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Summary: Anthem
Review: This book is so profound in its simplicity and so moving in its narrator's fear and then his strength. It is a testament of what our society can become, a prophet's moving vision. It is, in a way, a warning, the prophet's advice to take us off the path to the society that the characters live in. By the end, I had a feeling of self-actualization. I was never a we, but I was never an I. The profoundness of freedom now hits me. I trully understand the importance of the simple, three letter word EGO.
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Summary: Vivid description
Review: "Anthem" describes a world of the future, a society in which the word "I" has disappeared from the language. The society revolves around the collective word "we". There is no such thing as an individual but rather a group of persons who all do the same thing. They move, work and live as a unit. Individuals have no name, independence or values. This is a story of one man searching for and then discovering his individuality. This society is evil: achievement is punished, originality is a crime, and disobedience is never thought of. Diction plays a major role in revealing the theme which is the meaning and glory of man's ego. The words that Ayn Rand chose bring the book to life. Readers feel as if they are part of the book rather than just reading it, making all the characters and places came alive. They are so vividly described that readers could probably draw them. Rand describes books as " they were not soft and rolled, they had hard shells of cloth and leather"(104). This diction brings the book alive.
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Summary: Gag me with gag me with a spoon!
Review: If I'm not mistaken, Anthem was conceived and written BEFORE Orwell's 1984.
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Summary: Chillingly accurate.
Review: Ayn Rand wasn't all that far off. This book may have been written over 50 years ago but I think anyone today can still relate to its ideas and message: Mankind today scorns individualism. I myself currently live in a country whose people basically hate each other, but are perfect clones of one another. For me, Anthem was a chilling reminder of what kind of environment I'm living in. The symbolism used in her novel isn't hard to relate to at all. Needless to say, I doubt this novel would sit well with my fellow Israelis. At the end of the day we should all think about what path we're headed to. Would this path be different if we ignored the harsh critisism of the outside world? Hmm, would it?
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Summary: gag me with a spoon
Review: what a HORRIBLE book! Okay, the first line was good, just like all Ayn Rand's first lines are good, but after that? Geez, I felt like I was reading a lame take-off on 1984. Get your own plot next time! If you are going to read an Ayn Rand book, I recommend We The Living (or the other two books everyone knows). But please skip over this one and save yourself an afternoon.
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Summary: Eternally Fresh
Review: I attended a liberal college in the 70's with the usual groups - radical theology students, Marxist economic teachers, philosphy professors praising the power of drugs, marches. I slipped into the bookstore to avoid a demonstration one day and found this book. I thought then it was a gem but have not read it in 27 years. I picked it up the other day and reread it and found it as fresh and exciting as the first time. Both the language and the spirit of the novel were so refreshingly different from the feel good, amoral, smirky tone prevalent in current bestsellers. Anthem is almost a work of poetry - absolutely amazing considering it is written in a second language. The book's tone is almost religious, a tribute to the human, not the divine spirit. I suspect those writing the most polemical reviews disagree more with the book's philosophy than the literature. It should be offered in junior high and high school as a classic. For today's youth (I have two) it may be too intellectual, expect too much from the reader. It will be difficult for those with a certain philosophical bent to enjoy this book. It is uncompromisingly relentless in its vision of a collectivistic world. But it also unabashedly rejoices in the indominatable strenth of the individual. Very good read.
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Summary: This is not a book.
Review: Anthem is not a book. It is not a philosophical or governmental treatise. As Ayn Rand herself admitted, it has neither a real plot nor a real climax. Anthem is a poem.
Its final two chapters are (according to Rand) the "anthem"--the celebration of the human ego. This is not done in logical terms, but in pure emotional exultation. In my opinion, Rand's writing throughout the book is skilled, passionate and evocative, but in the last two chapters she really shines.
For presentations of Rand's philosophy, Objectivism, in logical form, read Atlas Shrugged. For a ruthless, beautiful evocation of the emotional aspect of Rand's philosophy of egoism, read Anthem. If you have socialist leanings, or simply have always assumed the many is more important that the one, the book may disturb you greatly (it did me, when I read it the first time). It will change the way you feel, and Rand's later work will change the way you think.
Highly recommended. This book is often misunderstood, but if you read it with the understanding that it is a poem, and not a book, your understanding of it will be enhanced.
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Summary: An Amazing piece of writing!
Review: i absolutely loved this book. i am 13 years old, and i still grasped the concept i think ayn was trying to get accross. i love the whole scheme of the book. i think it was so wonderfully and poetically written! i could not put this book down, for i was drawn into the character's every thought and action. i love how it used the words "WE" and "I". how amazingly genius. this is by far hte best book i have ever read!
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Summary: Brilliant display of the evils of collectivism
Review: Ms Rand does a superb job of articulating the anti-collective position in ANTHEM. Her satirization of the destruction of the individual is very compelling, and the rebuilding of the individual which takes place later in the novel is even better. I would recommend this book to anybody who is for the individual and against collectivism as an affirmation of their opposition to collectivism. I would also recommend it to anybody who supports collectivism or altruism so that they can see its dangers.
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Summary: A triumph of philosophy in poetic form!
Review: Ayn Rand displays a passionate brilliance in "Anthem" that is awe inspiring. The beauty and simplicity she brings to the battle between the individual versus the mob had me thinking about - and then re-reading the book over and over. "Anthem" is a must read for anyone who loves life and believes that respect for individual rights is the only way to acchieve happiness on earth. Bravo!
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