Dear Great Book Guru,  This Sunday is one of my favorite Fall events- the Sea Cliff Civic Association’s Cider Social.  Heidi Hunt and her merry troupe of teen volunteers will be serving refreshments, organizing crafts, and spreading cheer to a bevy of costumed lads and lasses at Central Park from 3 to 4pm. Well, of course, I’ll need a good book to read while I wait for the fun to begin. Any thoughts?

 Ardent Fan of the Cider Social

Dear Ardent Fan of the Cider Social, I just finished a very unusual novel: THE NUTSHELL by Ian McEwan. This is the story of an impending murder told from the perspective of a fetus.  It  begins with the words  “ So here I am –upside in a woman” and our narrator- a nine month fetus- listens in on the world of his twenty-eight year old mother as she and her lover plot the murder of her husband/his father. Of course, one has to suspend reality as we listen to his insightful, utterly humorous insights into the daily lives of those outside the womb.  When he discovers that his uncle Claude is part of this plot, we quickly see the parallels with Shakespeare’s HAMLET. This is a darkly humorous murder mystery despite the wildly farcical nature of the story.  Very fast, very clever, very short (195 pages), this is a wonderful book to read on a busy Fall afternoon- recommended!