It’s a cliche that children are full of questions, but certain types of questioning — far from the innocent realms of “why is the sky blue?” — mark the end of childhood. Katie Chase, whose new book “Man and Wife” came out this week, has produced a short story collection that balances largely on the edge of that turning point.

“Man and Wife,” the title story, won the Pushcart Prize and was chosen as a Best American Short Story in 2008. Katie Chase sat down with State of Wonder’s April Baer last week to discuss the book and the larger forces that shape its characters’ lives — forces we will all recognize well.