GUEST BOOK REVIEW: Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert M. Pirsig

I'm going to start posting guest book reviews from those select few people I know who read more than chick-lit. Not that that's an issue... just I'm not going to be your friend.

So, introducing John Lucas - pretentious reviewer extraordinaire and the source of many of the literary-related arguments in my household:


After been somewhat perturbed by Hannah’s request for a pretentious blog post from yours truly (such an inference regarding my personality almost made me choke on my breakfast, which incidentally consisted of quail eggs, half a smoked kipper and was pleasantly washed down with a fine port...don't you know) I decided to entertain Hannah’s request by choosing a novel with the word ‘zen’ in it, so to fulfil the pledge of pretention, to which I am now apparently bound.

Anyway, enough Tomfoolery: Robert M. Pirsig’s Zen and the Art of Motorcycle maintenance is a brilliantly insightful and even- dare I say it- life-changing read. On the surface, it is a story following our narrator (Pirsig) and his son on a motorcycle journey across America, capturing the special and complex relationship which exists between the two. In addition to illustrating their increasingly strained bond, Pirsig regularly shifts the reader a number of decades into the past, when our narrator was, at least in his opinion, an entirely different individual altogether- reffered to as “Phaedrus”.

Pirsig’s account of this character is captivating, portraying a man gripped by intense motivation and a voracious thirst for knowledge. Phaedrus finds himself precariously balanced on the borders of genius and insanity, a mental state which he struggles, and ultimately fails to keep stabilised.

Studying oriental philosophy, rhetoric and engaging in a host of other academic pursuits, Pirsig brilliantly embeds his own philosophical, scientific and spiritual experiences into the heart of the text, retaining a strong sense of optimism, even in the darkest of places. While Pirsig’s insights prompt one to enter great speculation upon each meaningful gem, his captivating and beautifully poetic prose drags the reader back to the page, ensuring that when the book is finally layed down, many questions will still continue to bustle in one’s mind.

It would be unfair to suggest that this is a straightforward read, and while the language is very accessible, some of the philosophical arguments which Pirsig states may be viewed as rather weighty, especially by those not familiar with philosophical writing in general. However, I really feel it’s worth persevering through these brief moments of intellectual bombardment, as the book is greatly rewarding, and retains its humanity even in the densest of logical discourse.

Rating: 4 Kangaroos and half a dingo.

Pick up a copy right here:

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If you are interested in doing a guest review, please contact me at: assorted_chocolates@hotmail.com