Lila: An Inquiry into Morals

Rating:
Summary: Great Ideas, Crappy Story
Review: All right - first off, I love Pirsig, not only his philosophy but his tangential insights into things that have plagued me all my life. In this book I especially like his view society (NYC, in his example) as a sentient, intelligent life form. His description of this idea helped me understand dozens of irritating, seemingly unrelated ideas of my own.

The Metaphysics of Quality is fascinating, of course - a helpful framework that will shed lots of light on a variety of topics. He does seem to use it as a panacea, however... "I forgot where I left my lighter - what does the Metaphysics of Quality say about this...?" and half a page later the lighter is found. I actually got tired of the phrase Metaphysics of Quality, not because I think it's bogus, but because he seemed to stretch it a bit.

As for the story dealing with Lila herself... COME ON! "Phaedrus" was a complete knothead in the way he treated her. And the story had a supremely unsatisfying ending PRECISELY because his sacred Metaphysics of Quality couldn't provide any practical solution to a real-life problem. Someone who reviewed "Zen & The Art Of..." on amazon.com said he/she felt frustrated because Pirsig was unable to use his fantastic brain to improve the quality of his own earthly condition, and I think that went double in this story. And, if I understand correctly, this story was entirely fictitious, not based on actual events, as was "Zen..." Maybe I'm just missing something.

However, I would read 1,000 pages of Pirsig's thoughts, even without a story line tying them together. I really do love the guy. It's just that this book drove me nuts!

Rating:
Summary: Interesting, but Disappointing
Review: For those who think this book is better than the first one (Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance), I'd say please re-read it. Once, maybe twice. Lila's not a patch on Zen! There are several reasons for that:

1. Character development - Lila has absolutely no character development; even of the primary and critical character (Lila). She is reduced to being a cartoonish figure with no aspirations, dreams, or even strength.

2. Plot - We certainly do not expect anything by way of plot from Robert Pirsig - we know he is used to going where his Muse takes him, and that could be partly the reason for the cult following he commands. However, in writing a book such as this, one which involves Anthropology, culture, religion, philospophy, morals, ethics, science etc, one would need a common thread of a plot to be able to assimilate and consume and comprehend. Lila fails on that account. The thread, which was beautifully rendered in Zen, is sorely missing here.

3. Much like the way he has several slips noting details of things he's noted, the book progresses in the same fashion, with some random statements thrown in, without any dwelling on their consequence.

4. There are several repetitions of analogies and similarities, which, after some time, become a bit irritating and plain annoying.

The end is not at all satisfying; some explanations are thrown in, which make me wonder if the author was in a hurry to wrap things up, and if the only motivation or intention was to get rid of the book that seemed to be dragging on witout any concrete conclusion. Hence, if the alert reader notices, the absolutely abrupt way of the ending, in which everything is described as Good Is A Noun, is pretty disturbing, as is also his dismissal of Hinduism, which is characterized as being a low-grade imitation of what has been practised by American Indians! I was most unnerved by the illiterate and uneducated implication of the discourse that he gives after the Peyote meeting. Come on sir, we've seen better from you! Sorry to disappoint, and be disappointed.

Rating:
Summary: An Inquiry into "Lila"
Review: Pirsig is one of the rare philosophers (along with Plato and Nietzsche) who can write as well as he can reason. It's such a joy to read a metaphysics presented within the framework of a well-told story.

First, I'll utter the ultimate heresy: This book is in many ways supperior to "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance." Although the third-person narrative lacks something compared to the unique first-person writing voice that "Zen" uses, the metaphysics of quality is much better thought out and explained in "Lila." Although Pirsig still sometimes leaves himself open to misinterpretation, compared to "Zen," in which he often presents his ideas too obliquely, in "Lila" he makes definitive, philosophic statements.

That said, I do have a few problems with the book. The character Lila is too much of a charicature, albeit an interesting one. Too often, she seems to be simply there and behaving badly so Pirsig's Phaedrus can sagely philosophize about her. Second, Pirsig's creation of a moral hierarchy makes me a little uncomfortable (is intellectual morality really always superior to social morality?).

Nevertheless, "Lila" is a highly enjoyable and thought-provoking novel. Pirsig is one of the few popular voices working on a metaphysics that's both timeless and uniquely American.

Rating:
Summary: A must read if you are always wondering Why?
Review: The great thing about Pirsig's writing is that he takes apart and analyzes many beliefs that we take for granted in our every day lives. Then he resassembles them into a logical mapping that literally provides an explanation for everything, from the behavior of cells, bacteria, animals, trees, humans, societies.

Granted, the structure of the 'story' makes it such that it is more of a doctrine on morals and values rather than a page-turning novel. But that is what makes it great. We don't have to put up with unnecessary story fluff if it were a true novel, and we also don't have to deal with dry philosophical incantations with equations and symbols etc.

This book will only really be enjoyed by those who liked the first book for its philosphical analysis, because he picks up the discussion and takes it many steps further. For those of us interested in understanding our lives and our behaviors, of why we do what we do, how we got to where we are today, and what it is each of us individually and collectively value, he offers some very amazing and compelling arguments. And he backs each of his theories up with quite rigorous logical explanations. This is one of the main reasons I enjoy his work; he doesn't just throw something esoteric idea out there and wait for someone to prove him wrong; he follows every argument up with logical analysis.

Bottom line, if you are into the philosophy of it, you will come out of each chapter of this book with a different outlook on your everyday life. You will see things in a different light, and that is what makes this book great for me. There are very few other books out there that successfully do this.

Rating:
Summary: Steely Dan and the Art of Writing
Review: There's something about reading Robert Pirsig's Lila that reminds me of listening to Steely Dan records. Everything seems to be mastered, the writing is tight and it allows Pirsig to zone off into what can either be described as self-indulgent tengents or brilliant essays on metaphysics - just like those extended solos and cryptic lyrics on albums like Aja. But like Steely Dan, there's also a cold, almost clinical atmosphere to Pirsig's character Phaedrus. If you're like me you can indulge Pirsig a bit just as much as you can put on a Steely Dan record.

There really isn't any other author I've encountered quite like Pirsig, and that's a good thing. On the surface this is the story of Phaedrus, a man who's written a novel - Zen and the Art, it seems - that has given him fame but also turned him into a recluse. He's traveling alone down a river in upstate New York when he ends up picking up a woman. That woman, Lila, becomes the focus of his wandering search for a more inclusive system of thinking. He calls this system the Metaphysics of Quality and it resembles a computer program in its design. The book then alternates between the story of Phaedrus and Lila (who increasingly is revealed to be mentally ill) and Phaedrus's (sometimes ingenious) musings.

Sleek, well-written, fascinating but also cold and indulgent, I'd recommend Lila to those who aren't bloody-well annoyed when a Steely Dan record comes on.

Rating:
Summary: An obvious Rehash
Review: When I was in junior college, Pirsig's "Zen And The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" was required reading for an intro to philosophy class. The professor informed us that Pirisig's ideas were simply a rehash of those of G.E. Moore's, but insisted that we read "Zen" anyway. After reading many of the literary classics, I found Pirsig's style unerringly pedestrian. After reading "Lila", I must say that he is indeed a one book author. Nothing is new here. He begins the novel with the protagonist making continual references to a disco song, and from there the author's use of plot is hastily scribbled so that he may continue to hammer his theme of quality, and what constitutes quality. Again, there is the continual rehashing of what constitutes right and wrong. As an author of ideas, he is never on par with Ayn Rand, Hermann Hesse, or Dostoievski. Pirsig would have done better to write as an essayist, because he shows little or no concern with plot, setting, or character development. I do not take issue with his philosophical ideas, but as an author, he should show some concern for the structure of the novel.