Buddhaland Brooklyn
A Novel
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Narrated by:
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Feodor Chin
About this listen
From the writer whose debut novel, The Hundred-Foot Journey, continues to charm readers around the world comes a modern fairy tale about a man who finds his true calling in a foreign land.
Featuring rich descriptions and a cast of eccentric characters, this is a contemporary fable about a Japanese Buddhist priest who ends up finding himself in the unlikeliest of places.
Growing up in a quaint mountainside village in Japan, Seido Oda spent his boyhood fishing in clear mountainside streams and helping his parents run their small inn. At the age of 11, Oda is sent to study with the monks at a nearby Buddhist temple. This peaceful, quiet refuge in the remote mountains of Japan becomes home for the introverted monk - until he approaches his 40th birthday and is ordered by his superior to cross the ocean and open a temple in Brooklyn.
Ripped from the isolated, serene life of his homeland temple, Oda receives a shock to his system in New York - a motley crew of American Buddhists whose misguided practices lead to a host of hilarious cultural misunderstandings. It is only when Oda comes to appreciate the Americans, flaws and all, that he sees his own shortcomings and finally finds that sense of belonging he has always sought.
A lively and vivid novel, this entertaining and edifying meditation on the meaning of true acceptance stirs from the very first page.
Richard C. Morais, author of The Hundred-Foot Journey, is a contributing editor at Barron’s in New York. An American raised in Switzerland, he was stationed in London for 17 years, where he was Forbes’ European bureau chief.
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- Original Recording
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"The Great Failure is a boundless embrace, leaving nothing out. I wanted to learn the truth, to become whole. If I could touch the dark nature in someone else, I could know it in myself." So begins Natalie Goldberg in this candid exploration of her life. Here, Goldberg makes sense of primary relationships between father and daughter, teacher and student, and exemplifies the accomplishment available when creating daily writing practices.
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If you have been let down by anyone. Listen
- By Mia on 04-19-18
By: Natalie Goldberg
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The War Girls
- By: V. S. Alexander
- Narrated by: Kelli Tager
- Length: 16 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
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It's not just a thousand miles that separates Hanna Majewski from her younger sister, Stefa. There is another gulf—between the traditional Jewish ways that Hanna chose to leave behind in Warsaw, and her new, independent life in London. But as autumn of 1940 draws near, Germany begins a savage aerial bombing campaign in England, killing and displacing tens of thousands. Hanna, who narrowly escapes death, is recruited as a spy in an undercover operation that sends her back to her war-torn homeland.
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Courageous Sisters
- By Sara on 08-10-22
By: V. S. Alexander
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The Garden of Evening Mists
- By: Tan Twan Eng
- Narrated by: Anna Bentinck
- Length: 15 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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Malaya, 1951. Yun Ling Teoh, the scarred lone survivor of a brutal Japanese wartime camp, seeks solace among the jungle-fringed tea plantations of Cameron Highlands. There she discovers Yugiri, the only Japanese garden in Malaya, and its owner and creator, the enigmatic Aritomo, exiled former gardener of the emperor of Japan. Despite her hatred of the Japanese, Yun Ling seeks to engage Aritomo to create a garden in memory of her sister, who died in the camp.
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The best
- By Susan Gardner Bowers on 03-11-13
By: Tan Twan Eng
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Praise Song for the Butterflies
- A Novel
- By: Bernice L. McFadden
- Narrated by: Robin Miles
- Length: 5 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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Abeo Kata lives a comfortable, happy life in West Africa as the privileged nine-year-old daughter of a government employee and stay-at-home mother. But when the Katas' idyllic lifestyle takes a turn for the worse, Abeo's father, following his mother's advice, places the girl in a religious shrine, hoping that the sacrifice of his daughter will serve as atonement for the crimes of his ancestors. Unspeakable acts befall Abeo for the 15 years she is held in the shrine. When she is finally rescued, broken and battered, she must struggle to overcome her past.
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Searing!
- By Susie Bright on 09-05-18
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Grand Central
- Original Stories of Postwar Love and Reunion
- By: Melanie Benjamin, Amanda Hodgkinson, Pam Jenoff, and others
- Narrated by: Carla Mercer-Meyer
- Length: 12 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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On any particular day, thousands upon thousands of people pass through New York City's Grand Central Terminal, through the whispering gallery, beneath the ceiling of stars, and past the information booth and its beckoning four-faced clock, to whatever destination is calling them. It is a place where people come to say hello and good-bye. And each person has a story to tell.
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Grand Central: Memories
- By ZacharyKindle Customer on 05-03-17
By: Melanie Benjamin, and others
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Black Dog of Fate
- A Memoir
- By: Peter Balakian
- Narrated by: Peter Balakian
- Length: 14 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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The first-born son of his generation, Peter Balakian grew up in a close, extended family, sheltered by 1950s and '60s New Jersey suburbia. He was immersed in an all-American boyhood defined by rock 'n' roll, adolescent pranks, and a passion for the New York Yankees that he shared with his beloved grandmother. But beneath this sunny world lay the dark specter of the trauma his family and ancestors had experienced: the Turkish government's extermination of more than a million Armenians.
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Great book!
- By Lm on 06-27-13
By: Peter Balakian
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The Tenth Chamber
- By: Glenn Cooper
- Narrated by: Henri Lubatti
- Length: 12 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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Abbey of Ruac, rural France: A medieval script is discovered hidden behind an antique bookcase. Badly damaged, it is sent to Paris for restoration, and there literary historian Hugo Pineau begins to read the startling 14th-century text. Within its pages lies a fanciful tale of a painted cave and the secrets it contains - and a rudimentary map showing its position close to the abbey. Intrigued, Hugo enlists the help of archaeologist Luc Simard and the two men go exploring.
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Leaves Dan Brown's "INFERNO" in the Dust
- By karinzart on 07-06-13
By: Glenn Cooper
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In the Country
- Stories
- By: Mia Alvar
- Narrated by: Nancy Wu, Don Castro
- Length: 13 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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These nine globe-trotting, unforgettable stories from Mia Alvar, a remarkable new literary talent, vividly give voice to the women and men of the Filipino diaspora. Here are exiles, emigrants, and wanderers uprooting their families from the Philippines to begin new lives in the Middle East, the United States, and elsewhere - and sometimes turning back again.
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My introduction to Filipino literature and culture
- By Amazon Customer on 03-28-16
By: Mia Alvar
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Three Daughters of Eve
- By: Elif Shafak
- Narrated by: Alix Dunmore
- Length: 10 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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Set across Istanbul and Oxford, from the 1980s to the present day, Three Daughters of Eve is a sweeping tale of faith and friendship, tradition and modernity, love and an unexpected betrayal. Peri, a wealthy Turkish housewife and mother, is on her way to a dinner party at a seaside mansion in Istanbul when a beggar snatches her handbag. As she wrestles to get it back, a photograph falls to the ground - an old polaroid of three young women and their university professor.
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Review 3 daughters of Eve
- By CA on 04-28-18
By: Elif Shafak
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Flame Tree Road
- By: Shona Patel
- Narrated by: Neil Shah
- Length: 10 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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India, 1870s. In a tiny village where society is ruled by a caste system and women are defined solely by marriage, young Biren Roy dreams of forging a new destiny. When his mother suffers the fate of widowhood - shunned by her loved ones and forced to live in solitary penance - Biren devotes his life to effecting change.
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Riveting Love Story
- By Granny on 01-15-20
By: Shona Patel
What listeners say about Buddhaland Brooklyn
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- tooonce72
- 09-20-12
Just Delightful
Any additional comments?
Just a beautiful story from beginning to end. Very peaceful and kind...even when it got smarmy. A truely interesting and lovely story that I couldn't put down.
It took a little intense listening to get into it, but very quickly I was hooked into the life and journey of this Buddist priest - imagine...
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4 people found this helpful
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- Wendy
- 06-02-15
A Hidden Gem
This was a book I did not want to end. Ever. And I almost wanted to move to Brooklyn to be part of this sangha. Almost. Other reviews have summarized the plot, so I'll skip that. This is a story of redemption (without being churchy) and acceptance, deep acceptance. It's about being transplanted in a different culture and the expectation that the culture will adapt. We've all been there. It's about internal change, It's about seeing the world around us and working to find harmony. Richard Morais is relatively new on the literature scene, and I was halfway thru BB before I realized he had also penned "The Hundred Foot Journey" which I also loved. I hope this book is adapted for the screen in the same sensitive manner. Morais captures the nuances of his characters and brings deep inner experiences to the reader's eye.
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1 person found this helpful
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- connie
- 07-25-12
engaging listen
This is a feel good listen with dharma (though the Buddhist sect depicted is fictional). The novel is unique and not at all saccharine, though it fits in the "happily ever after without angst" category. It's such an easy read, yet this novel has substance and poetry! I'm tempted to call it Paulo Coelo light, but I don't mean that as negative.
The publisher's label of "fairy tale" and "fable" may mislead fantasy fans. While it can be heard as a fable about finding oneself, it's a storyline/fictional memoir from everyday life with little of the fantastic except a belief in a spiritual world - one that is shared by many faiths.
I listen to a lot of novels, and this one landed just as I needed something fresh - It really gave my spirit a lift. I've listened to many Christian and Buddhist books about becoming less judgemental-- this novel worked better than nonfiction at getting me there. I haven't enjoyed a listen so much since many, many books ago.
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13 people found this helpful
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- Kathi
- 03-08-13
A beautiful story of transformation
Where does Buddhaland Brooklyn rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?
It was not my favorite, but I would place it on the list of those that are worthy of remembering and recommending to others.
What was one of the most memorable moments of Buddhaland Brooklyn?
The moments of transformation toward the end, when Seido Oda has a deep recognition of how his own attitude has been his greatest enemy--that it has kept him from finding the connections with other people he has been wishing for. He has tried to accomplish this through his intelligence and his standing as the temple priest, and has to discover that those qualities--while they often bring respect, usually do not--alone--bring closeness.
What does Feodor Chin bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
I think he is a very sensitive reader--did all the parts very well.
If you could take any character from Buddhaland Brooklyn out to dinner, who would it be and why?
Perhaps Michael or "Miss Jennifer" (two people who ultimately were key in helping Oda shift to a more comfortable, related human stance). Each of them had been hurt by events in life (as Oda had, himself) and they had their own ways of retreating from certain life connectedness (one more than the other)--but they allowed themselves to be more overtly vulnerable than Oda. He had allowed the role of Buddhist priest to shelter him from having to face his own grief--finding comforts in it (at least in Japan) through the solitary but secure life, his poetry and painting, and his prayers and ordered lifestyle.
Any additional comments?
I feel there are parallel stories played out here-- Oda, who has experienced deep grief as a child and found solace only in the semi-isolation of the priesthood, discovers westerners who have also suffered in various ways. Though at first he holds himself above and apart from them--thinking himself different--he eventually discovers that they share a lot in common, and he becomes freer to express long-repressed aspects of himself.
Although the theme of this book is about Buddhism, it was not (in my opinion) his Buddhist faith, or his being Japanese (exactly) that touched me (even though they surely both speak of ways of being that are considered less open and forward than the American culture), so much as the universal theme of managing grief and hurt.
The cultural differences dictated the way everyone understood their situations, but Oda's pride, his withholding of himself, was more than simply culture (because even other Buddhist priests commented on it to him). It was, it seemed to me, a stance he had adopted as the best way of handling feelings he could not otherwise have processed at the time--in the situation he was in. And his culture provided an avenue for that. (I'd like to say more--but fear it would turn into a spoiler).
He was seeking enlightenment--the Buddhist term he understood and fits the story, but I think that there are other terms that also would touch on the same thing--such as wholeness, transformation, acceptance, being genuine. And that is the way that East and West come together in this book. We all have the potential to find parts of self that are pushed far back--and at times, it is only extreme circumstances that provides the opportunity to do so.
The quest to find, acknowledge and heal the hurt parts of ourselves are not isolated to one culture--regardless of how we may name them differently. Oda had to find a way to claim parts of himself that he could not at first imagine. But only in doing so was he able to truly recognize himself as fully human--one who could relate in a genuine way to people around him.
This is a lovely book--one that has beautiful descriptions of Oda's early life in Japan. It also has some very good observations about the discomfort people feel in meeting others who have different styles of being in the world. Watching the ways they all came to learn and grow from mutual observations and interactions made this a very endearing story.
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2 people found this helpful
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- kcvas
- 01-10-17
Great read
A must read for the learning bhuddist. also a great work of fiction that keeps your interest.
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- Angela Rhodes
- 10-06-12
A Grouchy, Unlikeable Main Character
Was Buddhaland Brooklyn worth the listening time?
Buddhaland Brooklyn is an easy book to listen to. The writing is clean and simple, the plot moves along at a reasonable pace. My main complaint about this book is that I really didn't like the main character very much. He came off as a real snob. Perhaps Morais tried a little too hard to state cultural differences between a traditional Japanese Buddhist and the typical American Buddhist. The result was a grouchy, unlikeable character who no one would want to study Buddhism under. Then throw in a sex scene and it just gets creepy. I didn't get a whole lot out of this book, but I did listen all the way to the end. That's the best I can say for this one.
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3 people found this helpful