Dear Great Book Guru, We were at a rehearsal for Fred Stroppel’s upcoming TWISTED SHORTS at Sea Cliff Arts Council when someone brought up a new book about a family of revolutionaries and how they fared over the generations.Sounded interesting! Fan of Twisted Shorts................. Dear Fan of Twisted Shorts, THE HILL by Harriet Clark is her first novel and in many ways autobiographical. Clark’s mother was a member of the Weathermen and when Harriet was ten months old, her mother was the getaway driver in a bank heist gone wrong and two policemen and a security guard were killed. She was sentenced to life in prison and Harriet visited her for forty years. The story mirrors all this but focuses and fictionalizes the relationships she has with both her mother and those around her - friends and family. The Hill is the name she gives to the prison, and the novel opens with Suzanna - the daughter – being taken for her weekly prison visit by her grandfather. When he dies, she continues on her own because her grandmother – her mother’s mother - refuses to see or write to her daughter. Throughout, Suzanna is bewildered by her emotions - she loves her mother and feels loved but knows there are families devastated by her mother’s deeds. So, how can she herself forgive or by proxy be forgiven. As we go through the years with Suzanna, we see that her bewilderment and grief continue to grow. The novel captures the beauty and brutality that she experiences because of a decision made long ago and still - to this day - beyond her understanding. A painful read but highly recommended!

Dear Great Book Guru, We are getting ready for the annual James Joyce Jaunt here in Sea Cliff on - of course - June 16: Bloomsday! Talking to friends about the Jaunt, one mentioned a great new book about London. It’s a true crime tale by the author of SAY NOTHING - that amazing story of the Irish Troubles. Does it sound familiar? James Joyce Jaunter............................................. Dear James Joyce Jaunter, Patrick Radden Keefe’s latest book is LONDON FALLING and it is by far the best book I’ve read this year. Divided into three parts, the book opens with the disappearance of teenager Zac Brettler. We share in the mounting anxiety of his parents as days go by without any sign of their son. The police seem less than interested and his friends offer conflicting stories of his possible whereabouts. This first section delves into Zac’s history, and we are shocked as are his parents to discover he has been living a double life posing as Zac Ismailov, son of a Russian oligarch. The second part of the book introduces a London few of us would recognize - a city’s whose very survival has become dependent on corruption, oligarch money, and underworld criminals. The third and final section focuses on Zac’s parents as they try to put together the truth surrounding their son’s bizarre transformation and eventual death. Throughout, they and the reader grapple with the question of whether we ever really can know even those we love dearly. Highly recommended!

Book Guru #1020 Dear Great Book Guru, I was at the Love Your Neighbor Project’s Porchfest last weekend. What fun! With twenty-two bands and close to a thousand people attending, the event was a huge success. While listening to one of my favorite bands - Hunt and Hughes - I overheard someone going on about a book she had just read - set on Martha’s Vineyard and in Manhattan, it was a tale of a fairytale marriage abruptly ended. Any thoughts? Porchfest Fan ................................ Dear Porchfest Fan, STRANGERS by Belle Burden is a fascinating memoir and literary mystery. Burden had been happily married twenty years to James, a very successful attorney when she learns he has been involved with a much younger woman and wants a divorce. The couple and their three young children were sheltering during Covid in their home on Martha’s Vineyard when this is revealed. The story itself is compelling as she tries to understand how they had once been so happy and now were strangers, but Burden’s family lineage brings this book to a different level of interest. She comes from immense wealth and is a descendant of a host of iconic figures such as John Jay, the first Supreme Court Justice, the Vanderbilts, and the Paleys, As she goes through the various stages of grief, she finds solace in work and her children, but she remains plagued by the realization she knew so little about this man with whom she had shared such happy moments. It’s a beautifully written “memoir of a marriage.” Highly recommended!