agentfin's review
3.0
I suppose it's good that I read this book. One needs to read things that one does not like the better to tear them apart. I hated the characters, and hated their coldness and the fact that it made it more difficult to hate them properly. Interesting to disect in light of the parallels to Frank Lloyd Wright, but really. She might have consulted an editor after page 500 or so.
tagg14's review
5.0
One of my favorite books. Everyone dumps on Rand, but they are wrong. It's liberals and college professors that hate her philosophy. Newsflash, the uplifting of people with special skill and ability doesn't apply to you!
perfectsolitude's review against another edition
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
urtencija's review against another edition
challenging
informative
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Knygos veiksmas gal kiek ištęstas, bet veikėjai unikalūs, puikiai atskleidžiantys tai, ką jais norėta atskleisti, mat man ši knyga - visuomenės karikatūra. Gal tik pabaiga nelabai įtikino. Ja tarsi buvo bandoma nuneigti tai, kas buvo sukurta knygoje iki tol.
lsm's review
4.0
I read this when I was right out of school. Like [b:On The Road|6288|The Road|Cormac McCarthy|http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/21E8H3D1JSL._SL75_.jpg|3355573], I thought it was the most amazing thing I would ever read in my entire life. I remember my boss at the time seeing me reading it during lunch. He rolled his eyes and said "Oh Jesus! I remember reading that at your age. I thought it was the best book in the world.". I wonder how I'd feel about it today?
vyassuresh's review
2.0
I had previously rated this book 5-stars about a year ago. I'll be honest, it was mostly because of being recommended by a person I admire a lot, and so I WANTED to like the book.
But, now that I look back at it honestly.. meh. It's an OK book. It definitely could've been shortened, but it seemed to draw the whole thing out. Many times, I was bored to death.
Also, the book doesn't shed any light on HOW Howard Roark became Howard Roark. It's as if he was just born this super individualist with no regard for what others think of him and always so sure of himself.
I think Jordan Peterson summarizes the works of Ayn Rand quite aptly when he says that she is a good writer but no much of a philosopher (Although I didn't feel the former to be true either.. but hey, that's just me). And also when he said that her work contains characters clashing with EACH-OTHER and not WITHIN THEMSELVES.
But, now that I look back at it honestly.. meh. It's an OK book. It definitely could've been shortened, but it seemed to draw the whole thing out. Many times, I was bored to death.
Also, the book doesn't shed any light on HOW Howard Roark became Howard Roark. It's as if he was just born this super individualist with no regard for what others think of him and always so sure of himself.
I think Jordan Peterson summarizes the works of Ayn Rand quite aptly when he says that she is a good writer but no much of a philosopher (Although I didn't feel the former to be true either.. but hey, that's just me). And also when he said that her work contains characters clashing with EACH-OTHER and not WITHIN THEMSELVES.
kkalk's review
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
ivyshack's review
3.0
More accurate rating: 3.5
YAYYY IT'S FINALLY OVER!!
-was my first thought when I first finished reading this a month and a half ago. Boy, was I surely mistaken, but not for the worse. You see, The Fountainhead, like many iconic books, is a novel that is way more fun to ponder and discuss than it is to actually read.
I found myself enthralled with Rand's argument and the dynamic between Roark and Dominique up until about halfway through, where I got incredibly bored and just wanted it to be over. No one is funny or charming. The atmosphere is deliberately cold and cruel, much like I imagine Roark's designs to be. I would say it's surprising that this wasn't written by a man meaning it as an insult due to it's misogynistic nature that goes way beyond the Dominique Controversy, but knowing Rand she would take it as a compliment. She would be enthralled at the thought of being Not Like Other Girls, a woman without a frivolous prose style and over-emphasis on interpersonal relationships. A writer who writes brooding alpha males who do horrific things to women and then are rewarded.
But literature goes beyond entertainment, and thus I give The Fountainhead surprisingly high praise, and that's because I found immense value in reading it. So to make one thing clear: I am not an objectivist, obviously. Rand's philosophy is clearly born out of an extremely simplified understanding of humans and how they operate. Because of this, I was surprised by just how much I agreed with the philosophy. We are all chasing our own happiness at the end of the day, so why not be honest about it? But if you know Ayn Rand, you know that she promotes this individualism above all else. She ignores systemic factors that prevent people from chasing after their own pleasure, leading those individuals to ask for aid. She doesn't understand that some people really do genuinely find pleasure in helping others.
I still find this questioning of conformism and self-sacrifice as beneficial, coming from a Christian who is concerned about the community and organized religion in general. I still think helping others and dedicating your time to something larger than yourself is a good thing and a cornerstone of religion, but being a religious person leaves you vulnerable to manipulation. Ayn Rand asserts that whenever there is a call for self-sacrifice, there is someone to sacrifice for. And it's important to ask who, specifically, you are sacrificing yourself for. Is it God? Is it a member community less fortunate than yourself? If not, maybe question what makes you want to engage in self-sacrifice for that person, and what specifically you are being called to sacrifice.
The way this novel grapples with capitalism is... a bit contradictory. Rand promotes this kind of rugged individualism that capitalism breeds, but it's obvious that this kind of lifestyle could be devastating in any environment other than the creative one that the novel is set in. Yet at the same time, capitalism is part of what makes it so hard for individuals with a unique creative style. Their success is at the whim of the public, the very enemy of this novel that punishes Roark for his originality. Even in this aggressively capitalist novel, capitalism provides roadblocks for innovation and doesn't breed it.
Anyway those are my little rambles. I did not have space in my essay for the aynrand.org competition to talk about any of these, so I enjoy the space to dump.
YAYYY IT'S FINALLY OVER!!
-was my first thought when I first finished reading this a month and a half ago. Boy, was I surely mistaken, but not for the worse. You see, The Fountainhead, like many iconic books, is a novel that is way more fun to ponder and discuss than it is to actually read.
I found myself enthralled with Rand's argument and the dynamic between Roark and Dominique up until about halfway through, where I got incredibly bored and just wanted it to be over. No one is funny or charming. The atmosphere is deliberately cold and cruel, much like I imagine Roark's designs to be. I would say it's surprising that this wasn't written by a man meaning it as an insult due to it's misogynistic nature that goes way beyond the Dominique Controversy, but knowing Rand she would take it as a compliment. She would be enthralled at the thought of being Not Like Other Girls, a woman without a frivolous prose style and over-emphasis on interpersonal relationships. A writer who writes brooding alpha males who do horrific things to women and then are rewarded.
But literature goes beyond entertainment, and thus I give The Fountainhead surprisingly high praise, and that's because I found immense value in reading it. So to make one thing clear: I am not an objectivist, obviously. Rand's philosophy is clearly born out of an extremely simplified understanding of humans and how they operate. Because of this, I was surprised by just how much I agreed with the philosophy. We are all chasing our own happiness at the end of the day, so why not be honest about it? But if you know Ayn Rand, you know that she promotes this individualism above all else. She ignores systemic factors that prevent people from chasing after their own pleasure, leading those individuals to ask for aid. She doesn't understand that some people really do genuinely find pleasure in helping others.
I still find this questioning of conformism and self-sacrifice as beneficial, coming from a Christian who is concerned about the community and organized religion in general. I still think helping others and dedicating your time to something larger than yourself is a good thing and a cornerstone of religion, but being a religious person leaves you vulnerable to manipulation. Ayn Rand asserts that whenever there is a call for self-sacrifice, there is someone to sacrifice for. And it's important to ask who, specifically, you are sacrificing yourself for. Is it God? Is it a member community less fortunate than yourself? If not, maybe question what makes you want to engage in self-sacrifice for that person, and what specifically you are being called to sacrifice.
The way this novel grapples with capitalism is... a bit contradictory. Rand promotes this kind of rugged individualism that capitalism breeds, but it's obvious that this kind of lifestyle could be devastating in any environment other than the creative one that the novel is set in. Yet at the same time, capitalism is part of what makes it so hard for individuals with a unique creative style. Their success is at the whim of the public, the very enemy of this novel that punishes Roark for his originality. Even in this aggressively capitalist novel, capitalism provides roadblocks for innovation and doesn't breed it.
Anyway those are my little rambles. I did not have space in my essay for the aynrand.org competition to talk about any of these, so I enjoy the space to dump.