In this novel, your main characters, Otto Ringling and Volya Rinpoche, both men with strong personalities and distinctly different temperaments, embark on a road trip to Middle America, each undertaking his own journey of discovery. Which did you come up with first, the idea of writing a novel about the clash of beliefs or of writing a story that played out over a road trip?
The road trip. I had always wanted to see North Dakota, always pictured it as this mostly empty, beautiful, stark, striking place that was in some odd way spiritual. I like the idea of adventures, or road trips, voyages, expeditions. I am not capable of climbing Everest, so this seemed like something I could enjoy doing, and that would be a nice canvas on which to paint a story with some ideas in it. I made the first half of the trip alone, then went home, waited for school to get out, and made the second leg—Chicago to North Dakota—with my wife and daughters. I think we were all surprised at how much we liked North Dakota.
One gets the impression at the end of the novel that Otto Ring-ling has been deeply affected by the things he has learned during his journey back home. Please project a year or so ahead in his life and tell us where he is and just how he has changed.
I might write that story in a sequel some day, who knows? I guess his life would still have its same exterior shape. He is a family man, loves his wife and kids, and likes his job. He is not about to throw all that away and go live on the old farm. I picture him as having a meditation practice, as paying attention to things he used to ignore. I think he’d make two or three trips a year out to spend time with Rinpoche and get his spiritual counseling. He might eat just a bit less, or a bit more thoughtfully. He might be a notch less cynical. He’ll be a good uncle to Cecelia and Rinpoche’s child.
How do your characters make themselves known to you? Where do you find your inspiration?
I write by the seat of my pants, almost always without an outline. I just start, and that seems like opening the floodgates, or drilling a well. All kinds of stuff comes out, and usually very quickly. (I wrote most of Breakfast with Buddha while I was actually making the road trip.) After a few decades of doing this I have the confidence that I can sort out most of the bad stuff and refine most of the good, so I just let things flow at first and then rework it. I think I’ve written the last few books in a month or six weeks, then spent a year revising.
What’s next for you?
In this vein, I honestly don’t know. A spiritual memoir, maybe, if I can find a way to make that funny or somehow different. I have a book coming out on golfing and eating in Italy. That was fun to research. I have a thriller coming out at some point next year. Right now I am going to take a little break—it’s been a pretty intense pace the past few years—play some golf, spend time with my daughters, maybe meditate a little more, maybe take the time to write a novel longhand, which is the preferred method for me. No retirement in sight, in other words, and I enjoy all of this.
QUESTIONS AND TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION
1. How do the first scenes of Otto with his family set the stage for what happens in the rest of the novel?
2. In what ways does Otto change over the course of the story? What key moments during the trip play a part in his evolution?
3. How would you describe Cecelia? Is she, as Otto says, “as flaky as a good spanakopita crust”? Is there some substance to her?
4. Do you believe Cecelia changes over the course of the story, or do you think it’s only Otto’s opinion of her that changes? Share specific scenes that support your view.
5. Which events or remarks in the novel convince you that Rinpoche is a legitimate spiritual teacher? Were there situations where you doubted his authenticity?
6. Humor is often employed a way of making us relate to a particular situation. How does the author use humor in this way? Are there particular passages that were especially funny to you? If so, why?
7. The book is partly about “meaning of life” issues, but it also has a lot to say about contemporary American society. What does Otto see and hear that makes him encouraged or discouraged about the state of American life?
8. Discuss the role landscape plays in the story.
9. Jeannie, Anthony, and Natasha are minor characters in the novel, but how do they serve to round out Otto’s character? How do they influence your feelings about Cecelia and Rinpoche?
10. Amish country, the Hershey’s factory, a bowling alley, a baseball game, taking an architectural tour of Chicago, playing miniature golf, swimming in a Minnesota lake, why do you suppose the author chose these kinds of activities? Discuss the purpose each activity serves in the story. What would the book have been like had these activities not been included?
11. When Otto comes across the metaphor of the piano-playing boy in Rinpoche’s book, he says, “If I had been editing the book, I would have written in the manuscript margins, ‘Work this,’ meaning that the author should take the general idea and sharpen it, make it clearer to the reader” (page 174). Yet Otto can’t get the the plight of the piano-playing man out of his mind. Why do suppose that is? What aspect of the metaphor is unsettling to Otto? Do you find it unsettling? If so, why?
12. How would you characterize what Otto experiences after sitting with Rinpoche for two hours in silence (page 237)? Have you ever experienced the pleasure of a quiet mind? Was it similar or dissimilar to Otto’s reaction?
13. Do you believe Rinpoche is changed by the end of the trip with Otto? If so, to what degree is Otto responsible for that change?
14. Do you believe the ending of the novel was the best ending for this story? If the story were to continue, where should it go from here?
ROLAND MERULLO is the critically acclaimed author of eight books, including the Revere Beach Trilogy, three novels about growing up in a tight-knit community outside Boston, and Golfing with God, a novel about a man’s unexpected spiritual journey. His new novel, American Savior: A Novel of Divine Politics, has just been published. He lives with his wife and two daughters in Massachusetts.
Also by Roland Merullo
FICTION
Leaving Losapas
A Russian Requiem
Revere Beach Boulevard
In Revere, in Those Days
A Little Love Story
Golfing with God
American Savior
NONFICTION
Passion for Golf:
In Pursuit of the Innermost Game
Revere Beach Elegy:
A Memoir of Home and Beyond
Published by
Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill
Post Office Box 2225
Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27515-2225
a division of
Workman Publishing
225 Varick Street
New York, New York 10014
© 2007 by Roland Merullo. All rights reserved.
First paperback edition, Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, August 2008. Originally published by Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill in 2007.
This is a work of fiction. While, as in all fiction, the literary perceptions and insights are based on experience, all names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available.
E-book ISBN 978-1-56512-659-6
Praise for Breakfast with Buddha
“A laugh-out-loud novel that’s both comical and wise . . . Merullo is a practiced hand at publishing witty, pointed prose . . . It is Merullo’s comic bent and his mastery of the language that causes his road trip novel to sideswipe clichés by balancing irreverence with insight.”
—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
&
nbsp; 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
Breakfast With Buddha Page 27
