In the mysterious world of book reviewing, the highest honor is not like that of a restaurant, where three stars bring home the gold. With books, authors covet "a starred review." Not two, not three, simply "a" star. Roland Merullo (various posts here, search on Writing) has one for his new book, Breakfast with Buddha. No surprise to this reader.
From Library Journal:
...Especially well written, Merullo's second visionary novel (after Golfing with God) captures the spiritual struggle for true belief and inner peace with wit, clarity, and subtle reality. Warmly recommended for popular fiction collections.
Photo by Amanda S. Merullo
So...those of us in Eastern Massachusetts are in luck. Roland will read from and sign Breakfast with Buddha at 7 PM at these bookstores along the coast. Join me in Cambridge:
October 3: Toad Hall, Rockport
October 4, Andover Bookshop, Andover
October 23: Porter Square Books, Cambridge
October 24: Baker's Books, South Dartmouth
November 7: Duxbury Library, Duxbury.
And, writers, you'll enjoy the interview by Matthew Quick in Quay Journal, which includes Roland's writing resume. He doesn't believe in rules for writing, including the supposedly unbreakable one: write every day. Roland's writing bio is on the jump page (from Quay).
Disclosure as per below: Roland is my fiction writing teacher.
Roland Merullo is the critically acclaimed author of seven novels, including Leaving Losapas, currently optioned for film rights by John Turturro, A Russian Requiem, Revere Beach Boulevard, finalist for the L.L. Winship/PEN New England Prize, In Revere, In Those Days, a Booklist Editors’ Choice, and Golfing With God. His memoir, Revere Beach Elegy, won the 2000 Massachusetts Book Award for Non-Fiction, and his essays have appeared in The New York Times, Outside Magazine, Yankee Magazine, The Philadelphia Inquirer Sunday Magazine, Boston Magazine, Reader’s Digest, Good Housekeeping, Travel and Leisure Golf, LINKS, GOLF Magazine, Forbes FYI, and The Chronicle of Higher Education. His writing has been reviewed in The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Atlanta Journal Constitution, Washington Post, Boston Globe, Boston Herald, Philadelphia Inquirer, Dallas Morning News, Newsday, and by dozens of other papers, magazines, Internet sites and radio and TV stations. Merullo has given hundreds of informal talks and speeches at colleges, conferences, libraries and civic organizations. He currently lives in Massachusetts with his wife and two daughters.
