Standard Deviation

‘I have rarely seen modern marriage reproduced so faithfully in print. It’s about love once the early romance has subsided. Hilarious’ Jojo Moyes, Woman and Home‘Standard Deviation is a marvel’ Kate Atkinson‘Addictive reading’ Mail on Sunday‘A comic masterpiece’ Observer

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?

“' Not only one of the funniest books you will ever read, but true and poignant, too . And Audra is one of the most memorable comic characters ever to leap from the pages of a book .' John Harding, Daily Mail 'Audra Daltry is a singular creation - a character so funny , so appealing, so sure that she can change the world for her family that she will jump right off the page and take up permanent residence in your heart .' Kate Atikinson 'Overtly unshowy, it is deceptively light-hearted and rueful, its sharpness masked in humour ... There are some painfully hilarious exchanges, but underlying the jokes is an emotionally intelligent dissection of conflicting inner worlds ...Measured on laughs per page, Heiny lives up to her promise.' Sunday Times 'A book so funny and perceptive I want to be friends with its author ' Laline Paull, author of The Bees ' Both heart-piercing and, crucially, very funny ' Louise Erdirch, New York Times ' Wonderful ... To spend 300-plus pages with Heiny's wry voice and colourful cast of characters is to love them, truly ' Kirkus ' Funny, delightful, and poignant beyond any reasonable expectations ... The novel I'm recommending to everyone who asks, urging that they read it to cheer themselves up, laugh out loud, and ponder the complications and charm of everyday life. I can't think of better company, on the page, than Heiny' Omnivoracious ' Irresistibly charming ... A delightful, refreshing novel that illuminates the world of complicated relationships ' Elin Hilderbrand, author of Here's to Us 'Warmhearted and even funnier than Single, Carefree, Mellow ... evoking the smart, stylish wit of Laurie Colwin, Nora Ephron, and Maria Semple ' NPR ' Standard Deviation bears a certain resemblance to the work of Anne Tyler ' Shelf Awareness”

‘Not only one of the funniest books you will ever read, but true and poignant, too. Audra is one of the most memorable comic characters ever to leap from the pages of a book’ Daily Mail

‘I love this book. it reminds me slightly of my beloved Maria Semple and Norah Ephron’ Nina Stibbe

‘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 … I chuckled my way through Standard Deviation, but at times it made my heart ache’ The Times

'I love Katherine Heiny's book and underlined so many funny observations that had me laughing out loud. Amazing' Emma Gannon

‘Audra Daltry is a singular creation – a character so funny, so appealing, so sure that she can change the world for her family that she will jump right off the page and take up permanent residence in your heart’ Kate Atkinson

‘Brilliantly funny’ India Knight

‘Heiny’s novel is a comic masterpiece and her Audra is the funniest heroine ever’ Observer

So comedically spot on about middle-class mores it feels unnervingly like she’s in your head. It’s one of those books that people fervently press on you’ Jenny Colgan, Spectator Books of the Year.

‘Funny, fresh, with the kind of perceptive observations that make you see family life, friendship, parenting and marriage anew’ Mail on Sunday

‘Heiny’s characters – charming, flawed, relatable, tragic, hilarious – are faultlessly constructed, lingering long in the memory like family or friends’ Observer

‘A book so funny and perceptive I want to be friends with its author’ Laline Paull

‘There are some painfully hilarious exchanges, but underlying the jokes is an emotionally intelligent dissection of conflicting inner worlds’ Sunday Times

‘Wonderful … such a success’ New York Times Book Review

‘Both heart-piercing and, crucially, very funny’ New York Times

Katherine Heiny's fiction has been published in The New Yorker, Ploughshares, Narrative,Glimmer Train, and many other places. She lives in Washington, D.C., with her husband and children. This is her first book.

'I have rarely seen modern marriage reproduced so faithfully in print. It's about love once the early romance has subsided. Hilarious' Jojo Moyes, Woman and Home 'Standard Deviation is a marvel' Kate Atkinson 'Addictive reading' Mail on Sunday 'A comic masterpiece' Observer 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?

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