Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.52 AVERAGE
3.52 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle maintenance is a very difficult book to review. It consists of so many different plots, themes, ideas and arguments that reviewing it as a whole would be impossible without separating it into its component parts. However, since doing so sort of undermines the entire philosophical core of the novel I'm not going to do that either. However I don't think I could live with myself if I didn't somehow put my thoughts onto paper, so rather than comprehensively reviewing each aspect of the book, I'm going to list in no particular order some of the main observations I came away with:
- while I don't agree with everything the author proposes about life, I really like the main idea of trying to connect with everything you do personally
- the section at the end about how Greek philosophy changed the idea of philosophy as a whole from being about how things are connected to how things are separated is really interesting, and explains a lot about how inhuman the modern world can feel.
- I loved how the author proves his earlier self wrong throughout the book, including the behavior of his character as the novel progresses
- I loved how the novel was structured, demonstrating the strengths and weaknesses of various ideas through the rather simplistic story, and how the fact that he sometimes strays too far away from the plot and into abstract philosophy, which ar first I felt was a fault of the novel, is later addressed as a fault of his character in the end of the book.
- I found the whole idea of phaedrus, his past personality who drove himself insane in the pursuit of enlightenment, and how he shut away that part of his personality out of fear fascinating. Especially since in the end he realizes that separating his personality from this family and the outside world is harmful and goes against what he preaches throughout the book, and allows himself to reconnect with his family once again, having learned from his mistakes.
- the afterword about how the author wrote the novel and what happened to him later in life adds a lot of context and I honestly feel the book is incomplete without it.
Overall very important read for anyone who likes thinking about things, will likely save you a lot of hassle. I'd like to end the review with two passages, which in no way summarizes the book but which I can't really get out of my head:
1. "Phaedrus remembered a line from Thoreau: 'You never gain something but that you lose something'. And now he began to see for the first time the unbelievable magnitude of what man, when he gained power to understand and rule the world in terms of dialectic truths, had lost. He had built empires of scientific capability to manipulate the phenomena of nature into enormous manifestations of his own dreams and power and wealth - but for this he had exchanged an empire of understanding of equal magnitude: an understanding of what it is to be part of the world, and not an enemy of it."
2. "It's the sides of the mountain which sustain life, not the top. Here's where things grow."
- while I don't agree with everything the author proposes about life, I really like the main idea of trying to connect with everything you do personally
- the section at the end about how Greek philosophy changed the idea of philosophy as a whole from being about how things are connected to how things are separated is really interesting, and explains a lot about how inhuman the modern world can feel.
- I loved how the author proves his earlier self wrong throughout the book, including the behavior of his character as the novel progresses
- I loved how the novel was structured, demonstrating the strengths and weaknesses of various ideas through the rather simplistic story, and how the fact that he sometimes strays too far away from the plot and into abstract philosophy, which ar first I felt was a fault of the novel, is later addressed as a fault of his character in the end of the book.
- I found the whole idea of phaedrus, his past personality who drove himself insane in the pursuit of enlightenment, and how he shut away that part of his personality out of fear fascinating. Especially since in the end he realizes that separating his personality from this family and the outside world is harmful and goes against what he preaches throughout the book, and allows himself to reconnect with his family once again, having learned from his mistakes.
- the afterword about how the author wrote the novel and what happened to him later in life adds a lot of context and I honestly feel the book is incomplete without it.
Overall very important read for anyone who likes thinking about things, will likely save you a lot of hassle. I'd like to end the review with two passages, which in no way summarizes the book but which I can't really get out of my head:
1. "Phaedrus remembered a line from Thoreau: 'You never gain something but that you lose something'. And now he began to see for the first time the unbelievable magnitude of what man, when he gained power to understand and rule the world in terms of dialectic truths, had lost. He had built empires of scientific capability to manipulate the phenomena of nature into enormous manifestations of his own dreams and power and wealth - but for this he had exchanged an empire of understanding of equal magnitude: an understanding of what it is to be part of the world, and not an enemy of it."
2. "It's the sides of the mountain which sustain life, not the top. Here's where things grow."
It breaks my heart to see one star reviews for this book. But, that’s meant to be, since Quality, Buddha or The One can never be expressed in words, it can only be experienced. This read is a precious experience.
Don't stop if his words are elusive and don't make sense. Pause and let his words grow on you before you move on to the next.What you need, to go on this journey(as a reader) is patience, an open mind and strength to face the shock of being introduced to a new concept. Let it in and it is yours forever. Give up on it and it will wait for you to come back to it but, will never become irrelevant.
****SPOILER ALERT****
Have you ever experienced happiness that makes you calm and at peace with yourself?An experience most of us have when we listen to music we love, watch movies or look at art that inspires. Have you lost yourself performing one task, absent to the world, focused on what is in front of you? It is an experience we cannot express in words. A herculean task, but the author takes them on and creates this fantastic book.
QUALITY=BUDDHA=THE ONE
He seeks to understand these three concepts and attempts to express them using tools of reason, and soon comes to realize that these terms cannot be expressed in words. Quality, Buddha and The One need to be experienced. Meaning of these concepts is in the story as a whole. What you need, to go on this journey(as a reader) is patience, an open mind and strength to face the shock of being introduced to a new concept. In my opinion this book is a piece of art. Fantastically structured to come together beautifully.Robert.M.Pirsig refers to Chinese Tao Te Ching, Zen Buddhism, Greek Philosophers, and Vedanta to find answers for his existential questions. Vedantic 'tat tvam asi', and other similar concepts from Buddhism(Zen),Chinese,Japanese(mu) and Greek philosophies(One Truth) make the core of his narration.Since my understanding of philosophy comes from Vedanta alone. I am going to talk about this book from a Vedantic perspective.
The author defines Vedantic “ tat tvam asi “ as : ‘That which you think you are and that which you think you perceive is undivided.’ A term that needs contemplation. Which is the central theme of this book. The author invites us to witness his contemplation or chautauqua as he likes to call it. This book has three main characters Phaedrus, author’s son Chris and the Author himself. As we embark on this journey with them,Robert tries to explain to us the meaning of Quality=Buddha=The One. His ability to describe these concepts, in this story as a whole and not in a single sentence, paragraph or chapter is commendable. If you persist in reading this book you will come to realize that the essence of Quality=Buddha=The One, lies in the journey of these three main characters(Phaedrus, Chris and Robert) which eventually merge together to become one at the end. True to the Vedantic term ‘tat tvam asi’.
If there is anything that is threatened in today's world it is Quality. Examples for a world without Quality in 21st century are North Korea and the Trump Administration to name a few. A quality-less world is what we could be heading towards if we do not pay attention to it. Importance of which Robert. M. Pirsig does not fail to stress in his book.
It breaks my heart to see one star reviews for this book. But, that’s meant to be, since Quality, Buddha or The One can never be expressed in words, it can only be experienced. This read is a precious experience. Let it in and it is yours forever. Give up on it and it will wait for you to come back to it but will never become irrelevant.
Don't stop if his words are elusive and don't make sense. Pause and let his words grow on you before you move on to the next.What you need, to go on this journey(as a reader) is patience, an open mind and strength to face the shock of being introduced to a new concept. Let it in and it is yours forever. Give up on it and it will wait for you to come back to it but, will never become irrelevant.
****SPOILER ALERT****
Have you ever experienced happiness that makes you calm and at peace with yourself?An experience most of us have when we listen to music we love, watch movies or look at art that inspires. Have you lost yourself performing one task, absent to the world, focused on what is in front of you? It is an experience we cannot express in words. A herculean task, but the author takes them on and creates this fantastic book.
QUALITY=BUDDHA=THE ONE
He seeks to understand these three concepts and attempts to express them using tools of reason, and soon comes to realize that these terms cannot be expressed in words. Quality, Buddha and The One need to be experienced. Meaning of these concepts is in the story as a whole. What you need, to go on this journey(as a reader) is patience, an open mind and strength to face the shock of being introduced to a new concept. In my opinion this book is a piece of art. Fantastically structured to come together beautifully.Robert.M.Pirsig refers to Chinese Tao Te Ching, Zen Buddhism, Greek Philosophers, and Vedanta to find answers for his existential questions. Vedantic 'tat tvam asi', and other similar concepts from Buddhism(Zen),Chinese,Japanese(mu) and Greek philosophies(One Truth) make the core of his narration.Since my understanding of philosophy comes from Vedanta alone. I am going to talk about this book from a Vedantic perspective.
The author defines Vedantic “ tat tvam asi “ as : ‘That which you think you are and that which you think you perceive is undivided.’ A term that needs contemplation. Which is the central theme of this book. The author invites us to witness his contemplation or chautauqua as he likes to call it. This book has three main characters Phaedrus, author’s son Chris and the Author himself. As we embark on this journey with them,Robert tries to explain to us the meaning of Quality=Buddha=The One. His ability to describe these concepts, in this story as a whole and not in a single sentence, paragraph or chapter is commendable. If you persist in reading this book you will come to realize that the essence of Quality=Buddha=The One, lies in the journey of these three main characters(Phaedrus, Chris and Robert) which eventually merge together to become one at the end. True to the Vedantic term ‘tat tvam asi’.
If there is anything that is threatened in today's world it is Quality. Examples for a world without Quality in 21st century are North Korea and the Trump Administration to name a few. A quality-less world is what we could be heading towards if we do not pay attention to it. Importance of which Robert. M. Pirsig does not fail to stress in his book.
It breaks my heart to see one star reviews for this book. But, that’s meant to be, since Quality, Buddha or The One can never be expressed in words, it can only be experienced. This read is a precious experience. Let it in and it is yours forever. Give up on it and it will wait for you to come back to it but will never become irrelevant.
This has taken a long time, but now i’ve cracked reading again, it’s done. i think there will be a reread. The last 100 pages were variously moving and insightful.
At its heart, this is a travel book; a trip taken from Minnesota to Northern California over 17 days with his son and two other friends John and Sylvia Sutherland who go their own way in Montana. During the trip, Pirsig considers many philosophical questions including musings on the quality of machines and science philosophy. Pirsig uses this outlook to diagnose running problems on his bike, whereas John has to reply un-professionals to fix his when there are problems.
I will admit that the travelling was my favourite part of the book, the rest of it washed over me like a wave. Couldn’t understand the focus on ‘quality’, though as an engineer I understand the reason for using the right tool for the right job. Not one I will be returning to.
I will admit that the travelling was my favourite part of the book, the rest of it washed over me like a wave. Couldn’t understand the focus on ‘quality’, though as an engineer I understand the reason for using the right tool for the right job. Not one I will be returning to.
Finished this on the plane ride home last night! I think it's a book I'll need to re-read, as there is a lot to digest. It felt like Sophie's World (Jostein Gaarder) meets Illusions: Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah (Richard Bach).
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Gave up at the start of part II. Liked some of the philosophical parts in the beginning, but after a while the narrator is going on a bit. Liked some of the travel parts, was extremely bored with the yabbing about motorcycle maintenance. Might have been more interested if I had read this 20 yrs ago. But I didn't. So there you go. A giver upper.
challenging
dark
mysterious
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:
Complicated
reflective
sad
slow-paced