Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values (book)

Good book but you have to engage your mind to keep up with it.

I'm not suprised to see several one star reviews here on Amazon claiming this book is the most boring piece of literature ever. It's not, and whenever I hear a bad review of this book I think how they would react if they cracked Herodotus' "Histories".

This novel isn't for everyone. Most people that pick it up out of curiosity are likely to put it down. Mr. Pirsig states in the foreward that its not a spiritual guide or very helpful with motorcycle maintenance. In fact, Pirsig was denied several hundred times from various publishing companies when he tried to print his masterpiece. The title is misleading, but that's not what I'd like to talk about.

The story tells us of Pirsig, and his son Chris, and of their "Chautauqua" across the western states. Shortly after the beginning Pirsig introduces his philosophical "other" self, Phaedrus (named from one of Plato's dialogues'). Phaedrus is more conflicted and anxious than the Pirsig narrating the story. He's almost obsessed with his work; people, and what Quality really means.

As the first reviewer visible says, there are thousands of years of Philosophical thought in these few hundred pages. Most of it is Western thought (once again, "Zen" seems to mislead as a title) concerning what was probably the thoughts of the more liberal nobles in several Greek polises and Roman cities.

"What is Quality?" This question Phaedrus asks himself after having his thought provoked by a lonely secretary in the school where he teaches. That one phrase delves into a thought process that lasts most of the book's remaining pages, drawing parallel's between Pirsig & Chris and their journey across the West.

Watching the two story-arc's develop was quite a treat, and there were several pages on the system of Education that had me fascinated and mentally hungry for more. Pirsig seems to have put his entire heart into this novel, and that's one of its small problems: it is a novel. Why teach philosophy as a semi-autobiographical novel? He may have wanted more people to learn of Socrates and other great teachers (which certainly happened by looking at the strong underground fanbase this book has), or may have started the novel without it, and masked some of the books more subtle insecurities with Platonics.

It's not clear as to why it's presented the way it is. However, by the ending of the book you'll be astonished at how much you may have learned about yourself (as cliche as this sounds, it does leave you thinking - not many novels do it with this depth). And I strongly urge you to read this book in private and be wary of reviews you read. Many boast about this novel's shocking ending, and I urge you to find out why yourself.

Overall, ZAMM is a novel and more. It's the human heart, with all its inconsistencies and heartaches, laid down with hundreds of years of Western thought and psychology in a single novel. The characters feel real (I still think about Phaedrus often, years after reading it), and not one word is wasted in telling the story of these wonderful, flawed human beings. Those that give it bad reviews probably don't have the patience to sit down and enjoy a novel that requires thought and attention.

They're probably the same people who think all bikers are the same. Well, let me tell you - I know atleast one of the highest Quality.

Unfortunately, I have to agree with the previous writer here, Scott Carson, in his much more detailed review, that this book just didn't live up to its reputation. At the risk of criticizing one of the most legendary books of the metaphysically itinerant, agoraphobic, and spiritually questing 60s, I just didn't find it to be particularly deep, although it is sometimes entertaining and I did learn a few things here and there. But I'd heard about how profound the book was and about all the deep philosophy in it, but really, it doesn't even get to the level of your typical college Philosophy 1A class. As an introduction to Zen there are some occasionally interesting tidbits, but here too, the actual philosophy is pretty light.

I'm sure this book did literally affect and change the lives of millions of people who read it and thought it was great, but then, they probably weren't that well read in philosophy so it was all new. That's fine, there's value in educating the general public on matters metaphysical and on basic philosophy and also eastern philosophy and Zen. If the book did that in some people's minds, then my hat's off to Pirsig, but I personally found it to be pretty thin gruel considering the book's amazingly stellar reputation. I give the book 3 stars for its historical importance and for its being one of the most important literary icons of the period, and also for effort, but really, that's being generous.

If you want to read a better book on eastern philosophy, I would recommend you try Alan Watts's The Book: On the Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are. I never gave Watts his full due of respect back in the 60's and 70's, because at the time I saw him as a trendy popularizer perhaps cashing in on the interest of that segment of the western readership who are perennially eastern-obsessed and therefore too naive and uncritical of their philosophy. Back then, there were just too many young people, who, having rejected whatever western culture they were brought up in, simply accepted, lock, stock, and barrel, Tao, Vedanta, and/or Buddhism after having read one or two books and therefore having finally discovered "the truth."

Well, looking back, that's perhaps too harsh an assessment, and I will say that Watts's book is an extremely well-written, concise, and clear introduction to Vedantic thought that is as relevant today as it was 35 years ago. I recently picked up the book after 30 years, and found that in many ways I enjoyed it even more than I did back then.

As others have commented more completely on the usefulness and relevance of the philosophy in the book, I will just mention one thing. I really enjoyed his discussion about the fear of death. Watts points out that the way western culture deals practically and philosophically with death, isolating the individual from feeling a part of the universe as a whole on the one hand, and as basically a taboo subject, on the other, is unproductive and ultimately does nothing to resolve the issue. He points out that the denial process of sweeping it under the rug only makes it worse, and that ultimately the only solution is to just face one's fear. If death frightens you or makes you afraid, well then, be afraid. At least be honest about it, because that's the first step to realistically starting to deal with the problem.

The reality is, that no matter how certain one is of one's religion, no-one truly knows if there is an afterlife. It is possible that all these beliefs simply represent a wishful-thinking and wish-fulfillment response to a realistic fear--the fear of death. Until one admits that and confronts the issue head on, it will continue to haunt you despite your most cherished beliefs to the contrary.

This is the book that I needed for school, so it is perfect

A masterpiece in philosophy and psychology. Like Atlas Shrugged, this book could have been about half the length and made its point.