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3.52 AVERAGE
3.52 AVERAGE
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Most certainly not a good introduction book into philosophy ! It’s quite a tragedy that it was written in such a performative manner.
challenging
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I have to be honest. I only made it half way before it became too aggravating to keep reading. This is exactly the sort of smarmy philosophy that philosophers often get faulted for. It's a critique of Western science and education by someone who doesn't have solid grasp of either.
The only saving grace of the book is the insightful description of the personalities of the main characters and their relationship, all set against a beautiful backdrop of the epic roadtrip.
Too bad that even this aspect of the book is perverted, as every other human in the story is turned into little more than a mouth-breathing audience, awed and stilled by the least stir of the author's self-aggrandizing philosophizing.
This could have been a really, really good book.
If you are interested in philosophy of intelligence and how paradoxes fit into it, read Godel, Escher, Bach instead.
The only saving grace of the book is the insightful description of the personalities of the main characters and their relationship, all set against a beautiful backdrop of the epic roadtrip.
Too bad that even this aspect of the book is perverted, as every other human in the story is turned into little more than a mouth-breathing audience, awed and stilled by the least stir of the author's self-aggrandizing philosophizing.
This could have been a really, really good book.
If you are interested in philosophy of intelligence and how paradoxes fit into it, read Godel, Escher, Bach instead.
Ok so I'm going to be honest, I had definitely conflated Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance with The Motorcycle Diaries prior to reading this, so I came into it expecting something much different than it was. Still, I realized my error fairly quickly, so I don't think that jaded my expectations or subsequent review very much. This book was rough. There were glimmers of wonderful prose throughout, but the rest? I just didn't "get it". I'd love to be more enlightened and to have this be a lifechanging read like I know it has been for so many, but it just wasn't. It took me an embarrassingly long time to figure out that Phaedrus was really Pirsig, I felt really critical of him as a parent, and I had to reread so many passages to truly understand what the hell he was talking about. But I will say, when he was talking about the Sutherlands and technology, and at the end when he was talking about how to apply the ideas behind quality to everyday living, I grasped that and enjoyed it and, frankly, understood it.
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
challenging
dark
informative
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Philosophical texts are always a bit more difficult for me to end up enjoying unless I have someone to discuss the concepts/ storyline with. I can see what someone is to take away from this book and what you can learn from it. And it’s a very important message, it’s just very dry and the dad is a tad bit bitter. I’ll rate a 3.5 for the meaning/ message of the book 😅
This book took me over four years to get through, having picked it up on three different occasions. The framing narrative is ridiculous. A cross-country road-trip interspersed with the authors love for gumption, his belief in “quality” as a philosophical ideal, and his memories of going insane some years ago. I can see why so many publishers rejected it - it’s rarely entertaining, has the intellectual depth of a high school student, and I don’t care about any of the characters. I finished reading it because I hate starting a book and never finishing. I’m not sure if that means I have gumption, but I think it makes me an idiot. I cannot understand how this became a best-seller.
This is the most egotistical, self-important middle-class white man wank I've ever read. Straight garbage.
Wildly boring.
The title is completely erroneous. There are like two mentions of zen in this book and honestly not that much motorcycle maintenance either. If I could rename it, I'd call it How to Have a Terrible Roadtrip and be an Even Worse Father. Or Ramblings on Quality and Scarring Your Kid for Life.
The philosophical ideas are worthless. The irony of writing so heavily about Quality in one of the lowest quality books I've ever read. The writing itself was actually pretty okay and the author can tell a good story but the content itself was a complete waste of time.
And to write an entire book without ever researching the main character's name and getting the definition wrong! God, the absolutely unearned overconfidence of white men is astounding.
I hated this book. I don't know why anyone has ever wasted their time on it and why it still exists today. It's utterly worthless. So much misogynistic drivel and self-obsessed rambling. Awful.
Wildly boring.
The title is completely erroneous. There are like two mentions of zen in this book and honestly not that much motorcycle maintenance either. If I could rename it, I'd call it How to Have a Terrible Roadtrip and be an Even Worse Father. Or Ramblings on Quality and Scarring Your Kid for Life.
The philosophical ideas are worthless. The irony of writing so heavily about Quality in one of the lowest quality books I've ever read. The writing itself was actually pretty okay and the author can tell a good story but the content itself was a complete waste of time.
And to write an entire book without ever researching the main character's name and getting the definition wrong! God, the absolutely unearned overconfidence of white men is astounding.
I hated this book. I don't know why anyone has ever wasted their time on it and why it still exists today. It's utterly worthless. So much misogynistic drivel and self-obsessed rambling. Awful.