Not sure what to make of the book, but it started out interesting and then got almost overwhelming. I probably should have read it decades ago, but I don’t think I would have really liked it then. Not sure that I “liked” it now either, but it was very moving. ( )

Good book on travel and philosophy. ( )

Not as good as I remembered but still an excellent and important book. The ending falters a bit, and it's somewhat dated but still resonates as a search for capital-T Truth. ( )

Published in 1974, this book involves a journey across country from Minnesota to California by motorcycle, where the participants learn something about life and self. It is focused on the relationship between a father and son, the nature of quality, and philosophy. It is narrated by the unnamed father, who refers to himself in his past as Phaedrus. Phaedrus had been hospitalized for mental illness and his former self is often portrayed as a danger to his current self. As the story opens, the narrator and eleven-year-old son, Chris, team up with friends, John and Sylvia, taking backroads and camping out. As they travel the narrator inserts philosophical discourses, which he calls “Chautauquas.”

There is a lot of information to unpack in this novel. Rather than write a lengthy review, I will summarize my impressions. There are two primary approaches to life – one is scientific, or “rational,” and the other is intuitive, or “romantic.” A balance between the two approaches will lead to a feeling of well-being in life, and the concept of quality can become a bridge between them. The struggles in reconciling the two approaches are exemplified in the narrator’s efforts to merge his current and past (as Phaedrus) into one presence.

It is all very intellectual and requires focused concentration. I liked parts of it, but it goes pretty far afield on occasion. It did not quite gel for me into a cohesive story, but I am glad to have finally read this 20th century classic.
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This is a fantastic book. It took me at least six months to get through, but it absolutely rewards anyone who can make it all the way to the end. It is both a poignant memoir on mental illness and an intense philosophical analysis on dialectic, rhetoric, and Quality. I would recommend reading a brief bio of Pirsig before reading it, as he has led a truly remarkable life, and this heavy tome only highlights two major events from it. He knows how to tell his own story in a way that inspires the reader to reflect on her own. ( )