Dear Great Book Guru, I have very much enjoyed Sea Cliff’s al fresco dining this summer. Every other week Sea Cliff Avenue is closed from Main Avenue to Pirie Park. Restaurants along the route bring out tables, and local musicians play up and down the street. Such fun meeting up with friends and neighbors in this unique setting! Last week, I joined a group of diners and the conversation turned to books… Someone mentioned a favorite – a horse on the cover but the novel was not about horses? Lover of Al Fresco Dining...................................................... Dear Lover of Al Fresco Dining, Ann Patchett’s THE WHISTLER (which indeed has a great horse cover!) is a huge favorite of mine. The story opens in the Metropolitan Museum of Art where 53-year-old Daphne Fuller realizes she’s being followed by a white-haired elderly man. She is startled to realize it is Eddie - her stepfather who she has not seen in over forty years. Her mother had been married to him for less than a year when he mysteriously disappeared from Daphne’s life. As they talk, they each realize they had a very special bond and have thought of each other throughout the years. As they meet over the next few months, it becomes clear that there were many choices made by them and for them that profoundly impacted their lives. Small, seemingly meaningless actions changed them forever. Now decades later, they have the chance to undo past mistakes. A beautiful story of bravery, wrongs righted, and love restored - highly recommended!