Serving up ‘The Dinner Party’ at Blue Door

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Just in time for Passover, Woodmere native Brenda Janowitz will visit Blue Door Books in Cedarhurst as part of the store’s monthly book club to discuss her fifth and most recent novel, “The Dinner Party,” a story revolving around the holiday Seder hosted by the Gold Family.

At this Passover meal, the Golds host two of their children’s boyfriends and families, one of which happens to be part of the prestigious Rothschild family that controls banks, owns vineyards and diamond mines among other things. As Sylvia Gold, the matriarch of the family, strives to make a good impression, family history, including old grievances, emerges.

“We are delighted to welcome Brenda back to her home turf, and to continue the conversation about this timely and insightful novel,” co-owner Sharon Garber said. Janowitz, who now lives in Muttontown, graduated from Lawrence High School, attended Cornell University and Hofstra Law School. She then went on to work for the law firm, Kaye Scholer, LLP.

When asked about her inspiration for the book, Janowitz said she wanted to write a book about forgiveness and what happens when people hold on to the past. She said that holidays often incite familial memories and noted how Passover serves as a metaphor for a novel about letting go. “Just as Moses told Pharaoh ‘let my people go,’ the characters in the book learn how only when we truly let go of the past can we move on with the future,” Janowitz said. “The Dinner Party” was first published last year.

Blue Door Books, an independent bookstore at 501 Central Ave. opened in June 2010. Longtime local bookseller Sarajane Giddings began the book club shortly after the store opened.

Five years ago, Janet Schneider, adult programming librarian at Peninsula Public Library, began to run the book club. It currently has 16 members who meet once a month, usually on the second Tuesday, at 9:30 a.m., Schneider said.

Schneider and the store’s owners, Rachel Greenbaum and Sharon Garber, choose books for discussion and often interact with an author of the month via phone or Skype. “I loved ‘The Dinner Party!’” Judy Levine, a book club member, said, “It really struck a cord with me.”

The discussion, a week before Passover, is on April 4 at 10 a.m. and is open to the public. There is a $20 fee to participate. To reserve your spot, call the bookstore at (516) 837-0040.

“I love independent bookstores, and to be able to go to Central Avenue, where I spent a huge chunk of my childhood, is like coming full circle,” said, Janowitz, who will sign copies of her book at the event.