
The Delight of Being Ordinary
A Road Trip with the Pope and the Dalai Lama
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Narrated by:
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P. J. Ochlan
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By:
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Roland Merullo
About this listen
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 Dalai 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 best-selling 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.
©2017 Roland Merullo (P)2017 Random House AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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What listeners say about The Delight of Being Ordinary
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- Mean&Rotten Family
- 10-21-20
Thought provoking story, with laughter and tears!
Thought provoking story, provokes laughter and tears! Well read, fun story, kept interest- loved it!
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- P. Koh
- 01-15-23
Fabulous! Enjoyed every minute!
So glad I listened to this book! It was wonderful! Funny, uplifting, thoughtful. Narrator was fabulous! I recommend this book 1000% !!!
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- KK
- 02-26-24
The incredible possibility of such an encounter!
This super entertaining novel is impossible to forget. Many plots are lost soon after reading but NOT this one. The implausible hope of this happening drives the novel. A hot favorite even a year after reading it.
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- LuoL
- 10-05-17
Hope this is not the end of the story!
If you start with Breakfast with Budda and work through to this book, it is a great journey... 3rd time through and still find new insights. 60 years of reading everything and find this work the best. THANKS ROLAND !!!!
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13 people found this helpful
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- Colleen C. Mittal
- 06-19-20
Fabulous Book!
Having read Roland Merullo’s trilogy of Breakfast with Buddha, Lunch with Buddha, & Dinner with Buddha which I throughly enjoyed. I was curious what this book would be about! What a delight! Humor, adventure, developed characters you learn to love, & a crisp dialogue. And a colorful backdrop of a road trip thru Italy discussing religion, philosophy, and a marriage on the “rocks”. The characters along the trip are peppered with a richness that is very entertaining. It has the suspense that it all might end at any minute and the truth is you could travel with these four characters for a very long time! I Highly recommend this book!
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1 person found this helpful
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- Lorry
- 01-19-23
Feel good adventure
A heartwarming tale I wished to be part of. I smiled and tried to envision what might happen next; then was completely delighted!
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- Linda C Beatty
- 10-11-23
can't continue this
I enjoyed all the (different meals) with Buddha books. I will have to buy this and just read it because of the narrator. He is having the Dalai Lama speak with a Chinese accent. Anyone who knows the history of the Chinese takeover of Tibet and how they had to run for their lives (literally) would consider this an insult. I do. so I can't continue to listen.
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- Amazon Customer
- 04-11-24
The juxtaposition of the humorous with the Devine.
The delightful way the story presents the beauty of our human foibles and our striving.
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- Lisa
- 01-12-19
Wonderful adventure
This book takes you on an adventure into the not so ordinary life of two iconic characters. It keeps you interested in what each moment will bring as they try to experience life away from the spotlights put on them.
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- Elizabeth Cavasso
- 01-04-18
Learning to build upon common faith
This is a lovely story with spunk, adventure and great spiritual messages. I enjoyed listening to this ebook during a long drive.
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