Dear Great Book Guru, With just a few weeks of summer remaining, I would love to find a book I can take with me to Sunset Serenade - one of my favorite events. Every Thursday from 6 to 8pm there is a concert at Clifton Park organized by the Sea Cliff Civic Association and chaired by Petrice Kaider. I love to get there early with a good book and wait for the music to begin.  Do you have something special to recommend? Fan of Sunset Serenades

 Dear Fan of Sunset Serenades, I too love these concerts and I have a wonderful book for you: INTIMACIES by Katie Kitamura.  The narrator is a young woman who has just moved to Amsterdam from New York City to work as a translator at the international court at the Hague. Her father has recently died and her mother has moved to Singapore.  She and almost everyone we meet are global citizens with little ties to anyone or anywhere. There is a strange sense of dread throughout.  Visiting a friend, she is witness to a vicious assault of an art dealer; later he re-appears and the mystery of his presence becomes more and more sinister. Her relationship with a married journalist is a constant throughout but chances for her happiness appear bleak.  When she is assigned as principal interpreter for an African warlord charged with horrendous crimes against his people, she begins to question her skills, safety, and sanity.  This is a fascinating story of communication missteps…highly recommended!