A little voice gnaws at the reader when he or she reads these words. One almost wants to reprimand him. Maybe what is troublesome is that most of our society is designed to avoid introspection altogether. Perhaps part of the book's effectiveness comes from the fact that he did not know he was writing it at the time. Had he known he was making a product, he might have tried to give us some kind of answer or a neatly packaged deal.
Life is real, complicated, and without many answers.
Paul's father, Charles, is the only other voice in the book, appearing in the form of correspondence with his son and in Paul's deepest musings. Rather the 'civilized' world is sick when it pressures us to violate those inner promptings and to force-fit ourselves into accepted forms. Again, the reader is struck by a relationship far more honest than the context of its society. Paul constantly pushed the limits of meaning and existence. But what is troublesome about this book is that it is not just about living.