Rating: 
Summary: A good dog...
Review: Much expectation approaching this book. Took me several years to read it as I was afraid to be disappointed. To read this, leave any and all expectations at the door pertaining to his previous book. Read it fresh.While the tone is somewhat melancholy, there is a sense of spirit bursting free (if only he'd let it!). But the journey, the inquiries, the cultural notes are brilliant. As for the title of the review, it's at the end and it sums up the book. Highly recommended. (This is an old review under an old email address.)
Rating: 
Summary: Sex, Drugs, and Metaphysics
Review: Phaedrus is back. Not satisfied with naming the unameable, he now must subdivide that which cannot be subdivided. The thrust of this book is a devlopment of a 'metaphysics of Quality." Quality is that nameless indirectly percievable reality Pirsig went to great lengths to show us in "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance (ZAMM)." Without ZAMM under your belt, "Lila" will be meaningless babble to you. So if you have not read ZAMM, stop reading this review, and go directly to ZAMM page. It also is a good read; you will not be disappointed. I am not the intellectual giant that Pirsig is. Before reading Lila, I didn't even know what a metaphysics was; so don't let that stop you. Like ZAMM, "Lila" is a full blown book on philosophy intertwined with a novella, the plot of which serves to drive the orations of the author, and provide case study-like material for the reader. Phaedrus, having abandoned his motorcycle for a sailboat, is sailing for Mexico and pondering his next book which will be a "metaphysics of Quality" or maybe about Indians. At any rate, at a port bar he picks up a woman that you and I would not consider exactly a "high class" individual. Between Lila and her acquantances, Pirsig offers us an illustration of the different types of Quality. Dynamic versus Static patterns, social versus biological versus intellectual. He weaves a metaphysics that if not true, at least throws everything from quantum mechanics and artificial intelligence to social reform and madness into a strange new light. A light which on the surface seems to illuminate things very clearly. The downside is that the path to this illumination is a bit harder to follow than in his previous book. Consequently, I had to "just accept" some points as opposed to "really digging" them. And that has left a feeling that maybe something is missing in this philosophy. But my gut says it's me that is broke, not the book. Probably just means I need to read it again, which I intend to do. Pirsig's writting is still beautiful. Can't describe why. It just feels good in your brain when you read his words. They flow together, and he has a talent with developing characters you can really feel. After finishing the book I carried it around for a couple of days, thinking it was kind of like an old friend. So, in conclusion I must say that Lila is very good. It carries a grand concept that ties love, quarks, and madness with the same strings. So important is this book, that I have added it to my list of required reading for total cosmic understanding. Other members of that list are, "A Brief History of Time"-Hawking, "Chaos-A Foundation of a New Science"-Glieck, and "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maitenance"-Pirsig's first contribution. This pool of literature is guaranteed to put you in your place in the universe. What you might find however, is that "getting drunk, picking up bar girls, and writing books about metaphysics" are all just a part of life.
Rating:
Summary: This is the cutting-edge of Quality!
Review: What a great book. This book will some day be looked on and cherished for its ideas and teachings! It has really expanded my mind and answered a lot of questions that my subject-object mind was never able to answer. MoQ says it all. It answered such questions why a highly educated person like me is unable to fit within my society because latently I always felt it was inferior'.but society is the cousin of intellect. The reason why I never like weddings, and parties and social gatherings was because I always felt they where irrational, devoid of any need for their existence'I always used to look around for the odd Freudian part crasher to talk to about the stupidity of these social animals with all there cake and candles and funerals and birthdays and Sunday church'boy was that shallow thinking!!! And it also answered why some of my "biologically" trapped friends where social outcasts, with low social and intellectual quality...simply their values where not developed or up to the value 'standard' of the higher levels, and they where immorally always wrong. The book has also taught me that value, and morality exist everywhere and in everything, but with different patterns, evolution and value rigidity. The story however, doesn't have the same feel as Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. However, the philosophy in Lila is more developed and more mature. A word of warning'.don't be fooled and think you can read this book without reading Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance first. You will have a hell of time understanding Lila because it literally picks up from where Pirsig left off in ZAMM. I also suggest that you read the Tao Te Ching to get a better feel of what this Dynamic Quality is like (if you can define it in the first place!!!!). Also read the Tao of Physics (Capra) because it fits perfectly as a bridge between ZAMM and Lila. Mr. Pirsig we await your next book'
Rating: 
Summary: Treatise or Fiction?
Review: If this is fiction, it lacks all the necessary ingredients: plot, character development, forward movement, and crisp dialogue. If this is a philosophical treatise, the "examples" are oddly formatted. As I slogged through this, I felt like a ball being volleyed between one player wielding a tennis racquet and another holding a badminton racquet, over a net that was constantly being raised and lowered. What game are we playing here? I actually like both philosophy and fiction and there are several authors that manage to combine them subtly and seamlessly (Andrews, Castaneda, Donner. and Villoldo being some authors that come to mind). In the case of Robert Pirsig, my perception is that the strength of his writing is as an essayist philosopher and shouldn't be confused by adding the fictional element.
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: Excellent --
Review: Pirsig outstrides his previous book in clarity of written thought and accessibility to his thought process. That is to say, whereas in ZatAoMM he summarised large, abstract philosophical ideas as a means of forwarding the expression of his thought, in Lila he builds up to his ideas using sources (such as popular films and anthropological abstracts) which are more easily accessible to the casual reader. The best parts were the final chapters in which he discussed insanity. By far, it seems, this section is the most personal portion of the Discourse Novel, and beautifully describes the social crime committed against non-conformists within a country bent upon quick-fix solutions. I recommend Ken Kesey's "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" as a companion to the ideas in these final chapters.
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: Return of Phaedrus & MOQ
Review: Robert Pirsig returns with this work, which has interesting thoughts and perceptions on many things, including contemporary America. His perceptions of the American cities, and their (then and still) decline are something that many of us in United States are concerned about. As for "Lila," people should not expect something of similar style, or as moving as Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. ZAMM was a moving piece of work, from a different time. And as the captions read, yes, ZAMM can make a difference in one's life. The basic way we think about things, needs to be constantly scrutinized so we don't become zombies (most of us are, including myself). Our "reality" is largely socially constructed. "Lila" noted things such as the East Coast craftiness of the Hudson, and Lila, who was a direlect, who wasted his time, intellect, and energy. It's great to hear from him again. I hope he and "Phaedrus" return, as well as his further inquiry into the Metaphysics of Quality.
Rating:
Summary: Offensive and wrong ideas about insanity
Review: I have been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia since 3 years and have experienced first hand what it means to go down the slippery slope into psychosis more than once. New effective medication with little side effects allows me to lead a normal life in the community with purpose and self determination. Just some decades ago, my fate would have been different- probably a lifetime of being institutionalised. I am disgusted at what Pirsig writes about insanity in this book. He makes it sound like anybody chooses to be psychotic and wants to be a "culture of one". Psychotic states are brought on by biologically based disorders of the brain. There is no issue about volition and choice here about "intellectual patterns". His philosophy of insanity is completely off. It makes me wonder how can it be that Pirsig is ignorant of all the advances in medicine with respect to understanding the underlying disease process in schizophrenia as well as new and effective treatment. I mean his book Lila was published in the 1990s!!!!
Rating:
Summary: Overlook the Expectations
Review: While Lila may not be on par to those who call the area of literature home, I found those areas between the storyline far more absorbing. I think perhaps readers may find it more useful to look at the storyline as more of a demonstration of the ideas that are being presented, and to try not to get too absorbed therein. I get the impression that Phaedrus' encounter with the character of Lila was simply an ample background for what he was attempting to relate.. in some ways the two were exactly the same and in others there could have been no greater gulf between them. For those "Zen" fans, try to overlook comparison expectations and get to the matter of the philosophy itself, because it is in many ways more concise and useful, though perhaps not as emotionally charging. What I personally believe is really fantastic about Pirsig's foray into developing a Metaphysics of Quality is the attempt to bridge the gap between various paradigms, and doing as well as it was done. As he stated, there is no perfect chessgame, but I am willing to bet that he created an incredible Opening game in LILA that will be used by many in the years to come.
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