Now, it's something of a big deal to meet Pirsig if you're a fan of his because he's very private, almost as reclusive as the mysterious J.D. Salinger. He doesn't participate in the discussion group, and will only correspond with snail mail through his publisher. He has not been interviewed since Lila was published, and there were rumors that he was dead. Any snippet of new information about his life, any new correspondence that he writes, any long lost article of his that is rediscovered, is cherished and analyzed by his fans. I was one of those fans. For 10 years, up until the time I joined the discussion group, I would have told you that ZMM was the best book I'd ever read. It was a tale and a journey that sent a gong straight to my heart and head and soul.
How all that unraveled for me is a story too long to go into here, but it should suffice to say that I didn't find any kindred souls on the discussion list, and I conjectured that the discussions themselves were either beyond me in philosophical sophistication, or garbledy-gook. Either way, I soon realized that my interpretations of Pirsig's writings were way different from what everyone else thought. Over time, I concluded that mine were wrong, and I suffered through a series of emotions - denial, outrage, embarrassment, acceptance - trying to come to terms with it all. When I had come out the other end, after critically analyzing his writings and those of others who agreed with and respected Pirsig, I ended up disagreeing with much of it. Not only did his ideas not make sense, but I thought his attitudes were deplorable. At this point, though, I didn't leave the group as most normal people would have. Well versed and motivated, and being equally interested in trying to understand his appeal to others as I was about understanding how I had fooled myself, I stayed and became a dissenter. I didn't seem to change anyone's mind, but I stuck it out. In 2003, after 3 years on the list, the moderator had heard enough and unsubscribed me.