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Summary: A great fiction novel.
Review: A wonderful book. I don't entirely consider Atlas Shrugged to be in the common range of fiction (its more philosophy centered), so I would have to say that the Fountainhead is the best fiction novel I have ever read. Howard Roark is the greatest hero ever written.
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Summary: A shot in the arm for tortured adolescents
Review: This novel is a terrific shot in the arm for tortured, lonely adolescents who think they're misunderstood geniuses. Think of it as therapy for people who need someone to *tell* them that it's okay to live their own lives and that they don't have to buy their right to exist through fulfilling external and unchosen "duties."Unfortunately, many of Rand's less critical admirers have *stayed* in therapy for a very long time -- and Rand, who herself suffered from a host of psychological problems, was among the world's least qualified people to administer therapy to adults. You'll search her philosophy in vain for any indication that psychologically healthy adults *do* seek to help one another, not as a "sacrificial duty" but out of the generosity that marks a rational and successful human life. And you'll especially search *this* novel for it in vain; generosity and helpfulness weren't very important virtues to Rand (if they were important at all). And if you insist on taking Howard Roark as your own personal role model, you'll drive yourself nuts in fairly short order. Roark's behavior usually involves repressing his own emotions and other internal danger signals, feeling more "empathy" for buildings than for human beings, thinking everybody else under the sun is a miserable (and forgettable) "second-hander," and generally regarding his own "creativity" as an excuse for being a whirling sonofoabitch. Some people enjoy this sort of thing; they're called adolescents. But most people outgrow it. The ones who don't are called Objectivists.
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Summary: The Fountainhead & Atlas Shrugged : GREATEST GREAT BOOKS.
Review: ------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------- THE FOUNTAINHEAD : I read it. It took 3 Months to complete because I felt giving a new birth of myself as a Howard Roark which was growing inside me from my childhood. I would like to communicate with ALL WOMEN with Dominique Character .( or Dagny - Atlas Shrugged ) on my Email. AYN I WANTED TO KISS YOU & WILL ALWAYS ----> Neil -------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------
Rating: 
Summary: Skip it
Review: When people say Ayn Rand's characters are "wooden," what we mean is that we don't find them convincing as literary characters, not that we don't know anyone like them in real life. We do speak for ourselves -- unlike the Randroid "individualists" who are nothing but mouthpieces for Ayn Rand. When people say that Ayn Rand's dialogue is "stilted," what we mean is that her fictional characters don't speak convincingly as fictional characters even by the standards of "romantic realism," not that real people don't have anything important to say. Although some don't -- among them the sycophantic followers of Ayn Rand who "prove" that *The Fountainhead* is great literature by leveling ad hominen attacks against those who disagree. When people say that Ayn Rand's plots are "contrived," what we mean is that they are clearly constructed to serve a didactic purpose and therefore in large measure predictable, not that human life is an unpurposeful, deranged spell of chaos. "Takes one to know one," indeed. Could there be any better evidence of the adolescent mindset to which this book appeals? No, *The Fountainhead* really can't change your life. This charge has nothing to do with being "on the premise that life-changing -- and life -- is possible," and everything to do with the fact that ultimately, only *you* have the power to change your *own* life. What a shame that this very view -- which Ayn Rand set out to defend in the very book here under review -- has been so corrupted by her "followers" that the rest of us can't even criticize her literature without being pegged as anti-life and anti-reason. Wake up and smell the coffee, Randroids: Rand didn't uniquely represent either life or reason, and you don't represent them *at all* if you let her do your thinking for you. Do you really think Howard Roark would have listened to *you*?
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Summary: Read it
Review: When people say Ayn Rand's characters are "wooden," what they mean is that they don't know anyone like these characters in real life. They should speak for themselves. When people say that Ayn Rand's dialogue is "stilted," what they mean is that real people don't have anything important to say. They ought to know. When people say that Ayn Rand's plots are "contrived," what they mean is that human life isn't purposeful, but a deranged spell of chaos. Takes one to know one. *The Fountainhead* really can change your life. But only if you're on the premise that life-changing -- and life -- is possible.
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Summary: its not the idea thats the problem...or the story...its both
Review: rand has the guts to put out a piece of propaganda under the guise of literature but i would think most intelligent readers could see through that. art and politics can certainley mix -- id have to say though, it's nice when the politics help the majority of people (benthem) or the 'art' brings forth something from your mind and senses...i gave you a chance ayn. the most i got out of this was a few 'spurts' of reason and thought...she could have been a better writer but dropping "plot."
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Summary: Good book because of its ideas, not because of the writing
Review: Let's start with the bad: (1) the characters are more one-dimensional than a geometric line; (2) the dialog is stilted and unnatural; (3) the plot is incredibly predictable and ridiculous in its fakeness; and (4) it's *way* too long. Now with the good: the book *is* thought-provoking. It does not apologize in its viewpoint and puts forth a good faith argument that ego makes the world go round. (Of course, it doesn't address if the world *needs* to go round, or whether ego does bring happiness, but we can read the Dalai Lama on that :) Is it a life changing book? Depends on your life and beliefs. It didn't change mine, but it certainly asked some serious questions that everyone should answer. Nevertheless, I'll probably read 20 other books before I read Atlas Shrugged. And oh yeah, I *loved* the Frank Lloyd Wright character ;^) (Sorry Ayn, wherever you are)
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Summary: Ayn Rand's Benevolent Gift To The World
Review: "The Fountainhead" is Ayn Rand's benevolent gift to a chaotic world. Besides changing the lives of untold thousands of people, this book is my candidate for the greatest novel ever written. The only challenge, in my humble opinion, comes from its older, big sister, Rand's "Atlas Shrugged," which belongs in a class of its own: mythical novel; philosophical treatise; blueprint to societal collapse. In "The Fountainhead" one witnesses the heroic struggle of Howard Roark as his vision of life triumphs over the anti-life forces that would "Iron Heel" him to a spiritual death. The theme here is the individual spirit soaring through life, in love with creation and the act of living. "The Fountainhead" is a masterpiece, integrating theme and plot; characterization; and writing craftsmenship together in one tightly wrapped story that will remain in the hearts and minds of the American culture as the Mt. Rushmore of a New Age. This book was originally rejected twelve times by major publishing houses. Quite recently, Modern Library, under the auspices of its editorial board, choose the 100 most important novels of our time. James Joyce's "Ulyssus" was choosen first, Nabakov's "Lolita" was chosen fourth, and Norman Mailers, "Naked and The Dead" came in at fifty-first. "The Fountainhead" wasn't mentioned, nor was Ayn Rand. Some day people will look back at this -- as we look back at those who rejected the printing press, the car, the airplane, and the computer -- and laugh at the folly of those so blind. People just don't like this book; they fall in love with it. This is a great book to give as a gift to a loved one, for what better gift could one give a person, than the gift of their own life. Amongst other things, "The Fountainhead" was another benevolent gift Ayn Rand gave to the world -- the gift of one's life.
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Summary: Flawed but Inspirational
Review: It's always great to see extremists of both colours arguing about Objectivism and Ayn Rand in general. Both sides miss the point. Although the philosophy of Objectivism may not stand up to close scrutiny, The Fountainhead and its companion Atlas Shrugged are interesting, inspirational novels that have a lot of value for an intelligent, dedicated reader. Some have pointed out that Ayn Rand's characters are cardboard; they are indeed one-dimensional, but each in a specific way. I viewed them more as characterizations of specific traits, and the technique (assuming it was intended) heightened my enjoyment of the novel. Others have waxed poetic about the long, self-serving, drawn out passages. This is also true, but numerous authors of classics employ the same technique. Who, for instance, could claim that the writing of Thomas Hardy is not a disgraceful example of butchered English? Nonetheless, his literature is still valued for its depth and meaning. I like the novels. They inspire me, they motivate me, and, yes, they give me sanction to be the self-centered human that I am. It would be a shame to not read for yourself and draw your own conclusions; keep an open mind, challenge the assertions, but draw your own conclusions. The works of Ayn Rand were and are popular with young, intelligent readers for a reason.
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Summary: The Fountainhead morally explains the Garden of Eden story.
Review: I write here a review of The Fountainhead and also refer to the review I am writing online of Atlas Shrugged. It is no secret that Ayn Rand intended to challenge Judeo-Christian ethics by her writings and philosophy. Most of her followers have interpreted this to mean than she was anti-religious. but this is not so. Her books are actually intensely religious but not at all Judeo-Christian in emphasis or perspective. In the Biblical Garden of Eden story, the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil was in fact not a Tree of information or of any useful knowledge but rather of Judgment, and as such could only work for its rightful Owner who also created and owned the Garden. Judeo-Christianity emphasizes only that Adam and Eve disobeyed and therefore sinned. In fact they violated a Divine Property Right. The Fountainhead emphasizes this. In The Fountainhead, Roark can be juxtaposed as having the same Divine Right in regard to his own intellectual property and work. with Toohey as the Serpent who instigated the violation, etc. In the end, we have Ayn Rand elevating all mankind, with the exception of Toohey et al, completely out of the confines of the "sin" which Judeo-Christianity still levies upon the descendants of Adam and Eve, through a thoughtful and philosophic appreciation of property rights rather than through some mystifying emphasis on mere obedience. This is a book which should be read before one reads Atlas Shrugged, which takes this philosophic approach to religion even further. The reader should also notice that, in both of these books, Ayn Rand refers to the Garden of Eden "Tree of Knowledge" incorrectly ... as if it is in fact a tree of information ... and therefore herself always defended "disobedience" by advocating that it was always intended to be eaten. This was not a ploy on her part. Despite all of her intense philosophic precision inclusive of religious study, Ayn Rand misread the clear meaning of the forbidden Tree ... thus proving she never ate of "it" herself! So, rather than waste time reading hearsay regarding her alleged "instability" or wondering why a woman who would not keep a dime she did not earn and who would therefore have had to invent an empathy test-tube "affair" and take transcription notes to be of real help to the myriad of broken hearted divorcees who flocked to the Branden Institute for paid counselling, we can all instead think of Ayn Rand as a provable Immaculate Evolution ... and completely above the suspicions currently being implied. There is even a Biblical analogy appropriate for this brilliant and honorable writer which i will refer to more precisely in my review of Atlas Shrugged.
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