By Robert Persig
Publisher: William Morrow & Company
I first heard about this novel when checking out some reading lists online, specifically, a reading list for men. The title intrigued me, so I did a little looking and found that it was a best seller, a landmark work, etc. etc. One of my favorite genres of books is the road novel. Endless miles on an open ride provide a great background for a novel. I am also infatuated with motorcycles. The book seemed like a perfect fit for me. I was wrong, and I think that soured my enjoyment of the book as a whole.
It wasn’t as much a novel about the road, about motorcycles, or about a father-son relationship (which I was also promised) as it was about philosophy. I should have been clued in to this when the employee at Barnes & Nobel walked past the fiction section to the philosophy section. If I had to quantify the ratios, I would say that Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance is 2 parts road novel, 1 part father-son examination, and 4 parts philosophy. Qualitatively, I would describe the book as dense. I found myself thoroughly enjoying and breezing through the road oriented passages, and yet laboring through the philosophy passages. Admittedly, much of the philosophy was over my head. I am not a slow reader, yet I found this book a tiresome read. Work, rather than pleasure. That said, I will say the road and the father-son passages were interesting, and to a large extent, entertaining.
In all, I am glad I read it. It does offer many interesting insights and anecdotes that are indeed relevant to everyday life. Also, the running narrative on the author’s “former self” Phaedrus, is quite interesting, although at times frustratingly mysterious. If you’re interested in philosophy, I recommend the book–otherwise, I recommend the book with an asterisk. If you don’t know much about philosophy, go ahead and get your feet wet, it’s not a painful read. But if you know you have an aversion to over analysis and philosophy, then I’d say look elsewhere on the bookshelf for your next read.
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