---

Phaedrus - a character familiar to readers of ´Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance´ - is sailing down the Hudson River when he meets Lila Blewitt, an unapologetically sexual, psychologically unstable woman whom a mutual friend warns him against. But Phaedrus is drawn to her physically, and interested in her intellectually, finding her a culture of one in whom he discerns an unexpected Quality. Sailing with him to Manhattan, where her mental state deteriorates further, Lila promps Phaedrus to explore conflicts of values, such as those between Native Americans and Europeans, or between the insane and the normal.

---

Robert M. Pirsig, geb. 1928 in Minneapolis, studierte an der University of Minnesota Chemie, Philosophie und Journalismus und schließlich auch östliche Philosophie an der Hindu-Universität in Benares. "Zen" wurde ein internationaler Bestseller. Der Autor erhielt zahlreiche Auszeichnungen, darunter 1979 den American Academy and Institut of Arts and Letter Award.

---