Richard C. Morais

The Hundred-foot Journey is the story of Hassan Haji, a boy from Mumbai who embarks, along with his boisterous family, on a picaresque journey first to London and then across Europe, before they ultimately open a restaurant opposite a famous chef, Madame Mallory, in the remote French village of Lumiere. A culinary war ensues, pitting Hassan's Mumbai-toughened father against the imperious Michelin-starred cordon bleu, until Madame Mallory realizes that Hassan is a cook with natural talents far superior to her own. Full of eccentric characters, hilarious cultural mishaps, vivid settings and delicious meals described in rich, sensuous detail, Hassan's charming account lays bare the inner workings of the elite world of French haute cuisine, and provides a life-affirming and poignant coming-of-age tale.

Soon to be a major motion picture starring Helen Mirren and Om Puri, directed by Lasse Hallstrom, and produced by Oprah Winfrey, Steven Spielberg, Juliet Blake, DreamWorks Studios, and Participant Media. The Hundred-foot Journey is the story of Hassan Haji, a boy from Mumbai who embarks, along with his boisterous family, on a picaresque journey first to London and then across Europe, before they ultimately open a restaurant opposite a famous chef, Madame Mallory, in the remote French village of Lumiere. A culinary war ensues, pitting Hassan's Mumbai-toughened father against the imperious Michelin-starred cordon bleu, until Madame Mallory realizes that Hassan is a cook with natural talents far superior to her own. Full of eccentric characters, hilarious cultural mishaps, vivid settings and delicious meals described in rich, sensuous detail, Hassan's charming account lays bare the inner workings of the elite world of French haute cuisine, and provides a life-affirming and poignant coming-of-age tale.

The life of a man is like a ball in the river no matter what our will wants or desires, we are swept along by an invisible current that finally delivers us to the limitless expanse of the black sea.So reflects the elderly Buddhist priest Seido Oda as he considers the life that brought him from an idyllic mountainside village in Japan to the bustling streets of Brooklyn, New York a touching and humorous journey richly depicted in Buddhaland Brooklyn.Odas boyhood is spent fishing in clear mountain streams, picking plums, and helping his parents run the familys 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 prayerand 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.New York is a shock to the introverted Oda. A shy, socially inept Japanese priest who hides his true feelings behind a severe manner, Reverend Oda must spiritually lead the ragtag army of eccentric New Yorkers who make up the local Buddhist community. This motley crew and their misguided practices provide for a host of hilarious cultural misunderstandings and mishaps. But when tragedy strikes, Odas rigid worldview is shattered and his eyes are finally opened to the long-buried sadness and personal shortcomings in his own life. It is only when he comes to appreciate the Americans, flaws and all, that Oda finds in Brooklyn the home he has always sought.A lively, vivid novel, Buddhaland Brooklyn stirs from the very first page. This is an entertaining and edifying meditation on the meaning and rewards of true acceptance.

A vivid portrait of faith lost and found through the eyes of a Japanese Buddhist monk in America (Shelf Awareness) as he makes his way from an isolated monastery in Japan to the bustling streets of Brooklyn, New York.Seido Oda spent his boyhood in a small mountainside village in rural Japan. When his parents hand him over to the monks at the nearby Buddhist monastery, he devotes himself to painting, poetry, and prayerand avoiding human contact. But his quiet life is unexpectedly upended when he is ordered by his superior to open a temple in Brooklyn. New York is a shock to the introverted Oda, who now must lead a ragtag army of eccentrics who make up the local Buddhist community. After tragedy strikes, Oda finally realizes his own long-buried sadness and spiritual shortcomings. It is only with newly opened eyes that Oda comes to find in Brooklyn the home he has always sought.

Slumdog Millionaire meets Ratatouille (The New York Times Book Review) in this foodie novel set in Europe thats delicious fairytale-like read (NPR) about family, nationality, and the mysteries of good taste.Born above his grandfathers 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 pushes the family out of India, they console themselves by eating their way around the world, eventually settling in Lumiere, a small village in the French Alps.The boisterous Haji family takes Lumiere by storm. They open an inexpensive Indian restaurant opposite an esteemed French relaisthat of the famous chef Madame Malloryand infuse the sleepy town with the spices of India, transforming the lives of its eccentric villagers and infuriating their celebrated neighbor. Only after Madame Mallory wages culinary war with the immigrant family, does she finally agree to mentor young Hassan, leading him to Paris, the launch of his own restaurant, and a slew of new adventures.The Hundred-Foot Journey is about how the hundred-foot distance between a new Indian kitchen and a traditional French one can represent the gulf between different cultures and desires. A testament to the inevitability of destiny, this is a fable for the agescharming, endearing, and compulsively readable.

Hassan Haji nació en el piso de arriba del restaurante de su abuelo en Bombay, entre el aroma a curri y el sabor de las especias. Pero la tragedia empuja a su familia al exilio, y en su picaresco periplo Hassan y los suyos se instalan en un pueblo de los Alpes franceses, donde la celebre chef madame Mallory regenta el sofisticado Le Saule Pleureur. A solo diez metros, los Haji montan un pequeño local de cocina hindu, cuyos intensos olores y estridente musica revolucionan a los vecinos. Tras una serie de hilarantes contratiempos culturales, la gran chef francesa descubre, para su gran horror, que Hassan, el jovencito del otro lado de la calle, es un cocinero con un talento innato muy superior al suyo. De ese modo se desencadena una guerra culinaria llena de giros inesperados que enfrentara al padre de Hassan, un hombre curtido en las calles de Bombay, con la imperiosa madame Mallory, en una batalla campal que acabara por desvelar al joven Hassan su autentico destino en la vida. Un viaje de diez metros es una novela de alcance universal, un suculento manjar capaz de satisfacer los gustos mas variados: ha sido incluido en la seleccion de los mejores libros por los libreros independientes en The Indie Next List, y por medios como el New York Times Book Review, la National Public Radio o The Oprah Magazine. Ha sido traducido a veintiuna lenguas y la productora DreamWorks ya prepara la version cinematografica.

Hassan Haji nació en el piso de arriba del restaurante de su abuelo en Bombay, entre el aroma a curri y el sabor de las especias. Pero la tragedia empuja a su familia al exilio, y en su picaresco periplo Hassan y los suyos se instalan en un pueblo de los Alpes franceses, donde la celebre chef madame Mallory regenta el sofisticado Le Saule Pleureur. A solo diez metros, los Haji montan un pequeño local de cocina hindº, cuyos intensos olores y estridente mºsica revolucionan a los vecinos. Tras una serie de hilarantes contratiempos culturales, la gran chef francesa descubre, para su gran horror, que Hassan, el jovencito del otro lado de la calle, es un cocinero con un talento innato muy superior al suyo. De ese modo se desencadena una guerra culinaria llena de giros inesperados que enfrentara al padre de Hassan, un hombre curtido en las calles de Bombay, con la imperiosa madame Mallory, en una batalla campal que acabara por desvelar al joven Hassan su autentico destino en la vida. Un viaje de diez metros es una novela de alcance universal, un suculento manjar capaz de satisfacer los gustos mas variados: ha sido incluido en la seleccion de los mejores libros por Amazon y por los libreros independientes en The Indie Next List, y por medios como el New York Times Book Review, la Nat