Zen and the Art of Motercycle Maintenance by Robert Pirsig (1974)

I had the urge to reread this and was glad I did. I read it soon after it came out - it was already a cult classic back then. I am amazed at how philosophical I was in my youth. I know it influenced my thinking. I learned to appreciate back roads, I know I had plans to learn to fix my own car after this book, though I only got as far as oil changes. It is the ultimate road trip book and I should have been listening to it on a long trip this time - because I would be in tune with his travel story, and I would have had more time to process his philosophy. Trying to get into the proper mood on short trips around town did not work, so I let some of the philosophy just pass me by. He discussed things like classical and romantic thinking, truth, insanity, rhetoric, aesthetics. Sometimes he equated Zen with boredom. I liked his take on "gumption", a word that also appeared in the movie The Holiday. I was riveted by his discussion of the academic world - academic freedom, the importance of reason, grading... I will just have to read or listen to it again sometime. I was uncomfortable with the author's son on the trip, who is watching his father getting so deep into thought, he is almost losing it, and the trip becomes quite boring with just day after day on the road, without interesting stops. Having traveled with a child all over the US, I know the importance of keeping him engaged.

After reading the book I was wondering what had happened to the author Robert Pirsig, and to find out if the book was really autobiographical, whether he really had gone insane. My library sources told me that he had written another book and gotten all sorts of awards, but nothing was said about what he had done for the last 20 years. A link from the Wikipedia filled in the blanks - someone had created a timeline for Persig - where he was when, including the time he was hospitalized. The timeline also followed the life of his son Chris, who traveled with him and was killed outside a Zen center in 1979. Pirsig has kept writing and living in different parts of the world. The last few years are listed as "living very privately," which I totally understand and respect.