Dear Great Book Guru, What a great Sea Cliff weekend- first the Civic Association's newest event the Summer Stroll, the Beach Committee's Movie Bash, and then the grand opening of Olives by the Sea! While standing with over a hundred other Sea Cliffers outside of Olives(corner of Summit and Central-across from Arata's) and listening to the group Crash My Party, I thought about a new book THE NOBODIES ALBUM which has as one of its subplots the culture of the music business. Have you read this book and, if so, would you recommend it to your readers?
Big Olives Fan

Dear Olives Fan,
Yes, this was quite the weekend- and you didn't even include the Crafts Fair at Memorial Park or Arts Council Show at the Library- quite a weekend indeed! NOBODIES ALBUM by Carolyn Parkhurst is a wonderful book and one I would recommend highly . The title comes from a young child's collection of songs that might have been but never were. Octavia Frost is a middle-aged novelist who is estranged from her very successful musician son- a son who is angry and guilty and very unforgiving of his mother's perceived transgressions. Her latest novel- also called The Nobodies Album- is collection of the last chapters of her novels each accompanied by a revised version of the chapter- a second chance at a happy ending, in a sense. When she learns that he has been accused of murder, she rushes across the country to be with him, wondering if this will be a chance to rewrite their past. A slip of paper is found with the words "Someone is lying" and the mystery begins to unfold. We meet a fascinating array of characters all with tortured pasts but none as tortured as her son's. The sins of omission and commission are many and the chances for redemption few, but mother and son cautiously struggle on. More than a mystery, more than a family drama- more a series of epiphanies that will haunt you for a very long time.