Stewart O’Nan writes simple novels about average people doing normal things. Remarkably, he does this not by condescending to his subjects or building their small lives into something heroic--he simply explains what happens in clear, strangely compelling prose. His new novel, The Odds: A Love Story, about a couple making one last-ditch trip to Niagara Falls before finalizing their divorce, doesn’t shy away from the casual ugliness of a relationship that has lasted decades, but O’Nan gives the reader a gift by opening up his realistic miniature just a crack and letting love pour inside. (Central Library, 1000 Fourth Ave, www.spl.org, 7 pm, free)