This book leaves me flawed; an absolutely amazing, astonishing, confusing and frightening book. I didn't know what to expect from the title, a lot of books I have read lately have been about "Zen" when really this book had not much to do with it at all, except maybe an overlying love.
As Pirsig says in the introduction, this book has nothing to do with either the concept of Zen Buddhism or Motorcycle Maintenance. It has more to do with art, philosophy, travelling and the science of understanding. The book covers a journey, on a motorcycle across North America with the author and his son. In between the journey are facets of a past self "Phaedrus" who seems at once interested and depressed by philosophy. His teachings at universities leave him disappointed by the apparent refusal of the other academics to explore Philosophy and most of all the concept of quality in what at first seem new and original ways but are later linked back to the teachings of Socrates, Plato and Aristotle. The explorations Phaedrus undertakes link the objective and the subjective, the scientific and the artistic under the concept of quality itself. His findings both distress him and encourage him to dig more deeply into the exploration of philosophy, of science and widely of humanity.
The other self, the author is plagued by memories of his former self when he goes to visit Chicago where he was once a teacher before the inevitable breakdown. It is difficult not to ruin the plot here. His relationship with his son is the most important throughout the book. His son who has been diagnosed as possible mentally ill seeks the adoration of his father, who he knew as Phaedrus. His continual confusion at the way his father treats him is merely a sign of the personality change he has seen in childhood. The book also refers back to the idea of motorcycle maintenance and links the philosophies of the pages to this concept. The interesting thing is Pirsig's outlook on Phaedrus' philosophies, he openly admits not agreeing with many of them but whether this is a protection of his mental state or something else is not obvious. The philosophy (of course) greatly interested me, especially the links back to scientists' and philosophers' ideas, some of which I was not even aware of.
Unlike most books of its kind, this does not seek to explain life, but rather follows the journey of one who does and one who is determined not to be stuck too far in the cycle again. Psychologically, it is unsure exactly what has happened to the author in the duration of his life. Something that seems less than the psychiatric disorders which the symptoms would suggest, but something that the author explains well, with the breakdown of philosophic ideas, and the rejection of more modern philosophy to see through his idea. Seen metaphorically as a breakdown, running into a brick wall, discovering that there is no more to discover, the array of impossibilities placed before Phaedrus which lead to the breakdown of his senses.
I highly recommend this book, I am keen to get the less popular sequel Lila for a further explanation of the ideas presented.
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