zen and the art of writing a sequel

ok, in pages 200-400 i changed my mind about Zen and the Freakin' Long Title.

the battle with his mental illness became quite riveting, and at the end he has to break it to his son that he, too, is mentally ill. that scene was very moving... and i rarely getting choked up over a book.

his philosophy is really impressive, groundbreaking. but my favorite part was when he goes to a small liberal arts college to study aristotle. his criticism of the method, the professors, and the classes are exactly in line with my feelings about my own experiences. it took him 15 years and shock therapy to be able to put it as clearly as he does, so i guess i'm not THAT jealous of his clarity. he challenged his professors in the opposite way that i did. he practically memorized each reading, and frequently asked them to define terms in relation to one another. i, on the other hand, refused to open my books or my mouth. both methods of protest arouse anger, but i don't believe that either really cause reexamination of principles.

anyway, i finished the book on time... minutes before i parted ways, in glasgow, with its owner. now i'm at a different home--a home that contains 3 copies of Zen (one in english, one in flemish/dutch, and one in french), and 3 copies of Lila, his 20-years-later sequel. i'm halfway through the sequel. it's interesting, a bit lighter, and a bit more depressing. worth the read, so far. a bit graphic.