BA (Hons) Travel Writing; Book Critique

The Perfect Vehicle by Melissa Holbrook Pierson. Published by Granta Publications, 2/3 Hanover Yard, London. N1 8BE. 1998. ISBN:1-86207-119-5 This is a first time foray in to the world of Travel Writing for the forty-something American proof reader and former Art History graduate Melissa Holbrook Pierson. Focusing in and around the world of the motorcycle this part travelogue, part voyage of self-discovery could, on the face of it be said to have been conceived and executed pretty much along the lines of Robert M. Pirsig’s Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. 1 However there are a number of subtle differences in style and approach, which I believe distances this book somewhat from Mr. Pirsig’s seminal work. Whilst Zen catalogues one man’s personal odyssey both literally and philosophically, Miss Pierson’s journey not only encompasses those liberally sampled intellectual ingredients she also proffers a sprinkling of insights and narratives into the history and development of the motorcycle itself and perhaps more importantly just what it is that distinguishes a motorcycle from the many other forms of transport that exist. Indeed what is unique about Miss Pierson is that she articulates, for the first time perhaps, just what it is that any true, dyed-in-the-wool biker feels about his or her chosen steed. However, a word of caution has to be sounded at this juncture; this work is not addressed solely for the appetites of the motorcycling fraternity. There are in fact no obvious preconditions or expectations required of one in order to pick up this book and become instantly transfixed. Located firmly within the ambit of semi-autobiography and travelogue, one senses that a certain catharsis was experienced by the author as she revisited events and experiences from the latter part of her life which have helped her to evaluate both herself and the values she has surrounded herself with. As one would expect, by her committing a