Standard Deviation by Katherine Heiny

Standard Deviation by Katherine Heiny
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Graham’s second wife, Audra, is an unrestrained force of good nature. She talks non-stop through her epidural, labour and delivery, invites the doorman to move in and the eccentric members of their son’s Origami Club to Thanksgiving. When she decides to make friends with Elsbeth – Graham’s first wife and Audra’s polar opposite – Graham starts to wonder: how can anyone love two such different women? And did he make the right choice?

I'm not sure I really 'got the point' of this book. It was like a observational comedy script with humour that felt both forced and fake. About a New York family (with an Asperger's son) and their situational every day life it felt like a lot of diary entries rather than a well thought out smooth flowing novel. I found it a strange book, the character of Graham the husband was a little dull and his second wife Audra was so over the top that I actually felt she was smothering both him and any chance of a real story. Graham I feel possibly believes he made a mistake with marrying Audra who is so different from his first wife Elspeth as anyone could get. He actually sounds bored with Audra and appears to be just settling for second best. Elspeth comes back into his life and I suppose he is drawn to comparisons. Audra is projected as rather eccentric in her ways but so obsessed with everyone else's life that she can't see the problems in her own.

I didn't really like this book at all, I couldn't see the point of it really. it doesn't go anywhere, it's a bit sad and the comedy just didn't work for me. I know it's had lots of great reviews and I wouldn't say don't bother but it just didn't appeal to me at all. Can only give this one two stars.