Award-winning author and journalist Amy Blumenfeld returned to a familiar stage Thursday morning, Dec. 4, as Sid Jacobson JCC welcomed her to discuss her new novel, “Such Good People,” as part of its long-running Jodi & Robert Rosenthal Author Breakfast and Book Signing Series.
Blumenfeld, who grew up in Queens and now lives in Flower Hill, told attendees that speaking at the JCC — where her daughter once took swimming and art classes and where her niece performed in musicals — felt “very special.”
“It’s a place I’ve been as a member of the community,” she said. “I’ve also sat in these seats listening to friends speak about their books. So it’s truly a treat to be here today.”
“Such Good People,” released in July, follows two Brooklyn children whose lifelong friendship becomes entangled in a single, life-altering moment — a bar-room altercation that ultimately sends one to prison and leaves the other grappling with guilt, loyalty and the ripple effects that follow.
Blumenfeld said the story explores “the lengths you go to for the people you love,” as well as the gray areas that complicate seemingly clear-cut narratives.
She credited the early inspiration for the book to her late father, a former public defender and criminal court judge in Queens. As a teenager, Blumenfeld often sat beside him on the bench, observing arraignments and watching friends and families of defendants fill the courtroom’s wooden pews.
“I learned that behind every docket number, there was a human being,” she said. “Those faces were in my mind when I created this story.”
The JCC’s director of literary arts, Elyse Ingber, said Blumenfeld’s appearance was meaningful not only because of her local roots but because she has participated in past programs, including a panel hosted last year for the anthology On Being Jewish Now.
“She’s established, but also on the ascent,” Ingber said. “We’re thrilled to have her here.”
The JCC’s literary arts program, one of its most popular offerings, draws between 170 and 240 attendees for each event. It features Jewish authors or works with Jewish themes, while its separate spotlight speaker series brings high-profile names from a range of backgrounds.
Ingber announced upcoming appearances, including actress Susan Lucci on Jan. 29.
“It’s very rewarding to watch this program grow from such a small from the Jewish cookbook era, where we had 20 people sitting in an audience to 200 and realizing how far its come,” said Jodi Rosenthal, past president of the JCC.
During her remarks, Blumenfeld also reflected on her first novel, “The Cast,” and the winding path that led her from a career in magazine journalism to fiction.
She recalled writing her graduate school thesis on adult survivors of childhood cancer — a personal subject after her own treatment for Hodgkin’s lymphoma at age 15 — and the years she spent reporting and fact-checking before turning to narrative storytelling.
Both novels, she said, examine “the things we do for the people we love and how the people we love impact the things we do,” often through characters wrestling with moral ambiguity.
Blumenfeld also spoke briefly about appearing in the post–Oct. 7 anthology On Being Jewish Now, noting the shifting experience of Jewish authors in the current cultural climate. “It changed all of us,” she said. “Professionally, it changed my author world.”
After her presentation, Rubenstein moderated a Q&A, with audience members submitting questions on index cards.
“I wanted to write thought-provoking books,” she said. “I hope readers walk away thinking twice about things, and really look and examine before they judge.”
