andreaprinzi 's review for:

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry Into Values by Robert M. Pirsig

5.0

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I will need to think on this book for a while to really grasp all of the layers, but it's one of those that I think about consistently after I put it down. It was not an easy read, but as Pirsig describes it, it is a "culture-bearer." Throughout the book, I found myself feeling empathetic, engaged, bored, interested, frustrated, sad, and happy (sometimes all at once). I like books that do this to me. I often found myself sad for Pirsig, sad for his life and the things that happened to him, but mildly envious of his ability to find depth in concepts most people don't consider for any significant length of time. I especially liked the afterward and Q & A with Pirsig at the end -- it helped tie things together for me. One of my favorite reviews of the book summarizes things nicely and says: "What Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance tells us is that we won't get to the truth about life through pursuing answers through the rational mind only. The narrator hungered for a rational explanation for everything, but in the end found that both science and philosophy are just maps of the truth. But in love of another person, or in the experience of nature or in a feeling of closeness to God, we can access truths that can't be broken down. The book makes you think about the technological culture we live in and where we can find room in it for 'quality' and things of the spirit. It shows how a life drained of gumption is not really a life."