The Delight of Being Ordinary: A Road Trip with the Pope and the Dalai Lama

by Roland Merullo

Roland Merullo's playful, eloquent, and life-affirming novel finds the Pope and the Dalai Lama teaming up for an unsanctioned road trip through the Italian countryside to rediscover the everyday joys of life that can seem, even for the two holiest men in the world, unattainable. What happens when the Pope and the Dali Lama decide they need an undercover vacation? During a highly publicized official visit at the Vatican, the Pope suggests an adventure so unexpected and appealing that neither man can resist. Before dawn, two of the most beloved and famous people on the planet don disguises, slip into a waiting car, and experience the countryside as regular people. Along for the ride are the Pope's overwhelmed cousin Paolo and his estranged wife Rosa, an eccentric hairdresser with a lust for life who cannot resist the call to adventure--or the fun. Against a landscape of good humor, exploration and spiritual delight, not to mention the sublime rolling hills of Italy, The Delight of Being Ordinary showcases the charming sensibilities of Roland Merullo (whose bestselling Breakfast with Buddha has sold over 200,000 copies), in a novel that makes us laugh as well as think about the demands of ordinary life, spiritual life, and the identities by which we all define ourselves. --Amazon

What happens when the Pope and the Dali Lama decide they need an undercover vacation? During a highly publicized official visit at the Vatican, the Pope suggests an adventure so unexpected and appealing that neither man can resist. Before dawn, two of the most beloved and famous people on the planet don disguises, slip into a waiting car, and experience the countryside as regular people. Along for the ride are the Pope's overwhelmed cousin Paolo and his estranged wife Rosa, an eccentric hairdresser with a lust for life who cannot resist the call to adventure-- or the fun.

• ISBN10: 1410499731
• ISBN13: 9781410499738
• Publish Date: 3 May 2017 (first published 11 April 2017)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Wheeler Publishing Large Print
• Edition: Large type / large print edition
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 474
• Language: English

Reviews

[MurderByDeath]

The subtitle of this novel says everything about why it appealed to me from the start:   A Road Trip with the Pope and the Dalai Lama   Then there was the author's note:   I am inclined to put my trust in spiritual figures who show a sense of humor, rather than those who take everything—including themselves—with a miserable seriousness. Life can be harsh, yes. The struggle to live a meaningful life, however we define that, can be rich with problems and challenges. But humor exists to soften the sharp edges of things. And so Pope Francis and the Dalai Lama, both of whom laugh a lot, seem to me like wise teachers, extraordinary men in the difficult position of guiding billions of followers, of steering vessels with a heavy cargo of good and bad history, in the same general direction, across the rough seas of modem life.    That right there is guaranteed to get my attention.  At school, part of the curriculum was world religions, because, as the nuns said, you can't respect what you don't understand.     So, a story about the Pope and the Dalai Lama dodging their security teams and going on a 4 day road trip?  Yes please!  When it arrived I couldn't wait to get stuck into it, and what better day to read it than Good Friday?   It was so much more than I expected; true, I didn't quite know what to expect - I bought it on blind faith and the subtitle, but there was the humorous road trip I'd expected, plus theology, and mystical adventure and ultimately, the story of a marriage in crises and a startling narrative on the emotional baggage a relationship accumulates over time.   I didn't go the whole-hog 5 stars because even though I loved it, it did drag in a few places.  I think this is my fault; I couldn't put the book down and there's a lot of (really interesting) theology here; real, everyday, relatable theology, and I think the pacing would have worked better had I read this over several sessions, savouring instead of devouring it.  Also, the MC and narrator, Paolo, and his wife Rosa are a little too real.  The reader is truly inside Paolo's head and that insight to his thoughts is not always comfortable; he's a good man, but he's deeply flawed.   As much as I love this book, I can't honestly say it's for everyone.  Those who have confidently turned away from faith in anything greater than man need not bother, although the book does offer an accurate view of what faith should be about.  Those who do categories themselves as spiritual or religious or faithful might find this interesting, but it's going to depend on the rigidity of those beliefs. There are as many flavours of Christianity as there are stars in the sky (almost/not really) and RC offends quite a few of them.  And even RCs might have a tough time swallowing the ending; I admit I balked myself, at first.  What Merullo offers as a plot twist is confronting and I can't say reacted any better than Paolo did (at first).   Still, I loved this book; there are so many parts that resonated, from the faith through to the marriage.  I adored Pope Francis before this book, and still do, but now, I might have a bit of a crush on the Dalai Lama.  :)