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Ayn Rand


Raskolnikov

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I have read Anthem, which is a reasonably short dystopian.

 

I've had Atlas Shrugged for a while, but I find it incredibly daunting so it is likely to remain on my TBR pile for quite some time yet. For those of you who have read it, is it a hard read, or is it reasonably easy to get through?

Ludicrously, gut churningly hard read. Dull and very depressing, a lot about railways , before i fell asleep.

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  • 2 months later...

To be honest, I think your best bet would be to read the book and make a note of them all.  If it's that important that you know them all, the only guarantee would be to make the list of them yourself.  I doubt if any of us as casual readers (i.e. not studying literature) would be likely to be 100% certain that we could name every single character in a book, without going back and re-reading it.  The only other option I can think of is a website or resource dedicated to Ayn Rand or the book itself, but as Michelle mentioned, probably an internet search would be better for that. :)

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  • 3 years later...

Resurrecting this thread because I bought The Fountainhead this week. It was on a book challenge last year for "post modern novels" but I read something else back then. I have not heard of the book or the author before last year but given that I am still new to modern literature in general (and by modern I mean something that was not written in the 19th century) I will give it a shot. Eventually. 

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Resurrecting this thread because I bought The Fountainhead this week. It was on a book challenge last year for "post modern novels" but I read something else back then. I have not heard of the book or the author before last year but given that I am still new to modern literature in general (and by modern I mean something that was not written in the 19th century) I will give it a shot. Eventually.

 

I thought Atlas Shrugged was better, it took me 22 days to read The Fountainhead. :o

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Funny this should be resurrected. I started listening to the Vlogbrothers podcast Dear Hank and John, and in it John Green (the author of The Fault In Our Stars etc) talked about how much he hates Ayn Rand's books and if you ever wanted books to just scratch off your TBR to save valuable time, her books would be the ones. He said they embody a philosophy which appeals to young adults who feel they have the power to change the world and become anything, and which most adults grow out of because the reality is society simply doesn't operate in the way depicted in her books, and therefore they, she, and her philosophy, are all irrelevant.

 

Naturally, now I want to read them.

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Really? I'm not too up on the details really, can you explain what you take from it/like about it? I've read a lot of stuff tearing it apart, and very little supporting it, so I'd seriously love to hear a different viewpoint. I should also probably read back through this thread :D

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Well, I know neither of us believe in free will and objectivism is the opposite. I've always (ok, the last 25 years) been interested in existentialism. Objectivism supports the individual right to seek happiness, saying that is the goal of life.

 

In a Capitalist way, objectivism believes in a restricted government, the individuals ability to create independently and advocates... well, free will.

 

*Existentialism isn't the same as objectivism. The differences are interesting. A Google search for Objectivism vs existentialism will bring you to atlas society.

 

Edit: I feel like I should add that there are different interpretations of Objectivism. My interpretation is why I like Ayn Rand.

 

Also: We the Living was one of my favorite books this year and is much shorter.

Edited by Anna Begins
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Thx for mentioning Dear Hank and John. I love the Crash Course vids even though the only John Green book that I've read was below average. I listened to the particular podcast where they mention Ayn Rand and I am quite surprised to hear them dismissing a book. Sure one might not agree with the message or writing but that does not mean it's bad per se. I don't think it's bad to want to be whatever you want and change the world, I mean that's why you ask 5yo kids what they want to be when they grow up and I find it encouraging that people dream big. 

 

Maybe society does not work like it does in her books (I have not read my book yet) but why is this argument making her irrelevant? Societies keep changing but that does not mean we should not take into consideration a book because of this. 

 

Sorry but John dropped the ball hard on this one. 

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I don't know, I haven't read any of it! But most people (on the internet) seem to dismiss her philosophy as selfish etc because she apparently opposed altruism of any kind etc. That's just one example I recall reading. I think maybe the reason people are harder on her work than on other fictional works is because her works were literally her way of expressing her genuine philosophies and outlooks on life, and people are pointing out that on that literal level, they don't work?

 

Which one of her books should I read? Don't say Atlas because I'm not reading a tome unless I already like her books :P

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  • 9 months later...

To me,  Atlas Shrugged  (1957), and The Fountainhead (1943) are the same book. For the life of me I cannot find a single point in  Atlas Shrugged not made in The Fountainhead.

 

I've read both more than once and, I think, her philosophy, Objectivism, whether you agree or disagree with it, ain't all that complicated.  I find the radio address given by John Galt in Atlas Shrugged interminable. She refused to have Atlas Shrugged edited in any way by anyone and it shows.

 

On the other hand, last I checked, neither book had ever gone out of print, which is impressive, so I could be completely wrong.  :)

Edited by Litwitlou
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