American standard

by John Blair

"It is hard to see what lurks beneath the surface of a muddy river, an alligator-infested lake, or a John Blair short story." "At first glance, the characters in American Standard may seem as familiar and uncomplicated as old drinking buddies or innocuous next-door neighbors. Yet, their dark, dangerous, and disturbing currents run deep.". "Julia is a devout, demure, churchgoing woman, but underneath her placidity roils discontent, perhaps even madness. On what would have been an otherwise normal Sunday morning, she wakes up, walks downstairs, and shoots her husband with his own revolver. A middle-aged, unemployed technical writer, Jack owns a home in the suburbs and a mutt named Hoover. Yet he is drowning in suburbia; his wife has been sleeping alone on a futon for the past year, and he risks his life every night during his secret outings.". "At the Young Adults Group campout, not-quite-innocent Fisher reels in more than he expects to find, both behind the dark sunglasses of the minist