Zen & The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

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You can buy the 40th anniversary edition of 

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance........Here

The blurb...

 A philosophical odyssey into life's fundamental questions during an unforgettable summer motorcycle trip, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance transformed a generation and continues to inspire millions

One of the most influential books written in the past half-century, Robert Pirsig's Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance is a powerful examination of how we live and a breathtaking meditation on how to live better. Following a father and his young son on a summer motorcycle trip across America's Northwest, it is a story of love, fear, growth, discovery and acceptance. Both personal and philosophical, it is a compelling study of relationships, values, and eventually, enlightenment – resonant with the confusions and wonders of existence.
Acclaimed as one of the most exciting books in the history of American letters, this modern epic became an instant bestseller upon publication in 1974.

‘The book is inspired, original…the analogies with Moby-Dick are patent’ New Yorker
‘Mr Pirsig has written a work of great, perhaps urgent, importance... Read this book’ Observer

My Review..

Only 47 years late to the party but Wow! where to begin with this...

Firstly it is three threads in one book

1. It is a travelogue of a man and his 12-year old son travelling from Minnesota to San Francisco via motorbike in the 60s.
2. It is story of a schizophrenic (the father) who has been purged of his alter ego (Phadreus a PhD philosophy student, who went insane contemplating the concept of Quality) by electro-shock treatment in a mental institution. The man is now free but his alter ego  gradually begins to enter his conscience again as the motorcycle journey progresses.
3. Most importantly it is a philosophical paper on our place in the grand scheme of things, how we fit into the universe and how the universe fits into us. He calls it an investigation into Quality. However: the term quality can be misleading. I think if you substitute the word Quality for Tao (Or as Douglas Adams would call it in The Hitch-hikers guide to the Galaxy, Life, the Universe and Everything) you get a much better understanding of what he is driving at.

While the first two themes are interesting in and of themselves, their main role is to serve as a break from the heavy lifting of reading deeply abstract, philosophical tracts. These tracts are indeed heavy going. I often found myself re-reading them several times just to gain a basic understanding of them, but it is worth it.

While it is not the most entertaining book that I have ever read it is probably the most fascinating. Often the question is asked "has any book changed your life?" My head is buzzing with this book. I think in years to come, for me, this will be that book. The trouble is unless you have read (and mentally digested) it is hard to explain why. It melds Western thinking with Eastern thinking. The issue of "Quality" is to big to be approached head on, it has to be approached by allegories. The main allegory being that the system of motorcycle maintenance is an allegory for life itself and as such this book is not really about motor cycles, its about the human experience and how to live our best lives, which in turn will bring a pleasant aesthetic and calmness to the world around us. 

The book builds theory on theory showing us that the motor cycle (life) is not separate from us, we are not subject and object but are intrinsically linked in a sort of constant feedback loop with everything. If we carry the proper maintenance (develop a zen approach) on the motorbike (life) in a thoughtful and precise manner we will get a fulfilment that is often sadly lacking in today's world. The words sound very clumsy as I'm writing them, I'm afraid I'm not explaining concepts well. Read the book, Persig does it beautifully, often with a lovely, lyrical style.

This edition (40th Anniversary) contained some interesting extras

• A series of fascinating letters between the author and publisher over several years. The book was famously turned down 121 times. The publisher eventually published not for profit (he thought it probable that there would be none) but because he thought it was his duty to try bring these writings to the attention of the world, which begs the question would a book like this published today.
• An afterword by the author (now deceased) that is just heartbreaking.
• Questions for discussion.

The book dissects how we live our lives and how we can live better. Dont get me wrong, this is a Marmite book (For non Brits, that means that you will either love it or hate it. There is no middle ground.) And the book has to find you at the right time of your life. I have no doubt that if I read this at 20 years of age, I would have said that he is a bit pretentious and is going to disappear up his own backside, but as you get older you become more mellow and start to think about Life, the Universe and Everything and about Quality.

Bottom line.. An amazing revelatory book

Selected Quotes...

"We're in such a hurry most of the time, we never get much chance to talk.The result is a kind of endless day to day shallowness, a monotony that leaves a person wondering years later where all the time went and sorry it's all gone"

"What's wrong with technology is that its not connected in any real way with the matters of the spirit and the heart."

"Mental reflection is so much more interesting than TV it's a shame more people don't switch over to it. They probably think what they hear is unimportant but it never is"

"Or if he takes whatever dull job he is stuck with - and they are all, sooner or later, dull- and just to keep himself amused starts to look for options of Quality and secretly pursues the options, just for their own sake, thus making art out of what he is doing, he's likely to discover that he becomes a much more interesting person and much less of an object to the people around him because his Quality decisions change him too."

"The place to improve the world is first in ones's own heart and head and hands, and the work outward from there. Other people can talk about how to expand the destiny of mankind. I just want to talk about how to fix a motorcycle. I think what I have to say has more lasting value."

“When one person suffers from a delusion, it is called insanity. When many people suffer from a delusion it is called a Religion.”

“The only Zen you find on tops of mountains is the Zen you bring there.”

About the author...

Robert M. Pirsig was the renowned author of the bestseller, ‘Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance,” a popular cult classic of the present century. As a child, he believed that there was a theory that could explain the different singularities of life and he hoped that science would be the solution to his queries and enlighten him. Contrary to his conviction, he arrived at a number of hypotheses for many given phenomenon while he was doing laboratory work at the University of Minnesota. This resulted in the deterioration of his academic performance and his subsequent dismissal from the university. He advocated the theory of ‘Metaphysics of Quality’ and through his works he explained the impact of “quality” and “good” over reality. His theory is the culmination of Western and Oriental philosophy through which he offered solutions to the crises of values in the western civilization. He also authored another famous book ‘Lila: An Inquiry into Morals’, which was nominated for the Pulitzer.