Rating: 
Summary: A Very Realistic Novel
Review: I was not surprised at all to find reviews that only attacked Ayn Rand's vivid account on Soviet Russia. As a 14 year old, I read The Fountainhead and taking into consideration the disgust of society on Gail Wynand makes me perfectly understand why I could only find bad reviews on We the Living. I similarly noticed that reviewers did not enjoy the novel because it was "too depressing." Well I would believe that Soviet Russia in the early 20th century was not exactly roses and sunshine. We the Living was one of the most realistic novels I have ever read. This was actually my very first introduction to Ayn Rand and made me admire Ayn Rand as my favorite author. The vivid descriptions of how communism destroyed Russia were amazingly intense, and her portrayal of the protagonists and antagonists elevated this level of intensity and intrigue.Many people despise Andrei for being a communist, Kira for devoting her life to an empty man, and Leo for being that empty man. I am almost positively sure that Ayn Rand already had all this in mind for her readers. Such conclusions on these characters are superficial. Andrei is labeled as a communist, but the reader must grasp the value behind this label. He is an individualist at heart, and commits suicide because he realized the waste of his life as a supporter of communism. Kira is a bold young woman pillared by ambition. What makes her a heroic character is that she never sacrifices her morals or values for her surrounding etiquette that plagued man. Leo is the complexity of the novel because he leads readers to despise both Andrei and Kira, but in the name of individualism, Andrei and Kira must be recognized as individuals and not because of an empty man. I have never cried at any movie or any book before We the Living. The intellectual intensity collapsed at the end, and I could not help myself from sobbing because of my deep appreciation for Kira's character. I challenge every person who detests We the Living to read it once more and think deeper of the wider meaning of this powerful message to man.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting, but not Rand's best.
Review: Although the brevity of this work may make it appear attractive to someone looking for an introduction to Ayn Rand, I would save this book only for readers who can't get enough of Rand's fiction. I would recommend Atlas Shrugged or The Fountainhead or even Rand's nonfiction before this work; personally I think The Anti-Industrial Revolution would be the best introduction to her nonfiction. The book was not without its merits, however. This book was interesting in that it seemed to me to be the least preachy of Rand's fiction. It also had characters who were far more complex than usual for Rand. This work contained capitalists to be hated and communists to be admired, forcing Rand into relying on ideals of characters instead of personalities to get her views across. Rand claimed this book to be as close to an autobiography as she ever would write.
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting plot-unlikable characters
Review: I found this to be an interesting read and a good plot, however, I didn't think any of the main characters were admirable at all. Not that likable main characters are essential to a book/plot, but I am surprised by the other reviewers who really admire Kira and others who find that Andrei is the only "real man" in the book; a man who never betrays his values. First, on the Andrei front, while he does display the most virtue regarding his loyalty and stoicism, let's not forget that his loyalty led him to gun down peasants and farmers whom the communists felt were "cheating" them out of their share of crops. While the reader only sees Taganov when he's being an upstanding, passionate man who has strength of character and loves Kira honestly, Andrei's monologues allow us a glimpse into what he does on the job with the GPU. He seems comfortable with the killing and torture that made the USSR such a fun place to live under the communists. Regarding Kira, her determination to live as an individual is admirable, however, her devotion to the empty Leo seems out of character. It's as though she's really only attracted to him physically. That makes her interesting, but not someone to model your life after, as so many other readers seem to suggest. I thought the description of life in Soviet Russia was particulary well done. It's hard to believe that people (communists) actually talked like that, but Rand grew up in this period and has indicated that this aspect is accurate. This is an excellent story, but it's thoroughly depressing.
Rating:
Summary: Depression at its Best
Review: This book was definitely an intriguing and pretty accurate description of post-revolution society in Russia. The characters were intriguing as well. For those of you who aren't Ayn Rand readers, this book is completely unlike her others. The one quarrel I have with the book is its depression factor. Perhaps I become too emotional while reading, but this book really sank in and had a high sadness factor. Yet, overall, it is a must-read!
Rating: 
Summary: Absolutely Amazing
Review: I am seventeen and I have never read a book like this one . I was profoundly affected and I believe anyone who reads this book will be , too . Kira is an unbelievable character . Her story is poignant and real . The book is real . There are no mushy fake scenes of perfect love or happy endings . Life isn't that way and niether is this book.
Rating:
Summary: An astonishing novel from an astonishing heroic woman
Review: In this book, Ayn Rand provides the reader with the expereince at looking at how important each individual human life is, how it is detstroyed under communism (or any dictatorship), and how man needs freedom in order to live. She should know. She was born and lived in Russia under communism, until she moved permanently to America at the age of 21. Thank you Ayn Rand for having the courage to leave the hellhole you grew up in, which only got worse later, and for coming to America and writing novels like this one, to warn people of the evils of totalitarianism. You will NEVER be forgotten.
Rating:
Summary: An early work of Ayn Rand . . .
Review: . . . it still shows the keen intellect behind her writing. The character development seen in Atlas Shrugged and Fountainhead is there as well. Yet the book doesn't quite move as well as her later novels. Nevertheless, ten times better than the typical novel. Ayn Rand makes a searing indictment of communism, a system she grew up with and knew only too well.
Rating:
Summary: all i gotta say is wow
Review: this book left me absolutly breathless. i have read all of her other novels and found this to be the most touching. Kira was unlike any other character i have ever gotten to know, she has a charming quality. i could not get enough of her. i cried for 45 minutes when i finished and later when i thought about it. i am 16 and i go to enloe high in raleigh nc. this book is incredible. raw and true to human nature. i enjoyed it most b/c it was not fancy with the happy endings and over done unrealistic love. read it. it is true to LIFE. and how people truly are. and appreciate what that means to you.
Rating:
Summary: It was not author¿s imagination, it was her experience.
Review: For somebody who came from Russia this book is a vivid reminder of the horror, that people like Kira experienced after revolution. Is the book about love? Yes, of course. Is it about human spirit and ego? You bet. Does it show us that love may be blind? Unfortunately. But in addition to all that, it is a testimony against the kingdom of ignorance. They the living were turned into the mass of toilers. They still remember days when they were humans, and now one by one they surrender to the power of pigs. From the very first page you feel that it is not just fiction, but almost a documentary. May be that is why it is the best book by Rand. It was the story that she lived.
Rating:
Summary: A definite view of the quirkiness of life.
Review: I first saw this book in bookstores when I was in junior college, not more than 16 years old. I looked at its last page (as was my habit) and decided I could not digest the book. But the book persisted. It was there in bookstores even when I became 30 years old and I said there must be something to it. I have to read it. And so I read. I read it after a tiring journey in which I had not slept for 36 hours and it was so interesting I forgot my tiredness and read it with the customary tears that I shed every time I read a touching Readers Digest story. It must be in my nature to cry. The plot is clearly absorbing and not an ideal one . As close to reality as mundane life, with its crushed expectations gets to be. But I do not know why Kira is the heroine in the story. It should have been Andrei - the only man who is a man in the entire story. The only man who never betrays his values, the only man with a heart and decency. What does Kira see in Leo? Is Rand trying to portray that women can have no sense of seeing things for what they are? Is Rand saying that women need to doll up and let men love their bodies and not their souls? True love may be rare, but it better be well deserved! Love may be a religion but it should have a sense of values which allow it to be given to the deserving person. The lover Kira and love itself become some slavish fetter which is loved as a drug addict may love his drug. If this is love and if imagination of love is greater than achieving it in reality as the last passages show then it is a monumental acceptance of the fact that humans are capable of fooling themselves. Kira may have been a good soldier but she did not see the direction she was headed in. That is not anytime the mark of a good soldier at all. Real love should be one which improves one's values and not one which destroys them. Kira did not know the preciousness of love - the immunity it gives to any true love - though Rand imagines and shows that Kira achieves just that! It is the only novel by her I read, so I cannot comment more on this.
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