Julie Wilson, Iambik Publicity Instigator, recently caught up with the Wonder Twins of All My Friends Are Superheroes, the book’s author, Andrew Kaufman, and Iambik narrator Gordon Mackenzie, to see if two sides of the same coin really are that different.

Sample (mp3): Chapter 1 – All My Friends Are Superheroes

The Andrew Kaufman, Author Interview

Andrew Kaufman

Julie Wilson: Sheila Heti says: “[All My Friends Are Superheroes] is like a kiss in the afternoon sun. Somebody should write Mr. Kaufman a letter and thank him for his tender heart and the way he puts things down so gently. I expect this story will replace boxes of chocolates and flowers in courting rituals to come.”

Keeping the above quote in mind, describe the experience of hearing someone else voice your words. Is it liberating? Amusing? Terrifying?

Andrew Kaufman: I think Gord does an amazing read, but when I’m listening to it, especially the first chapter, it drives me crazy when he doesn’t pause in the same places and I would have, or emphasis the same words that I do. It just reminds me that everyone reads the book it in their own voice and not the one I hear in my head. I don’t know why I find this surprising, but I do. As for Sheila’s quote I think Gord’s voice is more of a gentle nibble on the lobe than a kiss in the afternoon sun, but certainly just as enjoyable . . .

JW: To record an entire book is an athletic feat. If you were to read aloud one book, what would it be and why?

AK: Okay, this is embarrassing, but I’d have to go with In Watermelon Sugar by Richard Brautigan. It’s short enough that it wouldn’t kill me, but, even more, it’s really intimately and sparely written and exactly the kind of story you’d want to read to a friend.

JW: Why is that embarrassing?

AK: Come on! I don’t really need to explain how admitting my influences include Brautigan, Vonnegut and yes, maybe, even Robbins, lowers my chances of being taken seriously do I? Are you suggesting that there isn’t a belief in literary circles that the artistic merit of a book is inversely proportional to how enjoyable it was to read?

JW: I’ll do you a solid and confess that my introduction to Robbins came through a cinematically large and handsome thumb afixed to Uma Thurman. I worked back from there.

Yeah, I take your point. There was a time when if someone asked me what my favourite film was it would have been something like Michael Snow’s Wavelength, Kenneth Anger’s Lucifer Rising or even Guy Maddin’s Sissy Boy Slap Party. Now I answer Xanadu or Spaceballs, not because I’m embarrassed, per se, but because it never leads to fun conversations. Which is a shame because I do enjoy those films. There’s fun to be had.

AK: Have you just admitted to reading the complete works of Tom Robbins? Well I’ll still take your questions seriously . . .

JW: Speaking of Guy Maddin—who lays in all this audio in post—let’s talk about sounds.

What sound most terrifies you: natural and artificial.

AK: The natural sound that terrifies me the most is cats fighting late at night. Every time it happens it takes me a couple of seconds to figure out exactly what that sound is and in those moments it could be anything.

I’ve been in a couple of car accidents and I’d have to say that the sound of glass and metal collapsing is the scariest artificial sound I’ve ever heard. It’s just says that something horrible is happening, and there’s no way to stop it, even though it kinda sounds like walking on very cold, crisp snow.

JW: What sound most humours you: natural and artificial.

AK: I’d be lying if I didn’t say burps. And artificial: old Kids in the Hall repeats.

JW: What sound most impresses you: natural and artificial.

AK: Listen, I’m really not overly sappy, really, but I gotta say that hearing my kids heartbeat inside my wife was something I’ll never forget. And artificial: The Pixies.

JW: What sound do you most often parrot, or aspire to parrot: natural and artificial.

AK: There’s this lilting British accent, almost the voice of BBC news readers from the early 80s, that I often try to parrot when I’m writing. There’s something so very authoritative yet seemingly objective about it that really works for me. That would be the natural sound I try to parrot the most.

As for artificial I’ve tried unsuccessfully for years to sound like a Wookie.

The Gordon Mackenzie, Narrator Interview

Gord Mackenzie

Julie Wilson: “[All My Friends Are Superheroes] is like a kiss in the afternoon sun. Somebody should write Mr. Kaufman a letter and thank him for his tender heart and the way he puts things down so gently. I expect this story will replace boxes of chocolates and flowers in courting rituals to come.”—Sheila Heti

Keeping the above quote in mind, describe the experience of sounding out someone else’s words, inserting your own interpretation into the story. Is it liberating? Amusing? Terrifying?

Gordon Mackenzie: As an actor, or narrator in this case, it’s my job to give voice to someone else’s words.  When someone reads a novel to themselves for pleasure, and the book is good, the words transport the reader on an emotional journey.  The journey is sparked by and guided by the authors words, but it’s the reader’s own journey.

With audio books, there’s another layer added: the narrator’s voice. The narrator, of course, allows the listener to hear the words of the author, but if that’s all it was, then listeners would be happy having TTS (Text To Speech) computer programs read to them. While TTS programs are able to make the words understandable, there is something missing.  It’s like a black and white photo of a work of visual art. The details of the artwork are there, but the color is missing.

The narrator adds the emotional color. But it’s a delicate balance. As a narrator you have to remember that the emotional journey which is important is that of the listener . . . and not your own!

Kaufman’s text is filled with emotion. Loneliness, sadness, fear, joy and love are all woven throughout the story in powerful textual images. This might be a love story, but it’s not all sweetness and light, there’s a lot there for an actor to sink their teeth into. My challenge with this book was, in fact, to pull back from the emotion, and let the author’s words do the heavy lifting.

All My Friends Are Superheroes was a joy to read. The language of the book is clear and simple, but carries a heavy emotional punch. Even though the story seems surreal at times, it is based in an underlying bedrock of real emotions that anyone who has been in love can easily relate to.

It’s also very funny, which was another challenge. The humour in the story is often touched with sadness, and had to be handled carefully.

JW: To record an entire book is an athletic feat. How do you prepare to get into, and stay in, that mental space?

GM: First, I read the novel through to gain an understanding of the arc or the story. I pay attention to my first experience with the text. How did it make me feel? What did it “sound” like in my head? When I finally record it, I want to get back to that first experience I had with the text.

Then I think about the characters, and how they should sound. Again, I try to go with my first instinct, or how they sounded in my head the first time I read through. But sometimes its hard to get the voice I hear inside to be present outside.

The actual recording is the fun part. I have a studio in my home, so it’s just me, the microphone and the words at that point. I’ll often record the first chapter a few times before I do one for “real.” In the case of Superheroes, I was able to get some valuable feedback from Andrew Kaufman, who gave me guidance as to the tone he was looking for.

Once I feel I have the right tone, it’s off to the races, and the rest of the novel usually comes relatively easily. Superheroes, in particular, just flowed into the microphone.

After the initial recording, then the hard work of editing and proof-listening comes. Occasionally, I or the proof-listener will be less than satisfied with a segment, and then I’ll go back and re-record. That can be hard, as its difficult to jump into the middle of the text.

But it’s a great privilege to be allowed to record the book, and I love the experience.

JW: Let’s talk about sounds.

What sound most terrifies you: natural and artificial.

GM: Natural: Ice cracking under my feet as I walk across a frozen lake. Artificial: Nails on a chalk board. Seriously. Thank god that schools have mostly switched to white boards, and younger generations will never be exposed to the horror.

JW: What sound most humours you: natural and artificial.

GM: Natural: My kids laughing. Artificial: The Benny Hill theme music.

JW: What sound most impresses you: natural and artificial.

GM: Natural: Thunder from a summer storm. Artificial: The sound of the Space Shuttle launching.

JW: What sound do you most often parrot, or aspire to parrot: natural and artificial.

GM: Natural: My dog growling. Artificial: My wife and kids get awfully tired of me doing character voices from The Simpsons.

All My Friends Are Superheroes by Andrew Kaufman.

Published by Coach House Books, iambik audiobook narrated by Gordon Mackenzie.

Sample (Right Click/Save As to download).