, but have always enjoyed theatre and studying it at school etc. However, the reading takes up a fair amount of time, hence my lack of other reading. It has been wonderful to be surrounded with books on such a regular basis though, only thing that keeps me sane haha! I'll get there though, with the challenge I mean. I do have a 16 week summer coming up after all!!
Anyway, I downloaded this book for my kindle before going on holiday last July and never got round to reading it until recently. It was a recommendation from the actress and Youtuber Carrie Hope Fletcher, as she has previously named it her favourite book.
Before starting it, I really had no idea what to expect. As I had bought it for my Kindle, I knew nothing about the length, and hadn't even read the blurb as I would with a physical book.
Brief Summary: All of Tom's friends, acquaintances, and even wife are in fact superheroes. The novel tells the story of how Tom became invisible to his wife, and how he must strive to make her see him before he loses her forever, interjected with descriptions of many of Tom's superhero friends: who they are, their superpower, and how they discovered their abilities.
This has to be one of the strangest books I've ever read. It's just bizarre. There is an assumption from the beginning that to be a superhero is perfectly possibly, like there is no explanation for their inclusion or existence, it's just a thing?!
What I love about it is I think there are so many different ways people could interpret this story, and so many different things that different people could take from it.
For me, it was very much about labels. What characteristics and quirks we define ourselves by, how others define us, how we perceive others to define us, and how we define other people. It was a discussion around the idea of our prominent characteristics, whether good or bad, being our superpowers, being our strengths and our challenges and basically our identities. And whether or not we should embrace them, and allow ourselves to be defined by certain things, or fight them.
In that sense, I felt that the book put across a very powerful message which didn't necessary provide answers, but made you think about the function and power of labels.
On the other hand, it could just be read as a rather quirky superhero story with lots of weird and wonderful and abnormal characters, rather than normal people.
The book did make a distinction between superheroes and non-superheroes, but for me also made the point that we are ALL superheroes, so I don't know if perhaps it suggested that to be a superhero we must admit to or embrace what makes us unique and individual, or if I've read more into that than I needed to?!
It's a bit of an odd one to explain, but it doesn't take long to read and I doubt you'll ever read anything similar to it, so if I were you I'd just give it a go!
I personally don't think I could ever call it my favourite book because I don't feel like a lot happens! But I certainly appreciate it as a very creative and amusing discussion of serious topics, which despite its short length is engaging and emotional and captivating all at once. Just read it. Go on, you know you want to.
Catriona
Reading Challenge: 1/21
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