Dear Great Book Guru, This weekend is the Sea Cliff Civic Association’s Newcomers Party and I am very excited.  As a newcomer this year, I am very eager to meet up with people who have moved to the Village over the last year or so, but I am not good at making small talk.  I was thinking if I had a good book I could mention, it might make for an easier time.  Any thoughts?  Nervous Newcomer

Dear Nervous Newcomer, I think it is always a good idea to have a book in mind in any situation and I have a great one for you to quickly read in the next few days: A GOOD MOTHER by Lara Bazelon. This legal thriller opens in 2006 on an American airbase in Germany with a transcript of a frantic call from a woman who is being viciously attacked.  Her infant daughter is crying in the background and soon we realize she has killed her assailant. The next entry is three days later in a Los Angeles courtroom and the young mother is awaiting trial for first degree murder. The public defender is a very pregnant attorney with a reputation for unorthodox methods of representing her clients. The rest of the book shifts from the present to the back stories of both the attorney and client. Throughout, we are presented with the question of what makes a good mother. Their families, the public, the court, the press… all weigh in and in the end we too question what makes a good mother.  Highly recommended!

 

Dear Great Book Guru,  With Sea Cliff School open and Sea Cliff Beach closed, it really feels like Fall.  I need a good book to help me make the seasonal transition.  Do you have a  fast moving novel with a touch of mystery?  Falling into Fall

 Dear Falling into Fall, THE QUIET BOY by Ben Winters is a compelling read and a fascinating combination of genres.  At first glance it is a legal thriller but then we soon see it is a complex family drama, and then suddenly we realize we are in a deadly sci fi horror tale.  The novel begins in 2019 at a fast-food restaurant where we meet the salad man, depressed and unhappy with how his life is going. Next chapter brings us back to 2008 where his story begins. Jay Schenk is an “ambulance chaser”, a lawyer always in search of a lucrative accident or malpractice case. He is well liked and well connected so when his source tells him about a teenager – Wesley Keener - who after being operated on for a sports injury, is now in a zombie state - walking in circles, no speech, no recognition - he imagines the case of a lifetime. He easily convinces the family to hire him …and soon we are in 2019. His career is over, his son and he are estranged, his clients are facing a murder charge, and Wesley continues to stare, never seeing, walking endlessly, ever quiet - a story of parents and children, science and myth, good and evil. Recommended!

  

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!

 Dear Great Book Guru, I am hoping you can help me.  My book group has been trying to restart and we are facing obstacle after obstacle - vacations, bad weather, fear of being inside, mosquitos - it just goes on and on.  I feel if we had a really good book, we could overcome all of these. Please suggest a winner! Desperate to Discuss

Dear Desperate to Discuss, I hear your desperation and I think I have the book you need: THE TURNOUT by Megan Abbott.  Abbott has written a number of books I have recommended, and they are always well received. Here we meet Marie and Dara - sisters who are passionately involved with ballet.  Orphaned at an early age, they inherited both their mother’s studio and her passion for dance. Marie, the empathetic sister, teaches the youngest students while Dara, practical and cynical, instructs the older boys and girls. Charles, Dara’s husband - a ballet dancer who has suffered many disabling, dance related injuries - is the business manager.  We are quickly swept up in the cruel, punishing world of ballet.  With the annual Nutcracker performance looming, a suspicious accident catapults all three into a bizarre universe that exposes the fragile ties that bind family and community. This is an alarming tale of power, feminism, and passion with many points for discussion - highly recommended!

 Dear Great Book Guru,  This weekend I’m getting together with friends and they have asked me to choose a book we can discuss after dinner and before dessert.  I know they all like historical fiction and the 1950’s with its Cold War spycraft is a time they find fascinating. Suggestion?  Seeking Spy Stories

Dear Seeking Spy Stories, I recently read THE VIXEN by Francine Prose and I think your friends will find this fictional take on the aftermath of the Ethel and Julius Rosenberg’s trial fascinating.  Simon Putnam is a recent Harvard graduate who is somewhat adrift as he searches for employment.  Through connections with a sinister uncle, he lands a job at a prestigious publishing house. His first assignment is to edit a fictionalized biography of the recently executed alleged spy Ethel Rosenberg. The writer has portrayed her as a sultry seductress who entrapped men in an effort to undermine the country’s nuclear defense force. Simon is appalled at the bad writing and the absurdity of the novel’s premise. He is loath to challenge his bosses, but he is hiding important information: his parents were friends of Ethel Rosenberg and he knows the real Ethel was far, far different then this portrayal of her.   He struggles between loyalty to family and truth… and his need for a job until he comes upon a startling solution.  This is a darkly comedic take on a very cruel time in American history.  Recommended!

Dear Great Book Guru, We just came back from an amazing vacation on Martha’s Vineyard, and now I am ready for a new book to suggest to the family for discussion.  Something that would appeal to the whole group would be ideal.  Any ideas? In Search of a Family Favorite

Dear In Search of a Family Favorite, I have just the book for you: THE FUGITIVITIES by Jesse McCarthy.  This novel travels around the world: Paris, Brooklyn, Brazil, and Montevideo.  We first meet Jonah Winters in Brooklyn as he is about to begin his teaching career in a “Teach America” sort of program.  He is eager as a young Black American to enrich the lives of his students and give back to his community, but he soon finds things are much more complicated than he anticipated.  Having spent much of his childhood in Paris, he is unnerved by the racism he finds in his native land. When he receives a small inheritance from an uncle, he sees a way out of his present despair. This money, combined with a chance encounter with a retired NBA player, change the course of Jonah’s life.  The older man had resolved many of the issues Jonah was confronting and his advice to travel the world to search out people and places challenges him in ways he never expected.  While some of the outcomes seem quixotic, the overall message rings true as our hero finds answers to life’s existential questions.  Recommended!

Dear Great Book Guru,  My book group has not met in person since February 2020- lots of Zooms but we miss being together. We will be meeting on my porch in a few weeks and  I would like a spectacular book to start up our club. Any suggestions?  Starting Up

Dear Starting Up,  I just finished an amazing book that any book club would find a perfect choice for discussion: THE DAMAGE by Caitlin Wahrer.  This debut novel is told from the perspectives of four people over  alternating time settings: 2016 and 2019.  A brutal assault has taken place (2016) – Nick a twenty-year old college student is the victim. His much older brother Tony is intent on avenging this crime. Julia – Tony’s wife- is a former defense attorney who sees and knows how the judicial system works. John Rice is a retired police detective who investigated the crime and now (2019) as he approaches death wants to clear up “loose ends.”  What happened that night and what went on over the next three years is the mystery that Rice tries to unravel.  The psychological trauma each of these four people undergoes is dramatically told and the reader’s sympathies shift as more and more is revealed.  What society is owed versus what family loyalty demands is the recurring theme of this deeply engrossing psychological thriller. Highly recommended!