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1.58k reviews for:
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry Into Values
Robert M. Pirsig
3.53 AVERAGE
1.58k reviews for:
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry Into Values
Robert M. Pirsig
3.53 AVERAGE
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
I’ve abandoned this book at 37% competed but did read the last chapter. Glad he got to end his road trip being nice and a little more understanding toward his son. Imagine how boring this trip was for him! I was so bored and annoyed and I didn’t have to stare into this faux intellectual’s back for 100s of miles.
Too long and philosophical for me. Loved the descriptions of maintaining motorcycles and the importance of understanding how to do things yourself
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