Reviews
Review Excerpts
Boston Sunday Globe – December 30, 2007
“Recommended… Enlightenment meets On the Road in this witty, insightful novel.”
The Aptos Times – December 15, 2007
“Excellent… In an across the country auto journey from New York to North Dakota, two very unlikely individuals come to know and respect one another… How this odd couple ends up on this trip and how the journey alters their lives is the subject of this beguiling novel. Roland Merullo is the author of Golfing with God. If you read and enjoyed that novel, you’ll find this work equally intriguing.”
— Robert Francis
Boston Globe – December 9, 2007
“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… It’s a quiet, meditative, and ultimately joyous trip we’re on. And it’s quite a treat, indeed, to eavesdrop on these two inquisitive and witty gentlemen and hear what they talk about when they talk about life.”
— John Dufresne
The Island Packet Lowcountry Life – November 18, 2007
“The picaresque novel is an old tradition… and [Breakfast with Buddha] is a worthy successor… Without being at all preachy — Merullo makes it clear that he has little use for either radio preachers or pundits — he explores a great many issues we tend to ignore or avoid thinking about… Merullo writes with considerable humor, and his narrative bubbles along as Otto and the Rinpoche wend their way westward… This is a sincere and thoughtful book that will not only entertain you but will stay in your mind for a long time.”
— Don McKinney
Providence Journal – October 28, 2007
“The journey itself powers the hegira of this odd couple as each begins to understand a bit of the other’s life and perspective… Roland Merullo is such an immediately engaging author that you’re sucked right into his world. [His] sure touch is never cloying or sentimental. This is a wonderful, heartfelt novel that frequently surprises as we’re lulled by the sights and sounds of the open road.”
— Sam Coale
Washington Post – October 12, 2007
“Please don’t be put off when I describe this pleasant, engaging novel as a sermon. I got to liking Breakfast With Buddha more and more as I went along and was very sorry when it ended. On finishing this book, I decided that Roland Merullo would be a great guy to take a road trip with.”
— Carolyn See
Publishers Weekly – July 19, 2007
“Merullo delivers a comic but winningly spiritual roadtrip novel. [He] takes the reader through the small towns and byways of Midwestern America, which look unexpectedly alluring through Rinpoche’s eyes. Well-fed Western secularist Otto is only half-aware that his life might need fixing, and his slow discovery of Rinpoche’s nature, and his own, make for a satisfying read. A set piece of Otto’s chaotic first meditation session is notably hilarious, and the whole book is breezy and affecting.”
Kirkus – July 9, 2007
“[Roland Merullo] plays to his strengths as an astute observer of society and sympathetic analyst of individual psyches. The lessons imparted are neither new nor startling (live fully in the moment, etc.), but the author eloquently conveys their simple power… Spiritual fiction is a byway little traveled by mainstream authors, but 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.”
