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The Kryptonite Kid
This unforgettable novel, at once touching and funny, presents Jerry Chariot, an ordinary American kid who writes letters to Superman, because Jerry really believes in The Man of Steel. He is a boy who yearns to be loved and yearns to be Super in an everyday world so filled with unfairness that he must create his own reality - until the book's shattering conclusion makes Jerry realize who Superman really is.
178 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1979
8 people are currently reading
222 people want to read
About the author
Joseph Torchia
8 books6 followersJoseph Torchia was an American Author and Photographer. In the late 1970s he also worked as a reporter for 'The Palm Beach', 'The San Francisco Chronicle' and 'The San Francisco Examiner'.
Torchia was born in Johnsonburg, Pennsylvania, where he graduated in 1964 (Johnsonburg High School). After his studies at the University of Florida (1968) he spent two years in the Peace Corps (1968–1970). After having left journalism, Torchia owned a photography studio during the last 15 years of his life.
Torchia was born in Johnsonburg, Pennsylvania, where he graduated in 1964 (Johnsonburg High School). After his studies at the University of Florida (1968) he spent two years in the Peace Corps (1968–1970). After having left journalism, Torchia owned a photography studio during the last 15 years of his life.
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
May 19, 2022
“I believe in Superman the way some people believe in Jesus.”
Joseph Torchia ~~ The Kryptonite Kid
I have so many feelings about this book. This review is difficult to write. This book was recommended to me by my goodreads friend, Panagiotis. I'm so grateful for his making me aware of this.
“I thought it was really neat how Sally didn’t know you was really Superman and so she loved you for yourself and not for everything else. I love you for yourself also.”
The Kryptonite Kid
Do not be fooled by the simplicity of this book. In 1959, seven-year-old Jerry, and his best friend Robert, write letters to Superman. They start off as simple fan letters, but as time goes on, and as the boys' lives become more difficult, the Man of Steel becomes a stand-in for absent or abusive fathers as well as for God. As the story proceeds through its five dimensions, Jerry becomes obsessed with gaining super powers, begins finding kryptonite all over his hometown, and becomes fixated on Mr. Mxyzptlk as well as Superman himself. He starts to recount dreams he can't possibly have had, which are clearly a much older man dreaming about his past both recent and childhood, and in the last two dimensions his fantasy fixations become self-destructive.
By this point, Superman has become so clearly Jerry's God that Jerry finds himself brutally punished for writing a poem about the Son of Jor-El's superiority to the Son of God. The real hero is so busy that he doesn't have time to answer fan mail in spite of super speed and “super branes.” But even as time passes and he never gets a reply, Jerry simply doubles down and continues spending his allowance on stamps so that he can ask Superman what a queer is and why he gets in trouble for merely asking, inquire as to whether Purgatory and the Phantom Zone are the same (and if so can you please let me out when I go there, please Superman) or donate a catechism to keep the Man of Steel out of Hell.
Sadly, The Kryptonite Kid has been out of print for 30 years. Little is known of Joseph Torchia today. He died from aids related liver cancer in 1996. I did discover this interview his brother and friend did, so I wanted to share it with you to glimpse into his world. Joseph Torchia.
The Kryptonite Kid is a dark book; it is a difficult book, but more than anything, it is a remarkable book. The Kryptonite Kid is a book that has haunts me and will continue to haunt me for a long time.
Joseph Torchia ~~ The Kryptonite Kid
I have so many feelings about this book. This review is difficult to write. This book was recommended to me by my goodreads friend, Panagiotis. I'm so grateful for his making me aware of this.
“I thought it was really neat how Sally didn’t know you was really Superman and so she loved you for yourself and not for everything else. I love you for yourself also.”
The Kryptonite Kid
Do not be fooled by the simplicity of this book. In 1959, seven-year-old Jerry, and his best friend Robert, write letters to Superman. They start off as simple fan letters, but as time goes on, and as the boys' lives become more difficult, the Man of Steel becomes a stand-in for absent or abusive fathers as well as for God. As the story proceeds through its five dimensions, Jerry becomes obsessed with gaining super powers, begins finding kryptonite all over his hometown, and becomes fixated on Mr. Mxyzptlk as well as Superman himself. He starts to recount dreams he can't possibly have had, which are clearly a much older man dreaming about his past both recent and childhood, and in the last two dimensions his fantasy fixations become self-destructive.
By this point, Superman has become so clearly Jerry's God that Jerry finds himself brutally punished for writing a poem about the Son of Jor-El's superiority to the Son of God. The real hero is so busy that he doesn't have time to answer fan mail in spite of super speed and “super branes.” But even as time passes and he never gets a reply, Jerry simply doubles down and continues spending his allowance on stamps so that he can ask Superman what a queer is and why he gets in trouble for merely asking, inquire as to whether Purgatory and the Phantom Zone are the same (and if so can you please let me out when I go there, please Superman) or donate a catechism to keep the Man of Steel out of Hell.
Sadly, The Kryptonite Kid has been out of print for 30 years. Little is known of Joseph Torchia today. He died from aids related liver cancer in 1996. I did discover this interview his brother and friend did, so I wanted to share it with you to glimpse into his world. Joseph Torchia.
The Kryptonite Kid is a dark book; it is a difficult book, but more than anything, it is a remarkable book. The Kryptonite Kid is a book that has haunts me and will continue to haunt me for a long time.
January 25, 2018
Πάντα μ' αρέσει να κάνω μια σύντομη αναδρομή γύρω από το πως ανακάλυψα το εκάστοτε βιβλίο. Τούτο εδώ έχω την εντύπωση πως το συνάντησα σε κάποια συνέντευξη κάποιου συγγραφέα. Μπορεί και πάλι να μην ήταν συνέντευξη αλλά να ήταν στο τελευταίο βιβλίο του Γκέιμαν στο οποίο γράφει για αγαπημένα κόμικς, βιβλία και ταινίες. Όπως και να 'χει, ακόμα κι έτσι, με την μνήμη μου μπλεγμένη, νιώθω ευγνωμοσύνη απέναντι σ' αυτόν τον κάποιον που το ανέφερε.
Ο Τζέρι, ένα μικρό αγόρι που ζει, κατά τα φαινόμενα, σε κάποια ιταλική συνοικία σε μια μικρή πόλη των ΗΠΑ, γράφει γράματα στον Σούπερμαν. Τα γράμματα είναι μια φυσιολογική ένδειξη λατρείας απέναντι στο ίνδαλμα εκείνης της εποχής, αλλά και ένα καταφύγιο από μια καθημερινότητα οικογενειακή και σχολική που δεν είναι ειδυλλιακή. Το μικρό αγόρι γράφει με μια αξιολάτρευτη αθωότητα και ο αναγνώστης πολλές φορές θα βρεθεί να κοιτάει την πραγματικότητα μέσα από το μπερδεμένο αλλά και γεμάτο φαντασία μυαλό του μικρού συγγραφέα.
Ο Τόρτσια προσεγγίζει με έναν ασυναγώνιστο τρόπο το πρόβλημα του ανήλικου, απαίδευτου ομοδιηγητικού αφηγητή. Δίχως ποτέ να θυσιάζει την λογοτεχνικότητά του, ο Τζέρι φαντάζει πράγματι ένα μέσο αγορί της ηλικίας του, που θες να το πάρεις αγκαλιά. Γιατί; Διαβάστε και θα δείτε.
Το Kryptonite Kid είναι από αυτά τα βιβλία που αρέσουν σε όλους, θα αγγίξει όλους. Θα προσφέρει σίγουρα αυτά τα γραφικά. λαοφιλή σχόλια με ραγισμένες καρδιές και "I didn't see that coming", αλλά το αξίζει.
Ο Τζέρι, ένα μικρό αγόρι που ζει, κατά τα φαινόμενα, σε κάποια ιταλική συνοικία σε μια μικρή πόλη των ΗΠΑ, γράφει γράματα στον Σούπερμαν. Τα γράμματα είναι μια φυσιολογική ένδειξη λατρείας απέναντι στο ίνδαλμα εκείνης της εποχής, αλλά και ένα καταφύγιο από μια καθημερινότητα οικογενειακή και σχολική που δεν είναι ειδυλλιακή. Το μικρό αγόρι γράφει με μια αξιολάτρευτη αθωότητα και ο αναγνώστης πολλές φορές θα βρεθεί να κοιτάει την πραγματικότητα μέσα από το μπερδεμένο αλλά και γεμάτο φαντασία μυαλό του μικρού συγγραφέα.
Ο Τόρτσια προσεγγίζει με έναν ασυναγώνιστο τρόπο το πρόβλημα του ανήλικου, απαίδευτου ομοδιηγητικού αφηγητή. Δίχως ποτέ να θυσιάζει την λογοτεχνικότητά του, ο Τζέρι φαντάζει πράγματι ένα μέσο αγορί της ηλικίας του, που θες να το πάρεις αγκαλιά. Γιατί; Διαβάστε και θα δείτε.
Το Kryptonite Kid είναι από αυτά τα βιβλία που αρέσουν σε όλους, θα αγγίξει όλους. Θα προσφέρει σίγουρα αυτά τα γραφικά. λαοφιλή σχόλια με ραγισμένες καρδιές και "I didn't see that coming", αλλά το αξίζει.
August 13, 2018
Youthful innocence and dark humour come together to weave a poignant tale in this superb novel. A young boy absolutely believes in and worships Superman. The novel is a series of letters from him to his superhero. For his unwavering faith in Superman, he is ridiculed, ostracised, punished and beaten by friends, family and teachers (sort of like Jesus). He attends a school run by nuns and can't understand why adults who worship an unseen, unproven God who has only been written about in a book are considered pious, upstanding citizens, while all he gets is grief, heartache and abuse for venerating Superman who is written about in another, albeit different, kind of book. I see what the author is trying to do here. Very clever. [Final rating: 4.5*]
March 2, 2025
(Another wonderful novel that was caught up in the UK government's homophobic 1984 campaign. See after my review)
A brilliant novel which I read to long ago to review properly but I must insist is one of the most perfectly beautiful novels of childhood, of being a different child, a child both more honest and more pure then the world around him. It may not have been the author's intention to present a coruscating portrait of the ways that religiously inspired people see only the foul and unpleasant - it is one of the finest demolition jobs on catholic nuns I have ever read - in a way far more shocking and distressing then the better known 'Angela's Ashes' because it deals with monstrous and evil the ordinary can be.
A true forgotten classic of childhood, of trying to understand yourself and the adult world. A most remarkable novel which I will read again one day. And this is not YA novel! I'd love YA to read it, but it wasn't written for them. Why everyone believes that a novel about children is YA is beyond me.
Attempts to ban the book in the UK:
This book was one of many that were seized in 1984 from the first gay bookshop in London, or anywhere in the UK, Gay's The Word as part of a policy of intimidation against 'uppity' gays and I am posting information on this event against many of the books seized by the police.
This is a history that should not be forgotten.
The Kryptonite Kid and the 1984 attempt to destroy 'Gay's The Word' the UK's first gay bookshop:
This novel was one of many 'imported' gay books which were at the centre of an infamous attempt to push UK gays back into the closet by the conservative government of Margaret Thatcher in 1984. Amazingly this event, important not only for gays but civil liberties in the UK, does not have any kind of Wikipedia entry. Because of this lack I have assembled links to a number of sites which anyone interested in free speech should read. If we don't remember our history we will be condemned to repeat it.
The genesis of the prosecution of 'Gays The Word' was the anger of homophobes to books like 'The Milkman's On His Way' by David Rees which were written for young people and presented being gay as ordinary and nothing to get your-knickers-in-a-twist over. Unfortunately there was no way to ban the offending books because censorship of literature had been laughed out of court at the 'Lady Chatterley Trial' nearly twenty years earlier. But Customs and Excise did have the ability to seize and forbid the import of 'foreign' books, those not published in the UK. As most 'gay' books came from abroad, specifically the USA, this anomaly was the basis for the raid on Gays The Word and the seizure of large amounts of stock. The intention was that the legal costs, plus the disruption to the business, would sink this small independent bookshop long before it came to trial. That it didn't is testimony to the resilience of Gay's The Word, the gay community and all those who supported them.
The best, not perfect, but only, guide to the event is at:
https://www.gayinthe80s.com/2012/10/1...
There follows a series of links to the event connected with an exhibition at the University of London:
The background:
https://www.london.ac.uk/news-events/...
The 142 books seized:
https://exhibitions.london.ac.uk/s/se...
The history of the prosecution:
https://www.london.ac.uk/news-events/...
The fight to clarify the law after the prosecution was dropped:
https://www.london.ac.uk/news-events/...
A brilliant novel which I read to long ago to review properly but I must insist is one of the most perfectly beautiful novels of childhood, of being a different child, a child both more honest and more pure then the world around him. It may not have been the author's intention to present a coruscating portrait of the ways that religiously inspired people see only the foul and unpleasant - it is one of the finest demolition jobs on catholic nuns I have ever read - in a way far more shocking and distressing then the better known 'Angela's Ashes' because it deals with monstrous and evil the ordinary can be.
A true forgotten classic of childhood, of trying to understand yourself and the adult world. A most remarkable novel which I will read again one day. And this is not YA novel! I'd love YA to read it, but it wasn't written for them. Why everyone believes that a novel about children is YA is beyond me.
Attempts to ban the book in the UK:
This book was one of many that were seized in 1984 from the first gay bookshop in London, or anywhere in the UK, Gay's The Word as part of a policy of intimidation against 'uppity' gays and I am posting information on this event against many of the books seized by the police.
This is a history that should not be forgotten.
The Kryptonite Kid and the 1984 attempt to destroy 'Gay's The Word' the UK's first gay bookshop:
This novel was one of many 'imported' gay books which were at the centre of an infamous attempt to push UK gays back into the closet by the conservative government of Margaret Thatcher in 1984. Amazingly this event, important not only for gays but civil liberties in the UK, does not have any kind of Wikipedia entry. Because of this lack I have assembled links to a number of sites which anyone interested in free speech should read. If we don't remember our history we will be condemned to repeat it.
The genesis of the prosecution of 'Gays The Word' was the anger of homophobes to books like 'The Milkman's On His Way' by David Rees which were written for young people and presented being gay as ordinary and nothing to get your-knickers-in-a-twist over. Unfortunately there was no way to ban the offending books because censorship of literature had been laughed out of court at the 'Lady Chatterley Trial' nearly twenty years earlier. But Customs and Excise did have the ability to seize and forbid the import of 'foreign' books, those not published in the UK. As most 'gay' books came from abroad, specifically the USA, this anomaly was the basis for the raid on Gays The Word and the seizure of large amounts of stock. The intention was that the legal costs, plus the disruption to the business, would sink this small independent bookshop long before it came to trial. That it didn't is testimony to the resilience of Gay's The Word, the gay community and all those who supported them.
The best, not perfect, but only, guide to the event is at:
https://www.gayinthe80s.com/2012/10/1...
There follows a series of links to the event connected with an exhibition at the University of London:
The background:
https://www.london.ac.uk/news-events/...
The 142 books seized:
https://exhibitions.london.ac.uk/s/se...
The history of the prosecution:
https://www.london.ac.uk/news-events/...
The fight to clarify the law after the prosecution was dropped:
https://www.london.ac.uk/news-events/...
November 20, 2012
Read this when I was 12. Still remember it for its disturbing content. In retrospect, this might have had a bit of an influence on my writing style.
November 14, 2017
Masterpiece
February 2, 2016
When I was younger, I spent a lot of time in the school library. After I had devoured every book about Greek mythology that I could find, I decided to branch out, and in the section of the library for older kids, I found this book. I checked it out, and I devoured it in a night.
The writing style is simple—it's supposed to be written by a kid, after all—but the content has made it into a book that I measure other books by even thirty years later.
If you like Go Ask Alice or The Bell Jar, I feel like you'll probably enjoy this book as well.
The writing style is simple—it's supposed to be written by a kid, after all—but the content has made it into a book that I measure other books by even thirty years later.
If you like Go Ask Alice or The Bell Jar, I feel like you'll probably enjoy this book as well.
November 11, 2010
One of my very favorite books.
September 16, 2013
I must have read this thing 20 years ago, but it sticks with you. It can be interpreted a couple different ways. I don't want to give anything away, but it's a fairly accurate depiction of tween borderline depression. Not a 'feel good' ending, either. The copy I had was the hardcover version and I have since learned that the ending was changed in subsequent softcover versions, so seek out both if you are a completest.
July 9, 2007
this fictional book is a collection of letters, written by an abused boy named Jerry, to his idol: Superman.
obviously, it's a one-way conversation. it's pretty disturbing towards the end, if i remember correctly.
if you get the chance, check it out. i borrowed and read it in college, and I remember being mildly creeped out after finishing it.
obviously, it's a one-way conversation. it's pretty disturbing towards the end, if i remember correctly.
if you get the chance, check it out. i borrowed and read it in college, and I remember being mildly creeped out after finishing it.
July 12, 2013
I wa slightly disturbed after reading this book, in hindsight I probably shouldnt have read it in moddle school. It is a book which which really got me into reading, so I am really fond of it. it talks about a kid with problems at home which talks to his hero (one way conversation) and how his life problems all develop as he keeps delivering his letters.
April 30, 2017
Powerful. Very powerful. Start like a regular kids tale, and then turn into something much heavier. This book really did bring me the feelings. Highly recommend.
The author died in 1996.
You can read a very interesting interview with his family here:
http://noblemania.blogspot.co.il/2014...
The author died in 1996.
You can read a very interesting interview with his family here:
http://noblemania.blogspot.co.il/2014...
July 22, 2015
KK, Kryptonite Kid! It has gotten to the point where I would like to try and get GOODREADS to change their options of CURRENTLY READING, READING, READ, to include another option READING AGAIN.
To know that Superman exists and he lives in Illinois that maybe Superman will find it in his heart to try and find my horrible non-trusting sister and convince her that their really are some good people in the world....including her brother.
To know that Superman exists and he lives in Illinois that maybe Superman will find it in his heart to try and find my horrible non-trusting sister and convince her that their really are some good people in the world....including her brother.
March 26, 2008
I was given this as a gift years ago, and since it's somewhat about Superman, I gave it a shot. It's an interesting story, but I have to say that the ending completed negated any good feelings I might have had about this book.
August 11, 2011
an excellent dialogue between a boy and his childhood hero
August 15, 2018
Wow, is what I say. Read it.
So wonderful and beautiful and sad and painful. Jerry Chariot and his buddy, Robert Sippano develop amazing fanboy love for Superman and his pals through letters to the super hero.
So great quirky fun and a poignant look at their lives in 1959.
A favorite quote that won’t really spoil anything;
‘I don’t want to be a Saint anyway because there’s already a Saint names Jerome. I’d hate to go to all the trouble of becoming a Saint and then have everybody get me mixed up with somebody else when they’re praying to me.’
So wonderful and beautiful and sad and painful. Jerry Chariot and his buddy, Robert Sippano develop amazing fanboy love for Superman and his pals through letters to the super hero.
So great quirky fun and a poignant look at their lives in 1959.
A favorite quote that won’t really spoil anything;
‘I don’t want to be a Saint anyway because there’s already a Saint names Jerome. I’d hate to go to all the trouble of becoming a Saint and then have everybody get me mixed up with somebody else when they’re praying to me.’
February 3, 2017
A strange and disturbing book in epistolary form. No idea why I chose to read this (well, Gaiman recommended it in one of his essays, but I am no Gaiman fan!), but all I know is I bawled my eyes out in an Ola, with the driver looking at me so very strangely. What else do you do when you have an abused kid writing letters to Superman, who he believes is real, and who he believes is the God that the nuns at school teach about. And the ending is super melodramatic!
June 20, 2023
This is a deceptive little gem. What feels so innocent at the start slowly morphs into a gut-wrenching exploration of childhood trauma. For a short book, it hits on a lot of themes including sexual identity, religion, and race. Even when I thought I knew what was coming, I didn’t understand the half of it - and this felt impressively intentional.
November 12, 2021
A strange and enchanting book in which young Jerry Chariot along with his best friend Robert writes letters to Superman while planning all the while to express his own super powers to help him escape the rut he's in in his Catholic childhood wherein he will fly off the roof of his father's building and soar over the head of the nun with whom he has the hardest time and pee on her head. Superman never answers their letters. Needless to say, Jerry will be hit with a hard lesson in reality from which he will find it difficult to recover. Torchia, an almost forgotten writer, relates this story in the very believable voice of a child from the fifties who truly relies on Superman's powers to be there for him when he will 'need' him most and the friendship between the two boys is heartwarming amidst all the bullies and brats with whom they go to school and the problematic relatives who think Superman is a myth.
August 11, 2025
A gay coming-of-age story about an abused kid and gis friends Robert and Superman, from a great author who died too soon, probably with lots of stories left untold. Read; "As If After Sex," if you get the chance.
April 7, 2018
Unrelenting and, ultimately, devastating.
June 25, 2020
Fun and quirky and then suddenly haunting. This one troubled me for a long time. Over thirty years later and I still can’t forget it.
November 27, 2020
I never thought I would cry reading this.
September 14, 2023
This is definitely my top book of the year and had me laughing throughout even though it got quite dark. Helped that I was a big comic fan around the same era as the story. Highly recommended.
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews