It is a time of reckoning for José María Álvarez, an aristocratic Spanish banker living in a Swiss village with his American wife. Nearing the end of a long and tumultuous life, he's overcome by hallucinatory memories of the past. Among his most cherished memories are those of his boyhood in 1950s Franco-era Spain and the bucolic afternoons he spent salmon fishing on the Sella River with his father, uncle, and much-loved younger brother. But these fond reveries are soon eclipsed by something greater. José's regrets and dark family secrets are flooding back, as is the devastating tragedy that drove José into exile and makes him bear the burden of a soul-deep guilt.
Born above his grandfather's modest restaurant in Mumbai, Hassan Haji first experienced life through intoxicating whiffs of spicy fish curry, trips to the local markets, and gourmet outings with his mother. But when tragedy strikes, the Hajis leave India and embark on a journey around the world, eventually opening an Indian restaurant in Lumiere, a small town in the French mountains. The family takes the village by storm, provoking the ire of their neighbor-Madame Mallory, the proprietress of an esteemed French relais. Only after waging culinary war with the immigrant family does Madame Mallory finally agree to mentor young Hassan, leading him to Paris and a host of new adventures. A testament to the inevitability of destiny, this is a fable for the ages: charming, endearing, and compulsively readable.
The elderly Buddhist priest Seido Oda considers the life that brought him from an idyllic mountainside village in Japan to the bustling streets of Brooklyn, New York
Wanderlust: A Book Club Sampler from Simon & Schuster is your boarding pass to the beautiful, the mysterious, and the unknown. This book club sampler was created to pay homage to a book’s unique ability to transport your imagination around the world, taking you on journeys across distance and time. Whether you’re in the mood for a historical love story set on a sheep station in rural Australia or an illuminating memoir of life in the war-torn Middle East, these are books you and your reading group won’t want to miss: Day of Honey: A Memoir of Food, Love, and War by Annia Ciezadlo, Wildflower Hill by Kimberley Freeman, The Dovekeepers by Alice Hoffman, Amaryllis in Blueberry by Christina Meldrum, The Hundred-Foot Journey by Richard C. Morais, The Distant Hours by Kate Morton, This Burns My Heart by Samuel Park, An Atlas of Impossible Longing by Anuradha Roy. Each excerpt in Wanderlust is accompanied by a collection of bonus materials intended to enrich your reading experience, including discussion questions, suggestions for enhancing your book club meeting, and author interviews. In the spirit of looking to the horizon, we also asked each author featured in this sampler one question: “What is your favorite travel memory?” Their answers are fittingly diverse—from Christina Meldrum’s summers spent at a family cottage in Lake Margrethe, Michigan, to Alice Hoffman’s inspirational first trip to Masada, the setting of her epic new novel The Dovekeepers. Anuradha Roy, the author of An Atlas of Impossible Longing, describes the lure of armchair travel best: “All readers…carry within themselves sediments of the places they have traveled to in books, the people they’ve met on the way. Therefore the strange déjà vu is when you land in a foreign country and wonder if you’ve been there before.” So, sit back, relax, and get ready for the trip of a lifetime. Bon Voyage!
From the author of The Hundred-Foot Journey comes a fish-out-of-water story of a Japanese monk who unexpectedly finds his community in bustling Brooklyn. Growing up in a quaint mountainside village in Japan, eleven-year-old Oda leaves his family to study with the monks at a nearby Buddhist temple. From that time, this quiet and peaceful refuge is the only home the monk has ever known until his fortieth birthday draws near and he is ordered by his superior to cross the ocean and open a temple in Brooklyn. Torn from the serene life of his homeland temple, New York proves a severe shock to Oda's system. More than that, he has to work with a motley crew of American Buddhists whose misguided practices lead to a host of hilarious cultural misunderstandings. It is only when the curmudgeonly Oda comes to appreciate this new and surprising flock, flaws and all, that he sees his own shortcomings and finally finds that sense of belonging he has always sought. Funny, rich and entertaining, this is a charming story about the meaning and rewards of true acceptance in the unlikeliest of places. '... a complex, beautiful book that lingers in the imagination long after the last line is read.' Robin Black, author of If I Loved You, I Would Tell You This
A lively meditation on cross-cultural acceptance through the story of a reclusive Buddhist monk and his eccentric New York flock Oda's boyhood is spent fishing in clear mountain streams, picking plums, and helping his parents run the family's village inn on the slopes of Mount Nagata. But at age eleven, his parents hand him over to the monks at the nearby Buddhist monastery. Separated from his family and deeply lonely, the acolyte adjusts to monastic life by devoting himself to painting, poetry and prayer-and avoiding human contact. This safe and quiet existence is unexpectedly upended, however, when he reaches middle age and is ordered by his superior to open a temple in Brooklyn. Now, Reverend Oda must spiritually lead the ragtag army of eccentric New York Buddhists. This motley crew and their misguided practices provide for a host of hilarious cultural misunderstandings and mishaps. But when tragedy strikes, Oda's rigid worldview is shattered and he finally understands his own long-buried sadness and personal shortcomings. It is only when he comes to appreciate the Americans, flaws and all, that Oda finds in Brooklyn the home he has always sought. Lively and vivid, Buddhaland Brooklyn is a meditation on the meaning and rewards of true acceptance.
The elderly Buddhist priest Seido Oda considers the life that brought him from an idyllic mountainside village in Japan to the bustling streets of Brooklyn, New York
This text offers complete coverage of important writing techniques required in all college classes and a handbook of grammar and usage. It is designed to be used independently as students put into practice techniques for draughting, revising and editing their writing, and as they develop important verbal skills.
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