So did you like it? I was asked.
I usually have quite clear thoughts on whether I've enjoyed a book - or not, especially once I've finished it and had time to reflect, but this one was something else. I eventually responded... yes... yes I think I did.... it was thought provoking. Thought provoking is good, I'm told.
What do you think it's about? Someone else asked. Oh my, how was I going to answer this one.
After a time I replied: I think it's about journeys. There is the physical journey of a father and son on a motor cycle trip across America, but also their journey together. Those difficult moments as he tries to mend their fraught relationship, an often fruitless attempt to bond. Another journey is his struggle with mental illness and his 'alter ego' Phaedrus, while his son seems to be struggling with depression. His journey to seek out answers. It wasn't an easy book to read, yet I didn't want to put it down although somehow I knew this author wasn't going to give me any answers by the end.
At a pivot point in the story, Pirsig is stopped at a junction, he is in his car with his 6 year old son. He doesn't know which way to turn, confused he asks his son to guide him home. I wonder, is this the moment where he goes insane, or has he found enlightenment? Perhaps both. And what of the impact of this moment upon the son?
Long after I put the book back on the shelf it has stayed with me. Pirsig left behind many ideas I'm mulling over: thoughts on the metaphysics of quality, teaching and learning, technology... my goodness, even motorcycle maintenance.
"Traditional scientific method has always been, at the very best, 20-20 hindsight. It's good for seeing where you've been. It's good for testing the truth of what you think you know, but it can't tell you where you ought to go."
Pirsig, from Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
(These images are from the following site: Pirsig images )
