Breakfast With Buddha (35 page)

—
The Louisville Courier-Journal

“Merullo writes with grace and intelligence and knows that even in a novel of ideas it’s not the religion that matters, it’s the relationship; it’s not the concepts, but the people, and here are two intriguing men, one with his eye on the destination and his foot on the pedal, the other who knows that we travel farthest when we are still. You’ll enjoy sitting in the back seat of the car as Otto drives on deep into the luminous heart of his childhood.”

—
The Boston Globe

“A wonderful, heartfelt novel that frequently surprises as we’re lulled by the sights and sounds of the open road.”

—
The Providence Sunday Journal

“Insightful, amusing, loving . . . There are lovely moments of enlightenment that are not accompanied by angels with flaming swords; rather, there is that peaceful blue sphere that is available to all of us.”

—
The Seattle Times

“[A] pleasant, engaging novel . . . Roland Merullo would be a great guy to take a road trip with.”

—
The Washington Post

“Merullo is a pleasing writer . . . His gift is slipping gentle spiritual lessons into easy-reading narratives . . . with such effortless charm.”

—
The Christian Science Monitor

“We can now add Roland Merullo’s voice to the large chorus of the road in
Breakfast with Buddha.
It’s a worthy trip . . . Merullo is a graceful writer whose style and perception of place have been honed by his previous novels.”

—
The Ft. Lauderdale Sun

“Undeniably appealing . . . Seductive.”

—
The Hartford Courant

“Enlightenment meets
On the Road
in this witty, insightful novel.”

—
The Boston Sunday Globe

“Full of fun . . . A joyous book with a very happy ending.”

—
The Greenfield (MA) Recorder

“Visionary . . . Captures the spiritual struggle for true belief and inner peace with wit, clarity, and subtle reality.”

—
Library Journal,
starred review

“A sincere and thoughtful book that will not only entertain you but will stay in your mind for a long time.”

—
The Hilton Head (SC) Island Packet

“In this merry but poignant novel, Merullo uses just the right recipe of humor and insight to characterize the spiritual curmudgeon and the spiritual savant.”

—
Shambhala Sun

“Merullo’s skill with the pen enchants the reader with a fresh awareness of how man confronts his spiritual side in a chaotic world. The monk’s character is rich with humor, silence, and understanding. It matters not that his audience shares a religious conviction with this man but that change can occur in a skeptical soul.”

—Bookreporter.com

“A comic but winningly spiritual road-trip novel . . . Breezy and affecting.”

—
Publishers Weekly

“The skillful Merullo, using the lightest of touches, slowly turns this low-key comedy into a moving story of spiritual awakening.”

—
Booklist

“[Merullo] provides a realistic framework that plays to his strengths as an astute observer of society and sympathetic analyst of individual psyches . . . Merullo has grown so persuasive over the course of two luminous little novels that readers might well follow him even if he turned next to, say, Mornings with Mohammed.”

—
Kirkus Reviews

Praise for Roland Merullo’s Previous Novel,
Golfing with God

“Amid the laughs and playful banter,
Golfing with God
is a serious story of self-examination and growth, the hardest games of all.”

—
The Washington Post Book World

“Merullo weaves humor and humane theology into his engaging plot.”

—
The Boston Globe

“Merullo writes such a graceful, compassionate and fluid prose that you cannot resist the characters’ very real struggles and concerns. His prose is as wonderfully down-to-earth as his tale is heaven-sent.”

—
The Providence Sunday Journal

“[A] delightful little book.”

—
The Cleveland Plain Dealer

“
Golfing with God
salts its serious story of growth and self-examination with humor and telling insight . . . Amid the lightness of this tale is the deeper story of a man, much like the rest of us, looking to shed his pride and dampen his urges.”

—
The Orlando Sentinel

“A tender story and a clean slice of life, full of smart, clean prose.”

—
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

“Merullo’s patient good humor makes the journey with Hank a surprisingly universal undertaking.”

—
The Sunday Seattle Post & Seattle Post-Intelligencer

“Will appeal to fans of Alice Sebold and Mitch Albom . . . Highly recommended.”

—
Library Journal,
starred review

“An uplifting and humorous look at life and faith, a philosophical view of our role in this world and the next.”

—
The Southern Pines (NC) Pilot

“Part spiritual, part philosophical and part sports drama . . . An enjoyable and inspirational read for anyone, regardless of his or her handicap.”

—
Macon Magazine

“Great and memorable golf novels are the rarest of literary treats. In
Golfing with God,
Roland Merullo has pulled off a small miracle of economy and charm—a beautifully told tale that will have you in its otherworldly grasp from the opening page . . .
Golfing with God
is the best golfing novel I’ve ever read.”

—James Dodson, author of
Final Rounds

“Merullo . . . writes with wit and subtlety rather than trying to pound inspiration into our heads with a titanium driver. And, best of all, he gets the golf right.”

—Booklist

NEW FROM ROLAND MERULLO

What if Jesus suddenly appeared and announced that he planned to run for President of the United States? And what if a band of disciples not only helped him mount a seat-of-the-pants campaign but also ran it well, getting millions of people to support him and in the process throwing the other two major party candidates—as well as the world’s news media—into a frenzy as they scrambled to discredit him?

Roland Merullo’s clever satirical novel challenges our perceptions and beliefs while it wags a finger at the folly of self-righteousness.

American Savior
a novel by Roland Merullo
ISBN
-13: 978-1-56512-607-7
$24.95 Hardcover

Other Algonquin Readers Round Table Novels

Water for Elephants,
a novel by Sara Gruen

As a young man, Jacob Jankowski is tossed by fate onto a rickety train, home to the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth. Amid a world of freaks, grifters, and misfits, Jacob becomes involved with Marlena, the beautiful young equestrian star; her husband, a charismatic but twisted animal trainer; and Rosie, an untrainable elephant who is the great gray hope for this third-rate show. Now in his nineties, Jacob at long last reveals the story of their unlikely yet powerful bonds, ones that nearly shatter them all.

“[An] arresting new novel. . . . With a showman’s expert timing, [Gruen] saves a terrific revelation for the final pages, transforming a glimpse of Americana into an enchanting escapist fairy tale.”—
The New York Times Book Review

“Gritty, sensual and charged with dark secrets involving love, murder and a majestic, mute heroine.”
—Parade

AN ALGONQUIN READERS ROUND TABLE EDITION WITH READING GROUP GUIDE AND OTHER SPECIAL FEATURES • FICTION • ISBN-13: 978-1-56512-560-5

An Arsonist’s Guide to Writers’ Homes in New England,

a novel by Brocke Clarke

The past catches up to Sam Pulsifer, the hapless hero of this incendiary novel, when after spending ten years in prison for accidentally burning down Emily Dickinson’s house, the homes of other famous New England writers go up in smoke. To prove his innocence, he sets out to uncover the identity of this literary-minded arsonist.

“Funny, profound. . . . A seductive book with a payoff on every page.”—
People

“Wildly, unpredicatably funny. . . . As cheerfully oddball as its title.”

—
The New York Times

AN ALGONQUIN READERS ROUND TABLE EDITION WITH READING GROUP GUIDE AND OTHER SPECIAL FEATURES • FICTION • ISBN-13: 978-1-56512-614-5

Saving the World,
a novel by Julia Alvarez

While Alma Huebner is researching a new novel, she discovers the true story of Isabel Sendales y Gómez, who embarked on a courageous sea voyage to rescue the New World from smallpox. The author of
How the García Girls Lost Their Accents
and
In the Time of the Butterflies,
Alvarez captures the worlds of two women living two centuries apart but with surprisingly parallel fates.

“Fresh and unusual, and thought-provokingly sensitive.”
—The Boston Globe

“Engrossing, expertly paced.”—
People

AN ALGONQUIN READERS ROUND TABLE EDITION WITH READING GROUP GUIDE AND OTHER SPECIAL FEATURES • FICTION • ISBN-13: 978-1-56512-558-2

Responsible Men,
a novel by Edward Schwarzschild

When a divorced man from a family of mostly upstanding salesmen decides to change his less-than-honorable ways, things do not go exactly as planned. This is the story of three generations of men struggling to be good sons and good fathers in a world of big dreams and bigger temptations.

“Marvelous. . . . It’s impossible to avoid falling for Max.”—
Entertainment Weekly

“A compassionately and deftly told story.”
—William Kennedy, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of
Ironweed
and
Roscoe

AN ALGONQUIN READERS ROUND TABLE EDITION WITH READING GROUP GUIDE AND OTHER SPECIAL FEATURES • FICTION • ISBN-13: 978-1-56512-543-8

The Ghost at the Table,
a novel by Suzanne Berne

When Frances arranges to host Thanksgiving at her idyllic New England farmhouse, she envisions a happy family reunion, one that will include her sister, Cynthia. But tension mounts between them as each struggles with a different version of the mysterious circumstances surrounding their mother’s death twenty-five years earlier.

“Wholly engaging, the perfect spark for launching a rich conversation around your own table.”—
The Washington Post Book World

“A crash course in sibling rivalry.”—
O: The Oprah Magazine

AN ALGONQUIN READERS ROUND TABLE EDITION WITH READING GROUP GUIDE AND OTHER SPECIAL FEATURES • FICTION • ISBN-13: 978-1-56512-579-7

Coal Black Horse,
a novel by Robert Olmstead

When Robey Childs’s mother has a premonition about her husband, who is away fighting in the Civil War, she sends her only son to find him and bring him home. At fourteen, Robey thinks he’s off on a great adventure. But it takes the gift of a powerful and noble coal black horse to show him how to undertake the most important journey of his life.

“A remarkable creation.”—
Chicago Tribune

“Exciting. . . . A grueling adventure.”—
The New York Times Book Review

AN ALGONQUIN READERS ROUND TABLE EDITION WITH READING GROUP GUIDE AND OTHER SPECIAL FEATURES • FICTION • ISBN-13: 978-1-56512-601-5