Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance

English language

Published Nov. 6, 2005

ISBN:
978-0-06-167373-3
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3 stars (5 reviews)

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values is a book by Robert M. Pirsig first published in 1974. It is a work of fictionalized autobiography and is the first of Pirsig's texts in which he explores his concept of Quality.The title is an apparent play on the title of the 1948 book Zen in the Art of Archery by Eugen Herrigel. In its introduction, Pirsig explains that, despite its title, "it should in no way be associated with that great body of factual information relating to orthodox Zen Buddhist practice. It's not very factual on motorcycles, either."
Pirsig received 121 rejections before an editor finally accepted the book for publication—and he did so thinking it would never generate a profit. It was subsequently featured on best-seller lists for decades, with initial sales of at least 5 million copies worldwide.

10 editions

Review of 'Zen And The Art Of Motorcycle Maintenance' on 'Storygraph'

3 stars

This book started slow and frustrating but redeemed itself by the end. I’m not a philosophy expert by any stretch of the imagination but I found Part 3 engaging and thought provoking.

Part 1 felt, to me, marred by a sort of narcissism that was grating. Both the narrator and the author felt a bit like a “well actually” reply guy except instead of one exhausting tweet, he wrote a whole book. 

At one point the narrator describes a time when he felt seen and accepted as his true self, and it was when he stood at the head of a classroom and everyone hung on his every word. This is revealing.

But like I said, although this narcissism never went away, and the narrator remains, to me, deeply unlikable, the philosophy of the later parts drowns it out and it becomes worth reading.  

Review of "Lo Zen e l'arte della manutenzione della motocicletta" on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Non credo che uno impari a fare manutenzione della bicicletta con questo libro.
Se proprio devo dirla tutta, non credo neppure che uno arrivi all'illuminazione zen con questo libro.
Sgombrato il campo da questi equivoci, bisogna dire che è una lettura davvero interessante, anche se a volte verrebbe voglia di strozzare Pirsig che facendo finta di andare alla ricerca della Verità propina la Sua Verità. Ma sta anche a noi sapere scegliere, no?

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