Dear Great Book Guru, In these troubling times, I find it very hard to concentrate when I read.  There is so much time and I would like to spend some of it with a good book.  Do you have any thoughts on this? Anxiously Distracted

Dear Anxiously Distracted, I very well know what you mean. I have found myself going for comfort foods and comfort books this last week.  I’m going suggest you consider John Grisham’s oeuvre.  He has written over 35 novels and - interestingly- in rereading some of them, I found there was still a strong surprise ending.  From the first A TIME TO KILL to the latest THE GUARDIANS, these legal thrillers share a common theme. The lead characters are usually young, vulnerable people - frequently new lawyers -  who find themselves in perilous situations where they should fail but somehow triumph: over mega institutions, the health insurance behemoths, the FBI, organized crime, corrupt politicians…. The endings are seldom predictable and not always happy, but the reader’s attention is kept throughout. Most are set in Mississippi, Tennessee, and Louisiana with richly colorful local details. At their core these novels reflect Grisham’s interest in social justice, particularly capital punishment and racial profiling. Another strong plus for his novels, Nassau Library System’s eBook platform LIBBY lists 48 books and 31 audiobooks  for Grisham - all available to borrow (except the latest  THE GUARDIANS).   

Dear Great Book Guru, My friends and I are thinking of starting a small book group. Do you have any suggestions about how to go about this? Also, any books that might work really well for us?  Fledgling Book Clubber

Dear Fledging Book Clubber, I have belonged to many book groups over the years - in fact, there is one I have been attending monthly for 28 years.  My first suggestion is to choose short books - I know that sounds like trite advice but if you want consistent attendance, short is the way to go. A single venue also helps a great deal - the same home or restaurant. Thirdly, don’t get caught up in elaborate refreshments - wine and seltzer, maybe cookies are all that are necessary.  Of course, this is if you want your primary focus to be books - many prefer more of a social event. One of my groups just read a very good book that might be a fine first choice for yours: PASSING by Nella Larsen. The title comes from the practice of choosing to pass for a different race.   Written in 1929 and coming in under 200 pages, this novel - set in 1920’s Chicago and Harlem - tells the story of two biracial women Irene and Claire who were childhood friends. When they meet twelve years later, Claire confides she has been passing as white and has married a wealthy, virulently racist Chicagoan.  Drawn to Irene, Claire follows her to Harlem where - for a moment - she enjoys a double life filled with passion and danger. This book touches on questions of race, class, and gender all in the form of a fast-moving story.  Highly recommended!   

Dear Great Book Guru, Next week the Winfield Irregulars - with Sea Cliff’s own Joe Hughes - will be performing at the Metropolitan Bistro on Sunday, March 15 at 4pm. It will be agrand afternoon of Irish folk music plus good food and drink.  I am very excited, but there will be plenty of time for a challenging mystery. Any thoughts? Lover of Irish Music and Mysteries

Dear Lover of Irish Music and Mysteries, I am a great fan of Tana French - a writer of mysteries - all set in and around Dublin.  An exciting new TV series DUBLIN MURDERS is based on some of these novels. FAITHFUL PLACE is a favorite of mine. Faithful Place is the name of a gritty, crime riddenDublin housing project where Frank Mackay grew up. He left there as a teenager for many reasons: an abusive father, a detached mother, damaged siblings, and most of all - a broken heart. Frank had planned a midnight elopement to England with his girlfriend Rosie Daly. Rosie never showed up that evening but left him a note saying she had changed her mind. Neither Frank nor her family ever heard from her again. The next twenty-two years saw Frank marry, have a child, divorce, and eventually become a highly decorated undercover police officer, but he remained tortured by what he saw as Rosie’s rejection. Estranged from family and friends, he never returned to Faithful Place. Then during a building demolition, Rosie’s suitcase is unearthed and shortly afterwards her body is found. Frank is forced to revisit people, places, and beliefs he had long ago abandoned. We soon realize a terrible crime has been committed. This is a tale of Irish despair, decay, and eventual redemption.  Highly recommended!

Dear Great Book Guru, This weekend I will be at Dinner & THE DEAD at the Metropolitan Bistro. I had tried to attend last month, but it was quickly sold out. Well, it sold out again, but I learned my lesson and got my tickets early on. I’ve read “The Dead” by James Joyce many times, so now I would like to read a contemporary Irish writer to get me in the spirit of things. Any recommendations? Interested in All Things Irish

Dear Interested…. I recently read Kevin Barry’s NIGHT BOAT TO TANGIER - a New York Times choice as one of the ten top books of 2019. Two longtime friends, Maurice and Charlie - aging Irish gangsters - spend the night in a seamy ferry terminal awaiting the arrival of young Dilly - the estranged daughter of Maurice. The men have shared much - a sordid drug operation spanning many years, a failed real estate scheme, and…. Cynthia, Maurice’s wife. The hollow grimness of their existence, their menacing overtures throughout the evening, and the futility of their mission are all couched in horrifying albeit beautiful prose. Is it love these men share or is it simply a painful history? As chapters alternate between the past and present - between Ireland and Spain - we come to see how their dreams unraveled.  Highly recommended!

Dear Great Book Guru, A few months ago, I read a fascinating book:  KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON. Friends tell me that there is an even better, less well-known book about Native Americans that offers disturbing new insights into American history.  Are you familiar with this book?  In Quest of Knowledge

Dear In Quest of Knowledge, EMPIRE OF THE SUMMER MOON by S.C. Gwynne is indeed not to be missed.  It details the history of the fiercest of the American Indian tribes: the Comanches. Spanish colonialism, the Civil War, mass slaughter of the buffalo, construction of the railroads, formation of the Texas Rangers, westward expansion, and-above all - the human penchant for cruelty are covered. Interwoven with these topics are the stories of a mother and son: Cynthia Ann Parker and Quanah, last and greatest of the Comanche chiefs.  As a nine year old, Cynthia was kidnapped by the Comanches on a raid of her family’s homestead on the Texas frontier.  Her family was brutally massacred. She lived with her captors, married a powerful Comanche chief, and gave birth to three children one of whom was Quanah. After twenty-four years, she was forcibly removed from the tribe. Her husband was killed, and her son Quanah was to search for her for decades. She tried many times to return but always failed. Quanah fought the Americans but was finally defeated.  In defeat, however, he remained a powerful and wealthy leader of his people.  The book chronicles the many acts of violence committed by both sides, leaving the reader to question the inherent evil of humanity.  Highly recommended!

Dear Great Book Guru, My friends and I attended an Oscar Awards party last weekend and someone there suggested a mesmerizing novel about a group of airline passengers that would be perfect for my book club. Any thoughts? Lover of Both Movies and Books

Dear Lover of Both Movies and Books, I recently read a short novel I will be suggesting to my book club: DEAR EDWARD by Ann Napolitano.  The story opens in Newark Airport as Edward - a twelve-year-old - boards a plane bound for California with his parents, older brother, and 187 other passengers. The plane crashes over Colorado and Edward is the only survivor. The book divides into alternating chapters as we follow the lives of Edward and some of these passengers.  Edward’s plight is the subject of intense scrutiny by a horrified public via social media and cable news. But for me, the book’s greatest achievement lies in the stories of the others as they live their last moments preparing for a future they think lies ahead. A young woman wonders if she and her awaiting boyfriend will marry, an elderly tycoon contemplates the latest medical treatment he is to undergo, Edward’s parents plan a menu for their newly vegan son….   Reminiscent of Thornton Wilder’s “Bridge of San Luis Rey”, this is a beautifully told tale of the sweetness and fragility of life. Highly recommended!    

Dear Great Book Guru, Next week I’m planning on an early Valentine’s celebration: Sea Cliff Civic Association’s annual Storytelling Event at the Sea Cliff Yacht Club on Saturday, February 8 at 7:30pm.  It will be an evening of five impassioned love stories. There will be time -as usual- for a good book. Any suggestions? Love Story Searcher

Dear Love Story Searcher, The book I’m recommending does not qualify as a love story but it is one immersed in passion: DISAPPEARING EARTH by Julia Phillips. Set in the remote Russian city of Petropavlovsk on the Kamchatka coast, the novel opens with the kidnapping of two young sisters. The remainder of the book is broken into monthly chapters describing the impact of this kidnapping on  twelve residents – all women and girls. The only witness to the abduction is Oksana whose credibility is ignored because the residents insist the kidnapper must be an outsider, a foreigner - certainly not the white man she saw.  Quickly we realize that the issues that confront this city are universal concerns. Racism, immigration, nostalgia for a “glorious” past, patriarchal oppression, and violence against women are all revealed as the story unfolds.  What is touted as protecting quickly is revealed to be another avenue to subjugate women.  Throughout, clues to the kidnapper’s identity are overlooked by a biased police, media, and citizenry. Both a mystery and political thriller…. highly recommended!