Zen And The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance | Book Shelf

A book that has been in the spotlight ever since its first publication in 1974, Zen and The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, by Robert M. Pirsig, has been getting rave reviews to this day. I read this book for the first time quite a while ago and to be very honest, I did it because it is kind of hip to say, "I've read Zen…" and I believe a lot of readers of this book will relate to me in this. The first time I read it, I made it a point to read it cover to cover though at the end of it all, I was out of words and ideas about what it was all about. Everything just flew over my head.

A couple of readings later, it figures quite at the top my must-read list. A book of rhetoric and metaphors, it follows the narrator's journey with his 11-year-old son on his motorcycle. With a strong anti establishment flavour of the hippie era, it deals with academic philosophy; against it, in a logical fashion. The title is somewhat misleading, with the book having little to do with Zen or with motorcycles. The motorcycle and its technicalities are just used metaphorically to explain much deeper concepts, everyday life and the
philosophy behind it.

It's a good idea to buy a copy of book as it requires a few readings before you grasp the overall concept adequately. And after you've done that, hold on to it, you may very well be reading it periodically just to understand more of it each time. The initial few chapters give the reader an impression of the book being a travel journal and if taken as one, the entire effort of reading it will go waste especially if taken literally. The crux is in reading between the lines.

For those who wonder about Phaedrus, a name that figures prominently in the book, he was an associate of Socrates who belonged to a renowned family from Myrrinosus. His wife was Plato's cousin and his father-in-law was known to be one of the richest Athenians of his times. His fortunes, however, changed dramatically and he ended up a destitute after being implicated in the profanation of the Eleusinian Mysteries as well as the Mutilation of the Hermes in 415 B.C.