Dear Great Book Guru, This weekend  Sea Cliff is filled with a myriad of activities.  Saturday morning is the Good of the Village’s  golf outing through the streets and gardens of the Village, followed in the early evening by the world famous Antigone Rising’s performance at Sea Cliff Beach. Then on Sunday afternoon, is the Sea Cliff Civic Association’s annual Newcomers’ Party.  Busy weekend, indeed! Do you have a good book that I can read in between these wonderful events?  Enjoying September in Sea Cliff

Dear Enjoying September in Sea Cliff,   Sounds like great fun and I do have a disturbingly powerful book for you: IN THE LANGUAGE OF MIRACLES by Rajiah Hassib.  The Al-Menshawry family migrated from Egypt twenty years before the story opens and has been extraordinarily successful in assimilating into the community.  They live in the affluent New Jersey  suburb of Summerville where the husband is a well-respected physician with a thriving practice , his wife is active in community affairs, and their three children are good students with many friends. Then the unimaginable happens- the eldest son murders his high school girl friend and then kills himself.  The book begins a year after this tragedy as the townspeople and the girl’s family prepare for her memorial service.  The boy’s father insists he must be allowed to speak at this service. Everyone is outraged especially his wife and children who want only to move on, to find anonymity, and to build new lives. The story touches on religious bigotry, familial discord, cultural disconnects, the quest for forgiveness, and ultimately the need for redemption. Beautifully written and highly recommended!