Dear Great Book Guru,  I was at a lovely Easter dinner party in Sea Cliff- delicious food and wonderful company- when the conversation turned to books. One of the guests mentioned having read an exciting novel that she said reminded her of the literary thriller bestseller GONE GIRL but it involved a gourmet meal.  Any thoughts?   Seeker of Literary Thrills

Dear Seeker,  We too had a great Easter and, in addition to delicious food and wonderful company, we enjoyed a spectacular production of "The Country Bunny and the Golden Shoes" in which Ethan, Lara, Jenna, Justin, Alexis, Daniel and Dan DiPietro starred. But back to the book you are asking about- THE DINNER  by Herman Koch. A bestseller in Europe, it was translated from the original Dutch and released here last month where it is already on everyone's must read list.  Set in a preciously pretentious Dutch restaurant, the novel opens with aperitifs and ends with digestives; in between we listen to two brothers and their wives discuss the holidays, real estate holdings,  their children.  The narrator is a  retired school teacher with serious sibling rivalry problems. His brother is a charismatic politician- think Bill Clinton- who is about to become prime minister if  only the two couples can find a way out of a horrific situation not of their making….or is it?  As we move from one course to the next,  our narrator reveals more and more about himself and his dinner companions until the final moment when we realize  that all evening we have been in the presence of pure evil.   Highly recommended !

Dear Great Book Guru,  There are so many Easter and Passover celebrations all over Sea Cliff this week and one of my favorites is the Egg Hunt at Spooky Park on Dayton Street- always at 10:30am the Friday before Easter Sunday.  So many children, so many adults, so much fun!   After it's over, I am meeting with friends for lunch at Musu, the exciting new sushi restaurant,  where Once Upon a Moose had  long been located.  There we will be deciding on a novel for our April  book group discussion.  Any suggestions?  Eager Egg Hunter

Dear Eager,  Gwynne and Mike Lennon have organized this events for years and you are right: it is great fun!   The book I would recommend for your group is A THOUSAND PARDONS by Jonathan Dee. This is a tale of a marriage gone very bad.  Ben, a partner in a prestigious New York City law firm,  after a lifetime of circumspect behavior,  makes a very bad decision that ends his career, his marriage, his life as he knew it. .. Helen, his wife of eighteen years, sells the family home, and embarks on a strange odyssey during which she discovers a unique talent: she can make the most arrogant of men ask for pardon. Church officials, politicians, restaurateurs, Hollywood celebrities- all guilty of myriad sins, find public redemption by following Helen's dictate: ask for forgiveness.  Ben, Helen, and their daughter Sara are beautifully crafted characters and the book has many humorously touching moments. You will never again see a public figure apologizing for his misdeeds without thinking of this book.  A good read!

Dear Great Book Guru, I was waiting with friends to hear the Sea Cliff Village election results, when I overheard a couple discussing a new book set in East Asia with an intriguing title. Well, there was such cheering and applause when the Kennedy/Vogt/Lieberman victory was announced, I couldn't catch the exact title. Any ideas?  Election Night Celebrant

Dear Election Night Celebrant, I was at the election lockdown too and what fun it was!  Although it was an uncontested election, the candidates ran a spirited campaign. The hero of the book you are interested in is also spirited and the book a great choice for the upcoming weekend: HOW TO GET FILTHY RICH IN RISING ASIA by Mohsin Hamid. Written in the form (very loosely) of a self-help manual, the novel takes us through the life of our nameless hero from his early boyhood in a rural village through the decades to a spectacular conclusion. His lifelong companion also unnamed is referred to always as "the pretty girl." The politics, the violence, the vitality of this turbulent time and place is skillfully recorded but it is the author's description of the universal rise and fall of human vitality that is most memorable. Whether we see our hero as a young teenager selling DVDs or as a successful businessman creating an empire built on the need for clean water, or as an elderly man bereft of health and wealth, we find ourselves always empathizing with his plight. Highly recommended!

Dear Great Book Guru,  Someone told me that this coming weekend is the North American Barbara Pym Society conference and , in addition to the normal festivities,  it is a celebration of her 100th birthday. I have never read a Barbara Pym novel but many of my friends are great fans of hers. Do you have a favorite Pym novel that I might begin with? Possible Pymian

Dear Possible Pymian,  The Pym Society  of Sea Cliff's members- the Hansmann-Kennedys and the DiPietros among others-will be attending the conference in full force this weekend. Every March during Harvard's spring break the Pym Society takes over the campus with lectures, dramatized readings, dinners, testimonials and general Pymian  good fun. This year's conference is sold out but do plan on attending next year. I would recommend any of her books, but a favorite of mine is one  of her earlier works: JANE AND PRUDENCE.  Set in both  1950's London and a small, unnamed village (strangely reminiscent of Sea Cliff?) , the novel tells the parallel stories of 42 year-old Jane, the kindhearted, brilliant but scattered wife of the clergyman Nicholas Cleveland , and Prudence, a  29 year-old  beautifully elegant single woman with a penchant for unfulfilling infatuations with married academicians.  As in all Pym's novels, the plot line is secondary to the character development and we soon become intimately involved in the lives of these two women. There is much humor and insight in this novel- highly recommended !

Dear Great Book Guru,  Last weekend I was at a party at the Sans Souci  to honor Jimmy O'Donnell, the much beloved head of the Sea Cliff Public Works Department.  What a great party !  Well over 100 people attended and everyone  seemed to have a story to tell of Jimmy and his  wife Alice and their many contributions to the Village.  I came away loving Sea Cliff even more and as an added bonus, I have a new author to follow.  While waiting for the speeches to begin, I overheard someone say that Brad Meltzer's books are great fun- suspenseful, historical, and filled with political intrigue.  Have you read any of his books and, if so, where shall I start?             An O'Donnell Groupie

Dear O'Donnell Groupie,   I share your enthusiasm for  both the O'Donnells and  the author  Brad Meltzer. I suggest you start with his THE INNER CIRCLE . Set in the National Archives Building in Washington D.C., the book illuminates a world few of us ever get to see. Beecher White,a twenty-eight year-old government archivist, meets up with childhood sweetheart Clementine Kaye- a woman as daring as he is meek.  Together they stumble upon a dictionary in the archives that belonged to George Washington and now appears to be the focus of a  murderous cover-up involving  the present President of the United States.  Meltzer's characters are colorful, the conspiracy believable, and the plot fast moving.  A good read!

Don't forget: Sea Cliff Civic Association's annual Meet the Candidates this Tuesday, March 12 at 8pm in Village Hall. Bring your questions for Mayor Bruce Kennedy, Trustee Carol Vogt, and Trustee Candidate Ed Lieberman.

Dear Great Book Guru,   I went  with friends this week to a book signing for our friend Fred Stroppel's new book LUCKY ME that he wrote with Sachi Parker. There was a huge crowd and we had so much fun! While on line, I heard a group of literary types talking about a novel they had chosen for their book club. It wasn't a bestseller and certainly not new but it sounded very interesting- something about sibling relationships, astronomy, and J. Robert Oppenheimer.  Have I given you enough clues?                             Always Looking for a Good Book

Dear Always Looking,  I know just the book:  FIRST LIGHT by Charles Baxter. Written in 1987 and recently re-released,  this novel uses a very interesting technique: beginning in the present, each  chapter brings us further into the past. Baxter opens with Dorsey and her brother Hugh,  spending the Fourth of July weekend together with their respective  spouses and children;  the concluding chapter  chronicles their first meeting : the day Dorsey was born. It is a touching, gentle story of family miscues,  faltering affections,  and shared history .   The title comes from the term used to describe a telescope's first view which is imprecise before a series of corrections bring it to full clarity. By the end , we  understand  with telescopic clarity this brother and sister's present relationship , certainly more clearly than they themselves can.  A beautifully written book- highly recommended!

Dear Great Book Guru,  I have noticed the quiet of Sea Cliff's streets with so many friends and neighbors vacationing this Presidents' Week so I  am really looking forward to this Friday's Pub Crawl.  Tickets will be available at the former Rose's General Store- beautifully decorated  by the Beach Committee with mermaids galore ! But I certainly have time the rest of the weekend for a good book. Suggestions?   Presidents' Week  Reveler

Dear Presidents' Week Reveler,  I do have a book you might enjoy, but perhaps enjoy is not the word I am looking for because this a painful book to read but enlightening and ultimately rewarding.  THE TWELVE TRIBES OF HATTIE  by Ayana  Mathis is a novel that recounts the story of the Grand Migration  from the perspective of seventeen year-old Hattie Shepherd who flees the Jim Crow racism of Georgia to find herself caught in the economic and social upheaval  of  the twentieth century North.  The twelve tribes of the title are Hattie's children who are each described in interconnecting  chapters .   The children  confront  their own adversities , but all  are bound by their love for the coldly dispassionate Hattie .  The American dream remains  painfully elusive for Hattie, echoing the struggles of the biblical Hagar and the twelve tribes of Israel.  This is certainly not an easy book to read, but definitely a story and character you will long remember.