Dear Great Book Guru, What a weekend in Sea Cliff - first the Porchfest with 30 bands playing on porches and lawns all over the Village and then the Landmarks House Tour with 300 plus people visiting six of Sea Cliff’s unique homes. During the Porchfest one of the band members said she had to get home to finish a compelling sequel to Colm Tobin’s BROOKLYN.  Are you familiar with the book? Huge Porchfest Fan

Dear Huge Porchfest Fan, LONG ISLAND is Colm Tobin’s sequel to his very popular novel and movie adaptation BROOKLYN.  Set in 1976 – twenty-five years after BROOKLYN ends, the novel opens with Eilis living in Lindenhurst, Long Island with her husband Tony Fiorello and her two teenage children. They live in a family compound of sorts with his parents, his brothers, and their families where large boisterous Italian Sunday dinners color (or cloud) her existence.  Eilis still feels the outsider and yearns for her family back in Ireland whom she hasn’t seen in twenty years. When she learns of Tony’s infidelity, she decides to return to Enniscorthy, the small village where she was born. From this point on, the story is told from the perspective of Nancy - her childhood friend - and Jim Farrell, the man Eilis loved and left twenty-five years before.  Jim never married and has been carrying on a discreet affair with Nancy - a recent widow.  With the arrival of Eilis and her Americanized ways, all of Enniscorthy is thrown into turmoil, especially Jim and Nancy.  The story has many exquisite details and subplots leaving the reader wondering what ending to wish for. A compelling read and highly recommended!