marina

84 months ago

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'Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance' author, Pirsig dead at 88

100 Queen Street West, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Pirsig, author of the philosophical novel 'Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance' died Monday, April 24th, 2017. He was 88.

Four years in the writing and rejected by approximately 22 publishers and encouraged by 6 eventually made it to print "when William Morrow's savvy young editor James Landis said yes".

Pirsig's modern epic was about a man's search for meaning. The novel, conceived while on a motorcycle ride with his 11-year-old son Christopher and two friends, became a critically acclaimed instant bestseller in 1974. His ultimate publisher, William Morrow, offered a $3,000 advanced and told him not to expect much. The book sold 5 million copies worldwide.

Robert Pirsig and his BMW, conceived the novel on a ride with two friends and his 11-year-old son Chris

Robert Pirsig and his BMW, conceived the novel on a ride with two friends and his 11-year-old son Chris

Pirsig's novel portrayed the motorcycle as a tool for passionate living, compared to the TV-like passivity of looking out the window of a car. A first novel, it would be followed by only one more, less successful “Lila: An Inquiry Into Morals” a kind of sequel, in 1991.

Paul Vitello, in his excellent obituary for The New York Times, writes: "The novel, with its peculiar but intriguing title, ranged widely in its concerns, contemplating the relationship of humans and machines, madness and the roots of culture.

Mr. Pirsig’s plunge into the grand philosophical questions of Western culture remained near the top of the best-seller lists for a decade and helped define the post-hippie 1970s landscape as resoundingly, some critics have said, as Carlos Castaneda’s “The Teachings of Don Juan” helped define the 1960s.

Pirsig later wrote: “The motorcycle is mainly a mental phenomenon. People who have never worked with steel have trouble seeing this.”

He added, “A study of the art of motorcycle maintenance is really a miniature study of the art of rationality itself.”

Robert M. Pirsig creator of the cult of 'Zen'

Robert M. Pirsig creator of the cult of 'Zen'

While in his later years, faced with the cult of "Zen", Pirsig dismissed the book as meaningless, the novel continues to be necessary reading for many motorcycle riders. Yes, it is a difficult read, but, if you make it through, like at the end of any difficult motorcycle ride, you'll be glad you did it.

In a social context, Pirsig's novel captured the zeitgeist of a changing outlook in the 1960s and 1970s - he provided an analytical approach to understanding the world and its inhabitants, from the pulpit of the motorcycle. RIP Mr. Robert Pirsig.

For more, listen to this excellent CBC interview with Pirsig.

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VRSCDX

29 months ago

That book got me through some hard times back when I was still a squid. A belated R.I.P

teleology

75 months ago

Caption Correction: in the first photo, Pirsig rode the Honda, not the BMW. John & Sylvia were on the BMW. Indeed this difference in bikes becomes an important distinction in terms of the discussion about Motorcycle Maintenance in the book! Were you paying attention? 🙂 John was very protective of his BMW and always wanted the OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) BMW Parts for any repair, whereas Pirsig would be happy to make any sort of shim out of odd metal for his Honda, so long as it did the same job. There's a philosophical distinction, which still holds today. Some people insist on OEM..  

Pirsig most definitely did not ride the BMW ... That was a big point in the book. One of the society metaphors. Pirsig said some people just see the surface (and want BMW parts), whereas others see the underlying structure (more like an engineer) and understand what the part does, and what else could simply replace it.

dannyboybloom

84 months ago

@marina thanks

marina

84 months ago

@TimHuber yeah would have been fascinating to meet Pirsig

marina

84 months ago

@dannyboybloom thanks for the clarification. I updated the article and added a link to your site. Looking forward to reading your musings on ESR.

dannyboybloom

84 months ago

Marina, don't get me wrong . I love zen and the author . but you naively repeated a bogus claim that Pirsig book was rejected 121 times. That is a lie. See my blog post second post down ........ .http://cli-fi-books.blogspot.com and later correct yr post. Can do? Rsvp

TimHuber

84 months ago

Sad stuff, really great author who for too many was their only glimpse into riding

marina

84 months ago

@Bruce thanks for the heads up on the news of Pirsig. Here's my salute to "Zen".

marina

84 months ago

@VRSCDX I know you're a fan. Robert M. Pirsig died today. This is my RIP.