With Lila, Pulitzer Prize finalist, Pirsig returns to move this time by sea to a world away from all banality. Phaedrus unexpectedly "forced" to share with Lila a few days in his boat. A strong bond of love and hate is established between them, and the irascible Lila, wild and fragile at the time, becomes a fascinating object of observation. The crossing, which begins on the Hudson River, reflects the mental journey through the stoic wisdom of the United States Indians, the stifling hypocrisy of Victorian principles, the monstrous seduction of a city like New York, and the obscure social conception of The madness that was evident in the electroshocks administered to Pirsig when he experienced "catatonic schizophrenia," or "hard illumination," depending on the perspective taken.