If you are married to a garrulous, messy, open-hearted woman, how come your first wife was measured, neat and cool? You have loved them both, yet they are binary opposites. What does this say about you, and which one was a mistake?
This marital doubt is a significant theme of Katherine Heiny’s first novel, which is centred on Graham, who is newly reacquainted with Elspeth, whom he dumped for much younger Audra.
This is no trite New York love triangle; there is texture, intelligence, warmth and perspicacity that lifts it into the realms of Carol Shields or Curtis Sittenfeld. It plays in my head as a movie directed by Noah Baumbach or Nora Ephron.
Every character is beautifully realised, especially the eccentric members of an origami club, and Audra is an original comic creation. She befriends and thus knows the intimate business of every person in the neighbourhood; her conversation has no filter, so she discusses French-kissing her grandfather or the sexual lubricity of a bride during her wedding. Her habit of filling their chaotic house with random guests drives Graham back towards calm, quiet Elspeth, who cooks precise gourmet dinners and clips around indoors in high heels.
Yet slowly we learn that Audra’s loquaciousness — her habit of interrogating strangers like a talk show host — has a point. Their son Matthew has Asperger’s and she seeks through her relentless networking, her obsessive fanning of friendship flames, to ease his uncertain path through the world. It is the most assured, bittersweet portrayal of having a special-needs child I’ve read. It’s not afraid to be hilariously politically incorrect or to give voice to the internalised guilt of wishing your son were normal and your parenting life easier while never loving him any less.
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I chuckled my way through Standard Deviation, but at times it made my heart ache. This is the beach book for summer 2017.
Standard Deviation by Katherine Heiny, Fourth Estate, 320pp, £12.99
