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3.53 AVERAGE
3.53 AVERAGE
Not sure I get the point of this book (I might have missed something).
It seems to navigate between a story of a father and a son, and some philosophical inquiries. The story line feels incomplete and anticlimactic while the philosophical passages are rather empty or incomplete. It seems the author was trying to be creative on the writing style (a bit of the roadtrip story, a bit of philosophical inquiries), while attempting to tackle philosophical problems in a rather over-simplistic manner.
I'm also not sure the point of spending half the book on the indagation of "quality", with so little substance in such pursuit (a lot of rhetoric or anecdotes).
To top it all, the tone of the book at the end, as if Phaedrus was a genius that finally understood what other philosophers couldn't, is at least presumptuous, and at most ridiculous.
Would not recommend.
It seems to navigate between a story of a father and a son, and some philosophical inquiries. The story line feels incomplete and anticlimactic while the philosophical passages are rather empty or incomplete. It seems the author was trying to be creative on the writing style (a bit of the roadtrip story, a bit of philosophical inquiries), while attempting to tackle philosophical problems in a rather over-simplistic manner.
I'm also not sure the point of spending half the book on the indagation of "quality", with so little substance in such pursuit (a lot of rhetoric or anecdotes).
To top it all, the tone of the book at the end, as if Phaedrus was a genius that finally understood what other philosophers couldn't, is at least presumptuous, and at most ridiculous.
Would not recommend.
This is the second time i tried reading this book, the first as an audio read was a disaster, you really need to dig deep in this book to get a lot out of it. That said with a minimal philosophy base there is a lot more i am sure i could have gleaned from this book if i was half as smart as the author or had a more advanced philosophical framework to work with. The afterword is probably the best part of the book because it does so much to wrap up what the author was attempting to put across with the more non-fiction portions of the book. Certainly a great read if you take the time it needs. Looking forward to reading the sequel now.
Wow. I really struggled with this book. I only finished because it’s been a goal now for four years to read this thing. I’ve started and lost interest, then had to re-start because I forgot the beginning multiple times. Certain parts are interesting. In retrospect, I enjoyed the beginning the most…
This book was tough to read as it’s one giant monologue about one character’s musings on his life, on his theory, etc. It is very long-winded. I really was excited to dive into philosophy but walked away bored and without any profound learnings.
That said, I took away a few messages about his perspective on quality. I didn’t need to spend that much time reading this book to get there though.
I would not recommend.
This book was tough to read as it’s one giant monologue about one character’s musings on his life, on his theory, etc. It is very long-winded. I really was excited to dive into philosophy but walked away bored and without any profound learnings.
That said, I took away a few messages about his perspective on quality. I didn’t need to spend that much time reading this book to get there though.
I would not recommend.
challenging
informative
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
One of the best books ever written
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I appreciated the book for both its form and its underlying form :) It played with dualistic reasoning well, even in how the narrative was split to present the philosophy. It was dense at times but worthwhile working through. A "quality" book, nonetheless, and one I think managed to teach me something even though I didn't feel all that susceptible to learning at the time.
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
I really wanted to read this. I really wanted to like it. I had friends with good taste recommend it. But I couldn't stand it. It bored me to tears. I tried to read it 3 separate times in my life and I still couldn't finish or get anything out of it. Ugh.
Creo que este es uno de esos libros que la gente odia o ama, sin muchos puntos intermedios. Dicho esto, evidentemente mis 4 estrellas contradicen esa afirmación.
Durante muchos periodos de su lectura sentí que la posible calificación de este libro se movía de 3 a 4 y de 4 a 3, dependiendo de qué tan interesado estaba en la historia o en la filosofía que incluye. Uno cree que entiende por dónde van a ir las balas en el final del libro pero la verdad es que la forma en que cierra es la mejor parte. La historia no es la más interesante y cuenta relativamente pocos eventos interesantes más allá de un road trip repetitivo, pero logra hacerlo sin ser aburrido y eso es bastante. Por otro lado, quienes no estamos acostumbrados a leer mucha filosofía podemos ser que por momentos sus observaciones se vuelven densas, pero en general tampoco me parecen imposibles de apreciar.
Durante muchos periodos de su lectura sentí que la posible calificación de este libro se movía de 3 a 4 y de 4 a 3, dependiendo de qué tan interesado estaba en la historia o en la filosofía que incluye. Uno cree que entiende por dónde van a ir las balas en el final del libro pero la verdad es que la forma en que cierra es la mejor parte. La historia no es la más interesante y cuenta relativamente pocos eventos interesantes más allá de un road trip repetitivo, pero logra hacerlo sin ser aburrido y eso es bastante. Por otro lado, quienes no estamos acostumbrados a leer mucha filosofía podemos ser que por momentos sus observaciones se vuelven densas, pero en general tampoco me parecen imposibles de apreciar.
This is a book that tricks people into reading about philosophy by wrapping it up in a novel about a cross country road trip and a psychological breakdown. You won't get through it if you're not interested in reading some kind of heavy musings about the nature of objectivity and subjectivity, because the story regularly stops to go on long detours on this kind of thing. But if you are the kind of person who is kind of interested in that stuff, but doesn't really want to admit it, it's a nice technique. And I guess that's the kind of person I am.
It's not just about philosophy. The plot itself is actually really good. One of those books where the climax is a real payoff right until the last page. I wanted to think it was cheesy, but I actually thought it worked.
After I finished it I was so inspired by the idea that maintenance of mechanical devices was a path towards enlightenment that I decided to take apart my hair clippers and give them a thorough tune-up and cleaning. Unfortunately, unlike the main character in the novel, I was not At One with my technology. I got the clippers back together, but they no longer worked. After several days of tinkering I caved and bought a new set. They work great!
It's not just about philosophy. The plot itself is actually really good. One of those books where the climax is a real payoff right until the last page. I wanted to think it was cheesy, but I actually thought it worked.
After I finished it I was so inspired by the idea that maintenance of mechanical devices was a path towards enlightenment that I decided to take apart my hair clippers and give them a thorough tune-up and cleaning. Unfortunately, unlike the main character in the novel, I was not At One with my technology. I got the clippers back together, but they no longer worked. After several days of tinkering I caved and bought a new set. They work great!