Delight of Being Ordinary

“The Delight of Being Ordinary is a thrilling book, a rip-roaring, risk-taking literary tour de force that kept me up late and moved me deeply. Bursting with laughter and suffused with the divine comedy of the human condition, the story makes our complicated world seem a broader, more generous place. In this ultimate celebrity road trip, Merullo has written a love story for our times.”
—Susan Cheever, author of Home Before Dark

“Another genre-defying installment in Merullo’s engaging series of seriocomic religious novels … Admirers of previous volumes will recognize Merullo’s knack for depicting goodness without treacle in his deft portraits of the pope and the Dalai Lama, and a La Dolce Vita-esque party scene spotlights his ability to discern humanity in the most decadent circumstances…. moving and unnerving … Lucid, unpretentious fiction spotlighting the drama of trying to make the divine part of our everyday lives.”
—Kirkus, starred review

“A quirky but uplifting story in which Paolo de Padova, first assistant and cousin to Pope Francis, is asked to whisk away the pope and the visiting Dalai Lama on a clandestine vacation … Merullo’s newest is a thoughtful, compassionate, and mature work, a ‘Christian- Buddhist-agnostic prayer’ to the world, and readers will find a pleasant surprise in its conclusion.”
—Publishers Weekly

“Whimsical and irreverent, Merullo’s parable meanders through divine doctrines and human relationships, attaining insights where least expected … A charming story celebrating connections over divisions that will especially thrill devotees of Merullo’s Buddha Trilogy”
—Booklist

Roland Merullo is the acclaimed author of fifteen previous books, including Revere Beach Boulevard, Golfing with God, and Breakfast with Buddha. Merullo’s work has been translated into German, Spanish, Korean, and Croatian, and he has won numerous prizes, including the Massachusetts Book Awards in both fiction and nonfiction. He lives in Massachusetts with his wife and two children.

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