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Jeffin

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The Fountainhead

by Ayn Rand

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Reading for the 2nd time

read in July 2022

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Jeffin said:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

" This book feels like it was combined with another one during editing. The first few hundred pages, minus some small seeds planted for the future and some highly questionable decisions, could have been half of a different, less radical book that would This book feels like it was combined with another one during editing. The first few hundred pages, minus some small seeds planted for the future and some highly questionable decisions, could have been half of a different, less radical book that would have been much better than the final product. The rise and fall of Peter Keating, someone living entirely off of what others think who has to seek guidance from people who don't, would not have had as much of a societal impact, but it would have been a better story. Keating achieves fame and fortune at the cost of his mental stability, as nothing he achieved has truly been his own and he cannot match his idol's way of life. Some characters may be caricatures, but not everything has to be so tied to reality in a story that tells its message through a relatable man. The way Rand made her message clear entirely through plot made the beginning of the book legitimately enjoyable.

This gradually changed about a third of the way in, where Rand began telling a different story about Howard Roark's greatness and how being unapologetically true to yourself is the most admirable way to live, even if it unnecessarily harms others and yourself. The story becomes a battle between Roark's individuality and his small group of supporters who worship him completely, and Ellsworth Toohey's grasp on the masses with which he aims to control the world through a collective spirit. Once the book starts taking its characters' personalities seriously, they become ridiculous. Roark refuses to make even the smallest concession concerning his work, something that would ruin society if followed by everyone. Dominique Francon is first introduced as a frankly painful character to read who, despite being in love with Roark, hates him and does everything she can to destroy him in every way because she both hates and loves being controlled. Ellsworth Toohey is a wolf in sheep's clothing meant to villainize the idea of living completely for others, which Rand sees as an evil idea corrupting all of society, but no one is expected to do so in real life. Selflessness may be a quality people praise, but it is only praise-worthy because people are not expected to live selflessly. Toohey treats Roark's refusal to concede as a danger to his plan, and Dominique treats him like a god among men, but all he really is is an architect who makes strange buildings that most people don't like. The entire city attacks Roark for his work because it is different from the norm, but it's all so unrealistic in New York City, where most people can't be bothered to laugh at a building because there's no reason to notice it. No one in reality would make a big deal about Howard Roark. Rand abandons her way of telling her message through plot and instead turns to pages and pages of spouting philosophy from Roark and evil schemes for world domination from Toohey. Her enemy is a society that doesn't exist, and her hero is someone who would destroy the world for his own sake, someone this book wholeheartedly supports. ...more "

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(page 720 of 720)
— Jul 22, 2022 09:32AM

Jul 22, 2022 10:11AM · see review