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Organ Grinder: A Classical Education Gone Astray
One part Plato, one part Aristophanes, two parts Easy Rider , Organ Grinder is a cocktail of lewd wisdom gathered equally from the poetry of antiquity and from near-death experiences on the open road. In a series of short works inspired by Horatian satire, Alan Fishbone bounces from gonzo fever-dream to philosophical treatise, investigating the conflicts between idealism and cynicism, love and sex, body and soul. Here's a
After my accident, I thought I was done with motorcycles. Until a few years ago― I was lying in bed having trouble sleeping when I heard a voice say to me, “Alan, get a Harley and ride to Death Valley.” I didn’t even like Harleys. And I didn’t believe that God had called me and told me to get one. It seemed unlikely that the monotheistic god we’re stuck with would endorse a brand of motorcycle. Maybe the pagan gods of antiquity. Zeus might have ridden a Road King, or Apollo a BMW; you can imagine Aphrodite on the back of Ares’s Ninja, zooming around the planets with the tip of a golden thong sticking out of her robe. Even that twerp Hermes on a Vespa delivering messages. Those gods liked to drink and screw and run around, like bikers, but not Yahweh or the Lord or Allah―strictly black limousines and security goons for those guys. Thou shalt not ride. Thou shalt not be free. Thou shalt pay off the debt of thy sins.
So writes Alan Fishbone, our motorcycle riding scholar of ancient Greek and Latin, in one of the salty, sharp-eyed pieces that fill the pages of Organ Grinder .
After my accident, I thought I was done with motorcycles. Until a few years ago― I was lying in bed having trouble sleeping when I heard a voice say to me, “Alan, get a Harley and ride to Death Valley.” I didn’t even like Harleys. And I didn’t believe that God had called me and told me to get one. It seemed unlikely that the monotheistic god we’re stuck with would endorse a brand of motorcycle. Maybe the pagan gods of antiquity. Zeus might have ridden a Road King, or Apollo a BMW; you can imagine Aphrodite on the back of Ares’s Ninja, zooming around the planets with the tip of a golden thong sticking out of her robe. Even that twerp Hermes on a Vespa delivering messages. Those gods liked to drink and screw and run around, like bikers, but not Yahweh or the Lord or Allah―strictly black limousines and security goons for those guys. Thou shalt not ride. Thou shalt not be free. Thou shalt pay off the debt of thy sins.
So writes Alan Fishbone, our motorcycle riding scholar of ancient Greek and Latin, in one of the salty, sharp-eyed pieces that fill the pages of Organ Grinder .
- GenresNonfiction
112 pages, Paperback
Published April 18, 2017
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
July 4, 2022
A slim and mysterious collection of essays. Does the title or sub-title tie them together, or offer a through-line?
The last two pieces were particularly off course. Never trust a philosophy nerd to tell you the punch line of a long joke about a moth going to a podiatrist. Perhaps the message is "Life distracts us from finding the meaning of life".
One is left with more insight into the origins of words than insight into this slim volume's author.
The last two pieces were particularly off course. Never trust a philosophy nerd to tell you the punch line of a long joke about a moth going to a podiatrist. Perhaps the message is "Life distracts us from finding the meaning of life".
One is left with more insight into the origins of words than insight into this slim volume's author.
July 24, 2017
Thought it would be an educated essay on life and meaning. Instead, it was a meandering, lost-and-don't-care stream of consciousness without any focus or real value for me. Was excited about reading something from a new (to me anyway) author, especially when I noticed that he taught Aikido. But there is zero Aikido (or anything remotely Aikido-minded) in this book. The description of the sexual encounter served only to advertise the author's exploits in graphic detail. The graphic description of the autopsy might be interesting to others, but I found it distractingly graphic and skipped the last half.
Can't recommend this book, even though it is a quick read I wished I had spent this time reading something else.
Can't recommend this book, even though it is a quick read I wished I had spent this time reading something else.
June 12, 2017
I thought this was going to be about Classical Education. Instead it was about the author's drunken driving, motorcycle accidents and obscene sexual encounters. I stopped reading after part one because it was so gross and offered nothing worthwhile at all. If the Classical Education is defined as finding that which is beautiful, truthful and worthy, this author has thrown the classical education out the window for the most crass and gruesome life has to offer.
December 18, 2019
This "book" was a piece of garbage and doesn't even deserve ONE star! It was filled with senseless ramblings. I found his useless words as filth. He has no respect for women or children, calling children a crude name of a woman's anatomy and other things stated regarding females. I think this guy did too many drugs in his days and had too many motorcycle accidents and it caused him to be brain damaged, in some way.
In conclusion, I'm surprised this piece of trash even got published. By the way, great philosophers of ancient Greece would probably be insulted by his statements and spit on this trash. This book is worthy of the trash compactor. I received this book as a Goodreads first reads, in exchange for my honest review.
In conclusion, I'm surprised this piece of trash even got published. By the way, great philosophers of ancient Greece would probably be insulted by his statements and spit on this trash. This book is worthy of the trash compactor. I received this book as a Goodreads first reads, in exchange for my honest review.
May 20, 2017
When I first started reading, I liked this book. A lot. But I'm careful what I put in my head. I am a visual person. I am a thoughtful person. If you care about living creatures, there is something in part 2 that you might find offensive. I don't care if anyone gets angry at me for saying so; if I can spare another person from reading something that they might find upsetting then so be it. I would have given this book four or five stars but going into that in graphic detail was completely unnecessary.
September 30, 2017
I couldn't decide whether to give this book 0 or 5 stars, but if you are paying attention the innards of the book are pretty amazing.
I'd love to hang with this guy!
I'd love to hang with this guy!
January 6, 2020
When I bought this book, I was mislead by both the blurb on the back & the subtitle. The book is billed as memoir & philosophy. The problem is that the author has merely collected a bunch of short essays that are somewhat philosophical in nature and somewhat biographical in nature.
While I am not a prude by any means, I think I should have stopped reading after the crude description of a sexual encounter between the author and a lady friend of his - and that was about 18 pages in.
No I stuck with this book, hoping that there would be something worthwhile. Boy was I disappointed. I should have stopped when a book in 2017 was published with fat-shaming and discriminatory language because it really doesn’t get better.
The few intriguing pieces that are either memoir or philosophical in nature (or both) aren’t worth wading through the rest of the book. Yes, Fishbone can write but the problem with this book is it’s hard to tell if it’s supposed to be memoir or philosophy. A book that is 100 pages really should know what it wants to be. The memoir parts are mostly too shallow to make the reader invested and the philosophical parts too much a lecture with no depth.
At the end of the day, the book is shallow. I am not even sure what the author’s point is at the end. And I have spent to long on this review. It was a tedious read that never really got anywhere because it was trying to be two things at once and kind of failing at both.
While I am not a prude by any means, I think I should have stopped reading after the crude description of a sexual encounter between the author and a lady friend of his - and that was about 18 pages in.
No I stuck with this book, hoping that there would be something worthwhile. Boy was I disappointed. I should have stopped when a book in 2017 was published with fat-shaming and discriminatory language because it really doesn’t get better.
The few intriguing pieces that are either memoir or philosophical in nature (or both) aren’t worth wading through the rest of the book. Yes, Fishbone can write but the problem with this book is it’s hard to tell if it’s supposed to be memoir or philosophy. A book that is 100 pages really should know what it wants to be. The memoir parts are mostly too shallow to make the reader invested and the philosophical parts too much a lecture with no depth.
At the end of the day, the book is shallow. I am not even sure what the author’s point is at the end. And I have spent to long on this review. It was a tedious read that never really got anywhere because it was trying to be two things at once and kind of failing at both.
October 17, 2022
You will either love it or hate it. I recognize he placed quotes from what are considered classics, but I skipped large sections of the book due to the content. This author lets you know on page 3 that the author typically announces their intent right away. In that same paragraph, he uses words like nudity, pornography, gay or straight, etc. The sub-title also tells you his classical education went astray. With these things in mind, read at your own risk.
This book does not provide a review or understanding of classical education. I believe it to be incredibly overpriced at $9.99 for the kindle edition with less than 99 pages of actual writing. There are better buys for your money.
This book does not provide a review or understanding of classical education. I believe it to be incredibly overpriced at $9.99 for the kindle edition with less than 99 pages of actual writing. There are better buys for your money.
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August 17, 2021this book was incredibly male. i’m not sure how else to describe it
May 19, 2024
Cool book! Funny and whip-smart narrator and some crazy stories. Love the mythology tie ins, as well the philosophical stuff. Would read again!
April 21, 2017
Exceptional!
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews