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16th out of 34 books
—
25 voters
Breakfast with Buddha
The only thing certain about a journey is that it has a beginning and an end--for you never know what may happen along the way. And so it is with this journey into the minds and souls of two very different men--one of them in search of the truth, the other a man who may have already found it.When Otto Ringling, a husband, father, and editor, departs on a cross-country driv...more
Hardcover, 323 pages
Published
October 2nd 2007
by Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill
(first published 2007)
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What a wonderful surprise this book was! I came upon it by accident and found all of the secrets of life oozing out of the pages. It was funny, and tragic and overwhelming all at the same time. In the tradition of the great across-America reads, it offered little snapshots of our country as Mr. Otto Ringling and his sister's guru journey back to Otto's home to settle some necessary business.
I loved this book as much for the questions, as for the answers.
I loved this book as much for the questions, as for the answers.
I am always searching for a book like this: funny, wise, philosophical, magical, but real at the same time. So much fiction that gets awards and rave reviews is so depressing! This book is great if anyone is open to what Buddhism can teach, and if they are skeptical, they will feel instant kinship to the main character who takes a guru (mainly Buddhist, but he incorporates some Taoism and Hinduism and others) on a roadtrip to North Dakota. I am changed just from reading it once, but I will again...more
There are moments in this book that are great. The chapter when he stays at an inn where he went with his wife is touching and real. There are some sweet moments between the main character and his travel partner...the guru Rinpoche. I liked the idea of the book more than the book but it does have some moments that make it well worth reading.
i am rereading this book since i just bought the sequel.
I gave this book 5 stars because I heard an interview with the author on my local NPR station, and was compelled to read it. I had just lost my father and like in the book, loss of a parent(s) and Otto's experience to 'find' himself and meaning of it all allowed me to find solace. It was the laughter in Otto's thinking and how he experienced new things which brings one to the feeling we have no control of our destiny and how life comes abo...more
I gave this book 5 stars because I heard an interview with the author on my local NPR station, and was compelled to read it. I had just lost my father and like in the book, loss of a parent(s) and Otto's experience to 'find' himself and meaning of it all allowed me to find solace. It was the laughter in Otto's thinking and how he experienced new things which brings one to the feeling we have no control of our destiny and how life comes abo...more
This one was found while wandering the stacks of Borders while my husband looked for books for his classroom. It seemed like a funny enough premise so I requested it from the library. What a great way to spend a beautiful afternoon outside with the puppy!!
Well crafted with a very personable first person narrative Mr. Merullo really makes you feel as if you are along for the ride with these two men! At the end of the book he does say that it is based on a similar cross country trip he took which...more
Well crafted with a very personable first person narrative Mr. Merullo really makes you feel as if you are along for the ride with these two men! At the end of the book he does say that it is based on a similar cross country trip he took which...more
I lolved this book. It is the story of a man travelling cross country. Through a series of events he ends up taking his sister's friend, a monk, with him. He is totally uncertain of the way thing will go but they end up having a unique relationship. I love the descriptions of the places they go, which are real. Then there is the journey of faith and the understanding of enlightenmnet. It is one of my recent favorites. I learned a lot and it made me think about my beliefs and the state of our wor...more
Shallow and trite pap (think New Age Nicholas Sparks), but at least it's quick reading. Ugh.
1.5 stars. I wasn't in the mood for this book...
As a friend said, the author does too much navel gazing." I'm glad Merullo is a "seeker of enlightenment", but nothing happened in the book. The 2 main characters, the ordinary middle aged successful "author/editor" and the "guru" he travels with, are not very interesting. The guru's language skills are mediocre, as are all the conversations - and that's what makes up most of the book.
C'mon Novel Women book group, let's preview the books more car...more
As a friend said, the author does too much navel gazing." I'm glad Merullo is a "seeker of enlightenment", but nothing happened in the book. The 2 main characters, the ordinary middle aged successful "author/editor" and the "guru" he travels with, are not very interesting. The guru's language skills are mediocre, as are all the conversations - and that's what makes up most of the book.
C'mon Novel Women book group, let's preview the books more car...more
Hmm.. slightly artificial. Maybe the problem I had with the book was that the spiritual journey of the main character was so short, he already lives around the block from Nirvana, he is sensitive, loving and committed. He did not have much to overcome. He already is infatuated with his wife, loves his teens with the adoration of a toddler dad and hasn't really suffered much. Anybody out there have teens? Oh, and did I mention he is not too rich but just rich enough not to need the hefty proceeds...more
9 likes · like · see review
Road trip! Breakfast with Buddha is a funny, thought-provoking tale of Otto, a middle-aged, food-book editor who gets roped into driving cross-country (from New Jersey to North Dakota) with guru, Volya Rinpoche. Otto believes he is taking this trip with his New Age sister, Cecilia, to sort through their family-farm estate after the sudden death of their parents. But, when he arrives she informs him that she's giving her part of the estate to Rinpoche and thinks it would be helpful for Otto to sp...more
Sep 21, 2008
lee lee
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
buddhists who don't want to say they're participating in religion
Recommended to lee lee by:
renee gold
honestly, i didn't care for this book. i couldn't really get into the plot and i thought merullo's characterization was weak. the premise is semi-interesting, so i'm sure he could've done a better job with the writing. however, i still don't think he could've convinced me of his "moral," which seems to be that you can always be more spiritual/a better person than who you are now. while i definitely believe in growth and growth potentials, right now i'm more preoccupied with accepting myself as-i...more
2 likes · like · see review
I am ambivalent about this one. On the one hand, I would recommend it, with considerable enthusiasm. On the other hand, it is not a good book.
I would recommend it because it is light-hearted, digestible, but still had the capacity to inspire joyful introspection.
It is, however, not in any capacity good literature. Ham-fisted is an understatement. I happen to enjoy descriptions of food, but if you do not, brace yourself, it will be a rocky ride. Every meal is described in relatively prosaic detai...more
I would recommend it because it is light-hearted, digestible, but still had the capacity to inspire joyful introspection.
It is, however, not in any capacity good literature. Ham-fisted is an understatement. I happen to enjoy descriptions of food, but if you do not, brace yourself, it will be a rocky ride. Every meal is described in relatively prosaic detai...more
Sometimes, a book comes along just when you need it.
When I was twenty-something, I read "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" and it pushed me toward becoming a different kind of human being. I've read a lot of "spiritual guide" literature, since then, learning more or less about the eternal search for peace and meaning in living. But "Breakfast With Buddha" would sit near the top of the list, with "Zen" and a few others, a lovely tale that enlarges perspectives without beating you over th...more
When I was twenty-something, I read "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" and it pushed me toward becoming a different kind of human being. I've read a lot of "spiritual guide" literature, since then, learning more or less about the eternal search for peace and meaning in living. But "Breakfast With Buddha" would sit near the top of the list, with "Zen" and a few others, a lovely tale that enlarges perspectives without beating you over th...more
Buddhism is hard to explain. Sometimes I think it is best explained by talking about something else, as the Zen masters are fond of doing. Roland Merullo succeeds in that approach in Breakfast with Buddha. Otto Ringling is proud of himself. He is content with his nice job as a senior editor at a publishing house, with his nice kids, nice wife, and nice life. Except he’s not content, really, and he doesn’t know why. After the sudden death of his aging parents he begins wondering about “…the purpo...more
This isn’t the kind of book I usually read, and when I first started I though it was going to hover dangerous close over the self-help line. It took less than a chapter for me to realize that wasn’t true. This book was not only refreshingly original on a “religious/inspirational” level, but it was refreshingly original for a fiction book. While it won’t appeal to you if you don’t have any kind of spiritual side (agnostics/atheists won’t be too amused), if you do have any kind of beliefs about sp...more
This is a wonderful book. I've read it twice and it impressed me in different ways each time. The story is about an upper middle-class man in a happy marriage with kids he loves. But when his parents are killed in a car accident, he begins to doubt that his comfortable life is all there is. He has to go back to North Dakota, where he grew up, to take care of the estate, and his “flaky” sister contrives to have her guru come along for the ride. The guru is a “Rinpoche” from Siberia. I had thought...more
I quote Chris on this (read her/his whole review, it's well done), but I didn't have the same total experience--mine was a 5-star read through and through. Loved most everything about it, ending included (I thought it was sweet).
Anyway, Chris caught the essence. What is beyond the words quoted below (and also in her/his review) is the plot, fiction and interest in the characters. To say, this is the idea behind the book, but it's a fun fictional read:
This book was what I call an ‘Introduction To...more
Anyway, Chris caught the essence. What is beyond the words quoted below (and also in her/his review) is the plot, fiction and interest in the characters. To say, this is the idea behind the book, but it's a fun fictional read:
This book was what I call an ‘Introduction To...more
I was a little worried when I picked up Breakfast with Buddha by Roland Merullo at the library and saw above the title that he was also the author of Golfing with God. I thought my book group had picked something from a hokey theology-lite series designed to provide self-help of some sort. What would be next? “Shuffleboard with Shiva”? “Mumblety-Peg with Mohammed”?
I was wrong to worry. It may be part of a series, but it was not hokey. This was, perhaps, exactly the book I needed to read at this...more
I was wrong to worry. It may be part of a series, but it was not hokey. This was, perhaps, exactly the book I needed to read at this...more
I started out really likeing this book. It was funny, entertaining, and I liked the many ways of seeing God that were presented. The narrator is on a road trip back to his parent's house to settle their estate. They were both killed in a car accident. He ends up taking along a passenger as a favor to his sister. This passenger is a sort of monk or holy man. At first he is very skeptical, but by the time they reach their desitnation he is sold on the wisdom and almost deity of his passenger.
Towa...more
Towa...more
I really like the narrator of this book. He's a regular guy with an above average level of self-awareness, but held back from the full open engagement with life that we can all fall victim to all too easily. There's humor and good social observation throughout.
The title, however, is a bit misleading. Author Merullo acknowledges sources as diverse as Thomas Merton and 'real' Buddhists such as Pema Chodron, Trungpa Rinpoche and Thich Nhat Hanh but also the new-agey Scott Peck. The "teachings" his...more
The title, however, is a bit misleading. Author Merullo acknowledges sources as diverse as Thomas Merton and 'real' Buddhists such as Pema Chodron, Trungpa Rinpoche and Thich Nhat Hanh but also the new-agey Scott Peck. The "teachings" his...more
Just now I finished a book that was the most spiritual moving I have read in a long time and the funniest! I am reeling with its images.
It is “Breakfast with the Buddha” by Roland Merullo. A novel.
“Otto Ringling is a food-book editor and a happily married father of two living in a New York suburb. After Otto's North Dakota parents are killed in a car crash, he plans to drive his ebulliently New Age sister, Cecilia, back home to sell the family farm. But when Otto arrives to pick up Cecilia in P...more
It is “Breakfast with the Buddha” by Roland Merullo. A novel.
“Otto Ringling is a food-book editor and a happily married father of two living in a New York suburb. After Otto's North Dakota parents are killed in a car crash, he plans to drive his ebulliently New Age sister, Cecilia, back home to sell the family farm. But when Otto arrives to pick up Cecilia in P...more
Dec 23, 2009
Laura
added it
I don’t understand why I enjoyed this book so much. I stopped about 1/3 f the way through, but then picked it back up and just kept reading. It felt like a non fiction essay – full of one man’s search for truth and enlightenment kind of thing. It was written in the first person and had all the trials and tribulations, doubt and skepticism that usually accompanies such essays. But it is fiction. In a little afterward the author explain that he trip across the country was one he had made, so a lot...more
1 like · like · see review
Humorous but thoughtful. Volya Rinpoche from Siberia who spent a few years in jail in Siberia meets the VOICE of the story-- Otto Ringling, a 40 year old brother of Cecilia. Otto is an editor with a specialty in food books. Volya is a writer/monk. Cecelia has a fear of planes and flying. Otto and Cecelia's parents were killed by a drunk driver, leaving a 2000 acre farm in western North Dakota. Cecelia wants her "share" of the inheritance to go to the monk for a meditation retreat center. Otto, a...more
This is one of my new favorite books. I saw so much of myself in Otto Ringling - the struggle of living what I would consider a good life but still feeling like something is missing. I don't mean for this "review" to be so long, but I feel this true connection to this book, to Otto and the journey he was on. It's my journey too.
Grew up learning about Christianity on my own. I mean, my mom gave me a head start taking me to church when I was little and then periodically after that.
It wasn't until...more
Grew up learning about Christianity on my own. I mean, my mom gave me a head start taking me to church when I was little and then periodically after that.
It wasn't until...more
Apr 29, 2010
Claire
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
people interested in spiritual stuff
Shelves:
first-person-narrator-all-ages,
grownup-books
when Otto's salt of the earth parents die in an untimely auto wreck, Otto knows he will have to go back to the farmstead to settle the estate with his new age (to him- nutcake) sister. This requires a car trip from New York to South Dakota because his sister will not fly.
After procrastinating, he settles a date to pick Cecelia up. When he arrives,Cecelia has pulled a switch- she wants Otto to take her guru on the 6-day trip. She is giving her portion of the extremely valuable farm to Rinpoche....more
After procrastinating, he settles a date to pick Cecelia up. When he arrives,Cecelia has pulled a switch- she wants Otto to take her guru on the 6-day trip. She is giving her portion of the extremely valuable farm to Rinpoche....more
This book had interesting elements to reveal but it was built on an unbelievable principle. Luckily this is a work of fiction so you can make it work. Otto Ringling's (yes, that's his name) parents have been killed in a car accident. He decides to drive to North Dakota with his flaky sister to settle their estate. His sister can't go (working on regressing someone to past lives) and springs on Otto that her guru will be going with him instead. She plans to give the guru her half of the farm land...more
A little too much of the author's thinking about what he wants the reader to get from this shows - that is, the story clearly proceeds as it does to serve the author's purpose and not to provide a story that is engaging or plausible. It sometimes seems almost like a religious tract.
Well - actually it a tract, I suppose. And using this approach of explaining a life philosophy through a novel may have some advantages over a book that gets filed in the "how to" or "religion" sections of a book sto...more
Well - actually it a tract, I suppose. And using this approach of explaining a life philosophy through a novel may have some advantages over a book that gets filed in the "how to" or "religion" sections of a book sto...more
Aug 18, 2009
Christine
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
brookfield-book-group
I would give this a 3.5 stars - I more than 'liked it', but I less than 'really liked it'. The ending rankled me - I don't know why, I need to examine that a bit more I guess...but overall it was a cute book and it made me think. At times I thought deeply and at other times I knew I could think deeply but chose not to yet still enjoyed the story. I liked the book for that purpose - it opened up avenues for thought, but if you chose to read it as a 'roadie book', well, that was okay too (although...more
Merullo's "Breakfast with Buddha" is a classic road-trip / odd couple tale. I found it to be engrossing and engaging. It is a book that attempts to convey life lessons as it entertains. In my opinion, this type of book succeeds best when the lessons do not draw too much attention to themselves, but rather subtly plant a seed. In some cases Roland Merullo's book succeeds on this regard, and in other cases his middle-of-the-road protagonist comes across as a bit preachy and holier-than-thou.
The...more
This was a book club selection. I thought this was a very good book. I am impressed by people that can discuss profound concepts with humor. I think these people really have a lot of intelligence. This book is the story of a journey taken by a "regular guy" in the company of a Guru. I have studied small amounts of Buddhist doctrine. Strictly speaking the "Buddhism" presented in the story is not strictly doctrinal in my opinion. The story was told in an engaging way. I did find considerable wisdo...more
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| Breakfast with Buddha | 12 | 98 | Aug 28, 2012 01:19pm |
ROLAND MERULLO is the acclaimed author of twelve previous books, including Revere Beach Boulevard, In Revere in Those Days, A Little Love Story, Golfing with God, Breakfast with Buddha, Lunch with Buddha and American Savior. Merullo has won numerous prizes, including the Massachusetts Book Award for both fiction and nonfiction. He lives in Massachusetts with his wife and two children.
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“I have a tremendous fascination with the United States of America, the grand, swirling variousness of it, the way it siphons off the ambitious, the poor, and the abused from so many other nations, the ability we seem to have to be noble and heroic at the same time as we are being arrogant and stupid.”
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“If Christ's message could be distilled down to one line, that line would have to do with kindness and inclusiveness, not rules and divisiveness.”
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Mar 17, 2013 07:33pm