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3.53 AVERAGE
3.53 AVERAGE
Neo hippie nonsense. In other words, the stuff you feed to high school students to feel better about choosing an arts major. Perfect for the tumblr generation.
I was recommended this book and it's terrible. Like really bad. I only made it 70% through. During the first two minutes, I had to pause and check that I was reading the right book.
It reads like a horror novel; the narrator is unhinged and I kept expecting him to just absolutely slaughter everyone around him. I get the vibe that the reader is supposed to be wow'ed by the half- assed philosophical thoughts, but it came off as the ramblings of a middle aged man who has a psychotic break.
It reads like a horror novel; the narrator is unhinged and I kept expecting him to just absolutely slaughter everyone around him. I get the vibe that the reader is supposed to be wow'ed by the half- assed philosophical thoughts, but it came off as the ramblings of a middle aged man who has a psychotic break.
DNF
There were some pretty things in this book, but I just couldn't stand the way the narrator treats his son. I walked my dog in silence instead of listening to this book.
There were some pretty things in this book, but I just couldn't stand the way the narrator treats his son. I walked my dog in silence instead of listening to this book.
I think the two stars comes more form me having the wrong mindset for the book, than anything wrong with the book itself. I was expecting Sophie's world, but I got a completely new philosophy.
"What’s new?" is an interesting and broadening eternal question, but one which, if pursued exclusively, results only in an endless parade of trivia and fashion, the silt of tomorrow. I would like, instead, to be concerned with the question, "What is best?," a question which cuts deeply rather than broadly, a question whose answers tend to move the silt downstream.
I don't give a damn about motorcycles, but I do care about learning how to live. "If only I could analyze all the angles and really master my life!" part of me cries. "But it's got to be lived, in the end," another part replies. You can't master it before living it.
Tension. What I want and what I have are not the same. Where to find a happy balance? How to do this thing we call Life right?
"We're living in topsy-turvy times and I think that what causes the topsy-turvy feeling is inadequacy of old forms of thought to deal with new experiences."
The idea that living strictly rationally, according solely to the dictates of Reason, leads to a dead-end is appealing and Prisig's system of thought, which he calls the Metaphysics of Quality and which doubles as both a conception of reality and a values system, offers an antidote to consumer burnout and the inadequacies of a developed world. You need Reason and rational thinking to operate, but you don't want to lose sight of the Romantic frame of mind. He presents his arguments so methodically (and so rationally) that it becomes a lulling sort of mantra, almost. The point is not to examine motorcycling, of course. That's only a convenient means of illustration. The point is to examine character, and how it's expressed through our actions or manifested in our lives. Substitute motorcycles for whatever subculture you like and the lessons might be the same. These ideas are old, but Pirsig shares them here with a commanding earnestness that makes them seem alive again. He is quiet, thoughtful, meditative. But also dry, sometimes starkly spartan. And the book grows meandering, loses focus for long stretches at a time. Perhaps this is intended to provide illustration through example, but it's not something I appreciated.
3.5 stars. Maybe a 5 for a certain crowd, at a certain time of life. It gave me some food for thought, some interesting considerations to mull over, but in the end I don't think I can call it life-changing.
I don't give a damn about motorcycles, but I do care about learning how to live. "If only I could analyze all the angles and really master my life!" part of me cries. "But it's got to be lived, in the end," another part replies. You can't master it before living it.
Tension. What I want and what I have are not the same. Where to find a happy balance? How to do this thing we call Life right?
"We're living in topsy-turvy times and I think that what causes the topsy-turvy feeling is inadequacy of old forms of thought to deal with new experiences."
The idea that living strictly rationally, according solely to the dictates of Reason, leads to a dead-end is appealing and Prisig's system of thought, which he calls the Metaphysics of Quality and which doubles as both a conception of reality and a values system, offers an antidote to consumer burnout and the inadequacies of a developed world. You need Reason and rational thinking to operate, but you don't want to lose sight of the Romantic frame of mind. He presents his arguments so methodically (and so rationally) that it becomes a lulling sort of mantra, almost. The point is not to examine motorcycling, of course. That's only a convenient means of illustration. The point is to examine character, and how it's expressed through our actions or manifested in our lives. Substitute motorcycles for whatever subculture you like and the lessons might be the same. These ideas are old, but Pirsig shares them here with a commanding earnestness that makes them seem alive again. He is quiet, thoughtful, meditative. But also dry, sometimes starkly spartan. And the book grows meandering, loses focus for long stretches at a time. Perhaps this is intended to provide illustration through example, but it's not something I appreciated.
3.5 stars. Maybe a 5 for a certain crowd, at a certain time of life. It gave me some food for thought, some interesting considerations to mull over, but in the end I don't think I can call it life-changing.
Parts are hard to get through, parts are obscure. And I freely admit my base of study in philosophy is weak so I have few reference points for contrasting that element. But: I found it compelling, and feel like Pirsig has some astute cultural criticisms that pushed me to be more contemplative while reading. For that, and for incorporating decent character development into a philosophy book, my approval.
emotional
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
I reread this after getting my motorcycle because I figured I should go for the full biker trope.
You have motorcycling across the United States, reflections of a mad man, and an extremely in-depth look at Quality.
You have motorcycling across the United States, reflections of a mad man, and an extremely in-depth look at Quality.
3.5 stars. I was thinking four the whole way but he sort of lost me at the end (which may be partially due to just fatigue; it's a heady read). I don't know if I'd say I enjoyed this book, but it prompted me to think a lot. I definitely got value out of it. I read it for a book club and am looking forward to the discussion. Ultimately a really strong and unique book; just less appealing to me personally. My petty gripe with this book: Pirsig could be more generous with his commas. It would've saved me some time rereading sentences to figure out what the hell he was saying.