Standard Deviation

What makes it funny?

Audra makes a point of encouraging a supermarket cashier who once suffered through an upsetting dispute over expensive pears. Graham listens, then privately wonders whether the store still has those pears and what he could cook with them. Her concern for a stranger and his concern for dinner occupy the same checkout line.

The comedy at work

Heiny lets Audra talk freely while Graham supplies the thoughts he mostly keeps to himself. Their domestic errands reveal different priorities in small, awkward steps.

Try this if…

Much of the pleasure comes from conversations and social obligations rather than a rapidly advancing plot. This suits readers who enjoy marriage comedies that give imperfect people room to be irritating, generous and unsure of themselves. Readers in book groups recommend its humor, including delighted reactions from early in the novel.

Good to know

Infidelity and marital doubt run through the story. Graham and Audra are also raising their autistic son, Matthew, whose enthusiasm for origami brings another set of social encounters into their lives.