512 pages, dust jacket
First published April 1,1974
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We should immediately cast aside every doubt. This is not a book for those who expect a Tibetan monk on a motorcycle to explain all of philosophy to them, nor for those who expect useful instructions on starting a motorcycle that has been sitting in the garage since 1965. Whoever among you hopes for one or the other will be disappointed and will yawn throughout. Rather, it is a book that offers a different approach to two things that seem light-years apart but actually aren't.
Even without reading this precious little volume, it had already occurred to me that in one way or another, a small philosopher dwells within each of us. The whole thing is about bringing it out. But where? Between a post on Facebook and two chats? Between the time for shopping and the time for the paintbrush? Between the empty phone calls of stressed friends and the washing machines full of colored clothes? Ummm, difficult.
It might seem like a matter of time. And in the end, it is. Yet, the post-lunch summer swaying on the hammock doesn't necessarily make us enlightened sages. For example, I have always only remedied the lines on the fabric on my face and some pine nuts on my head. So it's not just a matter of free time without distractions.
Months ago, I saw a documentary on TV about a famous runner whose name I don't remember, who had the words "The man who runs is a man who thinks" printed on his shirt. Here's the point. Why does an hour in bed/hammock/sofa produce inertia, while an hour of running produces good intentions, buried memories, and life strategies? Perhaps because, while engaged in reaching a goal, we are forced to listen to ourselves. And not just our physical self that asks for mercy and refuses to do that last kilometer, but also our brain, finally free to make its own associations without external interference, not even those resulting from idleness.
The same goes for a motorcycle trip. And it's not essential that you are alone. Even Pirsig made his on the road trip with his son. The motorcycle is a fantastic means, but it's not suitable for making a living room. Conversations are shouted or mumbled, so if you want to talk, you have to do it internally.
Here is the explanation of the zen-moto binomial that at the beginning might have seemed so dissonant. The spiritual search for ourselves, especially if done with Quality (the capital Q you will only understand by reading the book), is an inverse way of conceiving the world in which we live. Instead of drawing hasty conclusions from a panoramic view, we should start looking inside ourselves and gradually expand the view until we embrace what surrounds us.
I know, it seems like nonsense. In fact, I (try to) write reviews, not books like Pirsig!!! And precisely because he wrote it and not me, those who are looking for a plot will also be satisfied. Painful in this case, a bit like John Nash, if you understand me. But perhaps essential to be able to arrive at an acceptance of the suffering but liberating truth.
It would be nice now to gossip, maybe not only anticipating that it's a true story but also telling you what happened after; instead, I limit myself to advising you to read this book in small doses, and I attach a link as a testimony of the times and reflections that were.