This story is about Graham Cavanaugh, his first wife, his current wife, his son and his life.

Graham is married to Audra, his second wife – a ditzy, extrovert, who insists on asserting herself into the life of anyone who will allow it. Audra and Graham have a son, Matthew, who is on the Autism spectrum. In the beginning, it seems like Graham adores Audra, but as the novel progresses he seems more and more disenchanted with both her and his life. Graham was previously married to Elspeth, who is rigid, detail-oriented and very serious, and it becomes clear he may never be satisfied with his life.

The sense of humor was dry, even snarky at times. I had trouble relating to and connecting with Graham. I found him to be a passive observer of his own life, not really making any decisions, but then unsatisfied with most of his day-to-day existence. I wanted him to be proactive, but instead he spent most of the novel observing what was happening around him, never contributing much, if anything.

A lot of the book is about being a parent, with the added layer of having a child with special needs – all of which I was unable to relate to  This is not to say others won’t, I picked up the book after having seen many positive reviews. While I did enjoy it at times, I overall felt like it did not move much and was also a bit boring. However, I would not be discouraged if you typically enjoy stories that, like Seinfeld, are not about very much at all.

Verdict: Skip it.
Length: 337 pages.
Quotes: “It occurred to Graham that here, finally, was the similarity between the two women he’d chosen to marry: they were both totally unruffable, one out of iciness, the other out of obliviousness.”
Instead Read: Perennials: A Novel, by Mandy Berman.  Check out our review here

Buy Standard Deviation HERE

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