Anthem

Rating:
Summary: EGO?!?!?! what the....
Review: I succeful "supenced my disblief" throught the book and snice doing so was able to somewhat enjoy the book however i was very disapointed in the ending "the sacred word: EGO" (rand 105). half of the book is written in plural tense then it changes to the singular tense. The the sacred word is ego. i realize that ego can mean "The self, especially as distinct from the world and other selves" (dictionary.com) however, it can, and most commonly means "An exaggerated sense of self-importance; conceit" (dictionary.com). The latter is what most commonly comes to mind and when ayn rand edited her book for this edition she should have realized that what she wished to say and what she said were different.

Rating:
Summary: Rand's most postmodern work
Review: In _Anthem_, her dialectical masterpiece, Ayn Rand combines the thesis of Communism and the antithesis of capitalism to create the synthesis of Objectivism. Easily her most postmodern work, it makes clear that she didn't really think Communism and capitalism were opposed to one another at all: in fact it was the _false dichotomy between Communism and capitalism_ that she sought to overcome through the dialectical activity of philosophy.

It's a great, great novel. And despite what some readers might think, it's not at all a ripoff of Russian author Yevgeny Zamyatin's 1921 dystopian novel _We_. In Zamyatin's masterpiece, the protagonist and his lover are named D-503 and I-330 -- but in _Anthem_, the corresponding characters' names are Equality 7-2521 and Liberty 5-3000. See? _Completely_ different.

Rating:
Summary: GREAT NOVELETTE
Review: I read this book as a school assignment but to my great surprise it was actually GOOD. I HATE reading but genuinely enjoyed this book. Besides being short this book is interesting and compelling. I recommend it to anyone at all.

Rating:
Summary: "Strange, compelling, deep, dark and disturbing"
Review: There is no way to explain this book! At once it seemed to be science fiction, and then sad, helpless philosophy. I also like the writing style of Chuck Palahniuk, and this, in some strange way resembles his quirky work. In another way this book reminded me of "Who Moved My Cheese",and perhaps "Farenheit 451". I'm sure there is a message buried deeply within these pages, but I read it for enjoyment and so should you. I felt both deeply disturbed as well as curious when I finished reading. This is one of those books that leave one wondering; am I better or worse off after reading this book? Find out for yourself.

Rating:
Summary: An Unfair Review
Review: This is a completely unfair review to make. I'm not a Ayn Rand fan, and I usually try to avoid reviewing books about whose authors I am more or less ignorant and uninterested. That said--and all readers having been warned--this is one of the few books I have ever read in my life that I completely and utterly and absolutely loathed. If I ever had the slightest inclination to read The Fountainhead, this book squashed that interest to ant-like proportions. I found it narcissistic, chauvinistic (even by my relaxed "Hey, patriarchy has some good points" standards) and bovinely incompetent in its logic. The hero's solution to his anti-individualist society by creating an "I'm the only individual that counts" society (in other words, ANOTHER anti-individualist society) plumbs the depths of idiocy. I've been told that Ayn Rand did better than this, but I can't bring myself to find out.

To play fair, other reviews are much more positive so keep reading if I've thoroughly annoyed you.

Rating:
Summary: ESSENTIAL RAND
Review: This book is an essential addition to anyone interested in the philosophy of Ayn Rand. If you have yet to read any of her works, I believe this to be your best starting point. In this beautiful prose poem lay the gems of Objectivism. I consider this a short, stabbing introduction to Rand's beliefs, especially when compared to "Atlas Shrugged", which is much, much wider in scope and runs about 1100 pages longer. "Anthem" is the warm up lap before the marathon. If you want to see what Objectivism is all about, read this book. If you want to go further from there, then read "Fountainhead" and "Atlas Shrugged".

Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable
Review: Okay, forget for a moment that Ayn Rand's philosophy is very self-centered and really rather destructive. Despite popular opinion, you do NOT have to agree with her ideas to enjoy her novels! At least, not if you enjoy intellectual debate.

Anyway, having said that... Anthem is my favorite Rand novel. It is a pleasure to read. However, I have to say that to see the same concept in a much better written, more enjoyable novel, pick up We by Yevgeny Zamyatin. If you've already read Anthem, read We anyway. It's just better. But Anthem is well worth reading at least once.

Rating:
Summary: Not Rand's best
Review: This novel is very simple and far fetched. This is Rand's attack on conformity and communism/socialism. The problem she is speaking out against is so exaggerated in the book that it is almost impossible to take Rand seriously. This one shouldn't be red past middle school unless you are a die-hard objectivist and must read Rand's entire ouvre.

Rating:
Summary: This Is A Different Book
Review: I read this book in under two hours, and that's something I can't say for many others I've come across. Rand has something to tell the reader, and she does not waste words or time to get it across. Skipping details and only providing a thin cover, a shadow of a "plot", she hands out this tale.

Having just come out of an 800-page Dostoeyevsky, this read was brisk and refreshing. The philosophy is one-sided and simplified, without considering the counterpoints. However, for 100 pages in rather large, generous fonts, it's what can be expected. It is not your usual novel, and not so much a work of "get away from it all" fiction as it is a manifesto wrapped in a thin plot.

Do not read this if you're looking for a story that will spin a complex web of characters and deep plot. However, if you're trying to learn about the world and be exposed to as many different ideas as possible, this a good read, considering all points.

As a final enticing note, if you've read the Orwell's 1984, you'll love noticing the similarities in the first half of the book. They start out exactly the same, yet they diverge to polar opposites in terms of conclusions. Rand would like her character to topple a society with the individual spirit, leaving hope, while Orwell admits that one man will always be crushed by the all seeing Big Brother, bringing a depressing yet realisic ending. Good comparison piece to other dystopian works.

Rating:
Summary: Short, sweet, to the point - and inspiring.
Review: First off, I have seen a number of reviews here slam this book as being a "[copy]" of '1984'.

George Orwell's fine '1984' was first published in 1949.
Rand's "Anthem" was published in 1938.

So if the two books are related by borrowing ideas, it is Orwell who borrowed from Rand! (Rand's "Fountainhead" also pre-dates '1984').

However, I don't think it is necessary to claim one writer [took] ideas from the other. Both had the very real examples of totalitarian, Communist Russia to draw from. In fact, Orwell, a Socialist, was writing against Communist Russia in Animal Farm and 1984. He railed against his perceived "corruption" of Socialist ideals by the Communists.

Rand of course would point out (correctly) that Socialism and Communism are the same thing, only differing by degree: that both systems require the sacrifice of the individual to the state. Orwell did not understand this.

It's important to note a critical distinction between the two writers. Orwell's hero was in the end captured by the state, had his mind destroyed, and was executed. (Animal Farm ended in death and tyranny too). Rand's heroes escape the tyranny of the collectivists around them and live free. Some call Rand's endings "Hollywood". I call them ideals to be striven for. Such endings are possible in reality and thus are things anyone can achieve.

While I appreciate '1984' and 'Animal Farm' as fantastic anti-collectivist writings, the consistent failures of Orwell's heroes says much about his fatalism and his negative opinion of humanity. In Orwell's world, human beings are base, vulgar, vile creatures *by nature* and thus need to be taken care of by a Socialist nanny state.

Rand has a better vision - both of human nature and of the kind of society we could live in.