[flyingfences]

I had a slightly different experience with that second half. I sure had a hard time following his philosophy, but I had no trouble keeping on reading it... I might even go so far as to call it a page-turner. It was one of those works where I couldn't tell if the writer was a genius or a madman (or both, as he seems to profess) but either way it is written in a fashion that just draws the reader in; it gives the impression of making sense at every line, but you stop and the end of a chapter and realize that you've hardly grokked any of it.

[rlonn]

Haha, that exactly describes my experience also. At the time I thought it was due to a language barrier - that my english wasn't good enough (2nd language) but I guess it's the book. Definitely a unique piece of work, at the very least.

[echlebek]

If you read the follow-up book, Lila, it becomes clear that the philosophy is not coherent.

[dublin]

I echo this - after Zen, Lila was a huge disappointment, eventually degenerating into a long rant about the author's unhappiness with aspects of his existence.