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3.53 AVERAGE
3.53 AVERAGE
This book was not at all what I expected. I feel the title did wonders for the sales and cult status of this book. It's surprisingly strange in ways I never would've expected. I didn't find Pirsig's writing to be very engaging. I struggled through a lot of it and felt it was two separate books combined into one that didn't quite correlate with each other most of the time, making it distracting constantly jumping back and forth. Reading the afterword, this makes more sense seeing the correspondence between Pirsig and his publisher who insists that Pirsig includes the story of his motorcycle trip with his son alongside Pirsig's spiritual/mental journey to his philosophical concept of Quality. In the introduction, Pirsig pleads that our narrator is not necessarily the protagonist but the antagonist... which makes it difficult when you're trying to sell a philosophical concept to people. "Listen to me about how to live your life! Just ignore that I am a total dick to my son and despite praising to live in the present moment, I am stuck inside my head throughout the entire motorcycle trip" The concepts he sells are good ones and exceedingly well-thought out... but he could've summarized it in an essay under 100 pages instead of 500+ pages! For me, "A New Earth" or "Man's Search for Meaning" aren't terribly far off from Pirsig's overall concepts and are much more enjoyable to read. Not as complex, but the same effect.
This book is absolute trash. The only cool thing about it is the title. I feel bad for the authors son, he probably has some deep rooted trauma. This is totally a book for super macho egotistical men to pick up and read to make them seem ‘worldly.’ I learned absolutely not one single thing reading this and I don’t know why he had to go on for so long about things that could have been said in one sentence. I’ve had more deeply intellectual conversations at my 3rd grade sleepovers than this mad had in this book.
informative
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
It was sheer stubbornness that made me finish this book. I found it incredibly boring. 200+ pages about the meaning of quality. I really hope they don't make high school kids read this anymore. Will kill the joy of reading. Ugh. Thank goodness it's over
I know, it's a cliche, but it changed my mind and life, and has kept changing it even though I've never re-read it.
I had high hopes for this book, but after 60 pages, I'm not going to keep reading.
I knew this book was part philosophy, part motorcycle journey, and while I don't care much about motorcycle maintenance, I was interested in the zen book. But the story line doesn't go much anywhere, and the transitions between road trip and internal dialogue with something (Is it a person? Is it a ghost?) called Phaedrus (who later turns out to be the author?) are confusing and don't seem to further the author's goal.
The road trip scenes through the Midwest offer more color to an otherwise dry reading, but the author is haughty and spends his time judging his traveling companions for their simultaneous dependence on and frustration with technology. He also is continuously mean to his 11-year-old son, who seems to constantly annoy the author for no reason other than his existence.
Maybe I'll revisit this book when I'm a little older and hopefully, wiser, because I realize a lot of people say this book has changed their lives. For now, though, I can't get into this rant, and I'm moving on.
I knew this book was part philosophy, part motorcycle journey, and while I don't care much about motorcycle maintenance, I was interested in the zen book. But the story line doesn't go much anywhere, and the transitions between road trip and internal dialogue with something (Is it a person? Is it a ghost?) called Phaedrus (who later turns out to be the author?) are confusing and don't seem to further the author's goal.
The road trip scenes through the Midwest offer more color to an otherwise dry reading, but the author is haughty and spends his time judging his traveling companions for their simultaneous dependence on and frustration with technology. He also is continuously mean to his 11-year-old son, who seems to constantly annoy the author for no reason other than his existence.
Maybe I'll revisit this book when I'm a little older and hopefully, wiser, because I realize a lot of people say this book has changed their lives. For now, though, I can't get into this rant, and I'm moving on.
dark
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
This book was creative and had an interesting approach of a person struggling with internal conflict. However, I feel like the reader needs a class in philosophy to appreciate what the author was really getting into. If you are reading this, it weighs about 2/3 into the internal narrative and 1/3 into to motorcycle trip. That would have influenced my choice to read this.
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The book is very tough to get through, especially if you're not used to how philosophical this book is. It's perspective on our world is interesting, but very challenging to grasp for an inexperienced reader.