Fountainhead

Rating:
Summary: Makes you want to go to the real America!
Review: Its such a positive book I thoroughly recommend it. The characterisations are brilliant, no muddled mixed grey areas, Rand unashamedly creates extremes to illustrate the book. It made me want to go to America in the 1920's and be an architect! The fresh, forward looking joy of life is genuinely uplifting.

The lead character, Howard Roark, with his abrupt, polite conversation with the various people who attempt to sway him provides amusing, cutting but innocent one liners you'll want to use. His independence, demanding nothing from others, was so refreshing. I particularly love the part when Keating rushes up to Roark and demands to know what he really thinks of him. "I never think of you" Replies Roark, with un-contrived honesty. A more enjoyable read, in many ways, than the broader "Atlas Shrugged" which I would recommend as follow on to this book, after a couple of months rest!

And you'll never meet a more vile man than Ellsworth Tooh! ey, nor a more broken man than Gail Wynand. To detract from the book, saying its nazi-ism or social darwinism is ridiculous, I can see no connection! There is scene of the greatest benevolence involving Roark in the book. The infamous 'rape' scene, that many find objectionable, comes over as a private fantasy of Ayn Rand. Its hardly a shocker, it seems nothing like real accounts of rape. Don't let that cloud you.

The story is rather 'black and white', but I feel that's deliberate. It is a fictional story, Rand was a novelist first, then a philosopher. It may be currently a favourite with younger people, but its a book that gets richer as you get wiser. I think suggestions that the book is naive are a non-criticism by people who cannot consider a constructive criticism, its the "I'm, older and wiser therefore you wont understand, but I'm right" argument. Incidentally, I'm not that young!. Rand did not write it with a specific demographic audience in m! ind!

My advice? Go for it, but only if you're going to ! read it closely and thoroughly, you may as well get as much from the novel as possible.

Rating:
Summary: Don't be seduced by simplistic ideas and writing
Review: I first read this book in high school. That is the perfect time to read it and fully appreciate it, when you are young and impressionable and looking for something strong to cling to. The force of Ayn Rand's thinly veiled philosophy and one dimensional characters are attractive for their idealism. I thought at the time it was one of the best books I'd ever read.

In college I went to a couple of lectures sponsored by some Ayn Rand influenced group and found their politics appalling. When it came to their lack of concern for people and their entirely un-nuanced capitalism and libertarian agenda I realized the implications of her ideas. Upon re-reading the book I was embarrased by how much I had formerly liked it. The characters were simply personifications of capitalism and socialism. The "love" was hero worship and the sex, rape. I found myself marveling at how black and white Ayn Rand's worldview is and how little it deals with the nuances of the real world. And how little I'd like to live in her world.

Read it when you're young, enjoy it, then look at it again later and see how far you've come. If you are interested in what she has to say, dig deeper. Read Nietzche, read Sartre, read Heidegger. Her "philosophy" is a watered down version of some of the best existentialist minds and much worse for the simplification.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Intro to Rand
Review: The Fountainhead has, in one way or another, generally found its way into the hands of must [psuedo]intellectuals. While many people have qualms about the "philosophy" of objectivism, The Fountainhead is a shining example of Rand's "real-world" (albeit fictionalized) philosophy in action.

The protagonist and center of the story is Howard Roark, an architecht. Throughout his career, he refuses to compromise his own integrity, creativity, or desires under the will of others. Such is the ideal of Rand, who, in objectivism, champions logic over emotion, rationality over irrationality. Roark embodies these traits, and as a result, is met with either applaud or with sneers. This book is many things to many people: To some, Roark is an uncompromising fool, a weak man. To others, (myself included), Roark is a pillar of strength and the definition of, quite literally, what it means to be a man.

The Fountainhead, much like most of Rand's fiction (that is, Atlas Shrugged) is also an exercise in patience. While Rand's underlying ideas are most assuredly worth the time it takes to get through them (her tomes tend to stretch from 600 - 1000 pagse). This is, to be frank, the largest drawback to this book - a drawback severe enough to merit the dreaded four stars instead of five. Rand could have convincingly boiled down The Fountainhead to about one third of its original size. For whatever reason unbeknownst to me, she most evidently did not -- hence, you have either a remarkable testament to the triumph of man, or a doorstop.

Your choice.

If you are looking for a "cheap and easy" way to introduce yourself to Objectivism, then I suggest you look at the ARI's webpage or the various volumes on just objectivism. However, the most important service The Fountainhead provides is as an example of objectivism: It is the humanity of the story, which supports objectivism, which has the ability to convince a reader of the merits of objectivism. The intellectual searching for something to chew on will happily find it nestled in the pages of The Fountainhead.

Rating:
Summary: Brilliant despite stilted dialogue
Review: This is one of the fastest paced books I have ever read. Ayn Rand's characters come to life as she paints very clear pictures of who they are and what they represent. She does this in spite of the fact that the dialogue is sometimes a bit wooden and stilted. In this novel, she sets forth her philosophy of "objectivism." She exposes those, such as a character named Peter Keating, an architect, who seemingly achieve greatness by copying others but somehow give the illusion of originality and creativity. In order to achieve "greatness," Keating was literally willing to sell anything, including his wife. Thus despite wealth and apparant achievement, his life was empty. Rand begins to formulate her values that altruism is an evil because a society which seeks to achieve this must do so at someone's expense and therefore leads to collectivism. In the person of Ellsworth Toohey, a flamboyant newspaper columnist, she shows how the power hungry manipulate the masses by setting a standard of mediocrity which fosters collectivism.

This book is full of passion, including a flaming, complex romantic affair between individualist architect Howard Roarke and socialite Dominique Francon. Their relationship develops from one in which they each seek to assert power over the other while achieving sexual release to one of true love between genuine soul mates. Roarke also has a passion for his work and is uncompromising in his creativity in accomplishing his professional goals. He will not ever compromise these goals despite enormous pressures to do so. Rand believed that there is only black and white in moral issues; there is no gray. Therefore, giving in a little is not compromise but rather, selling out your values and giving in to evil. Roarke was not a man to sell out, he had the courage of his convictions.

While setting forth her philosophy, Rand has also given us a novel which has a well developed plot. I found the novel to be gripping and I couldn't put it down. Following the career of Howard Roarke and the machinations of his enemies was fascinating. The plot had enough twists to provide surprises and to hold the reader's interest. This book is both an enjoyable novel as well as a challenging philosophical statement. I like Rand's philosophy and I love this book.

Rating:
Summary: Altruist vs. Egotist
Review: Ms. Rand has created a wonderful novel in The Fountainhead. Its a beautiful symphony of a struggle of a man facing the beliefs of a modern world while still standing by his own ideals. Howard Roark is a man who mankind should take after. I really dont know how to put it, but he is everything that most people aren't.

Throughout the book, Howard's strengths are enveloped with drastic comparison (if thats what you would call it) with his "friend" Peter Keating. Peter will do what ever his client wants from him as a young architect and he has done everything in his power to make sure that he succeeds, even at the price of others. Howard on the other hand will not sacrifice what be believes in, and thats what brings him down.

Howard loved the work of the architect Henry Cameron, and when he was expelled from art school by not making traditional Gothic or Greek homes, he went strait to work for Henry Cameron. Cameron was a once famous architect who believed that whatever has been done in the past, should never be done again, so he designed totally modernistic structures. This came under much scrutiny and praise as he was called "untraditional." He was eventually destroyed because "Men hate passion, any great passion. Henry Cameron made a mistake: he loved his work. That was why he lost."

When Howard applied the same principals, people werent sure what to think, and he reclined great comissions for the most wealthiest people. However, man didnt see his great line of ideals and he was labeled as an egotist, and people set out to destroy him.

As the story progresses, we see Howard as a man who doesnt hate. He cant particularily, but he does have his beliefs. And that is what makes this book wonderful. The entire story is philosophical, and it becomes slightly overwhelming at times, but Ms. Rand makes a wonderful story of it. The story ends in a dramtic climax at a trial where Howard testifys everything he believes in. He brings up the case of Altruist vs. Egotist. An egotist is one who gives up others for self. He creates, and is a creator, he made the wheel and everything else that has allowed the others to succeed. An altruist is a person who gives up self for others. He is the parasite, and doesnt use his brain, he punishes the egotist for making that wheel, and then uses it himself for personal gain.

Again, this book really broadened my outlook upon society. I have been quite interested in philosophy and this book really helped me see what man can be like. This is one of my favorite books of all time and i highly recommend it. The afterword is also quite interesting, before or after you start reading of the book. I loved this book and its highly recommended to all who can actually read the 700+ pages without being frightened.

Rating:
Summary: Rand, rand, rand...
Review: That was easily the worst 704 leaves of book I have ever read. If that passes as entertainment in this country then I must be deluded. Never have I seen such bad writing. There wasn't a laugh to be found amid insipid, corny dialogue proving yet again that what is popular is rarely the most deserving. The book is never been more than a vehicle for the author to overwrite and make silly political proncouncements. It is all the infuriating that this untalented person should make such money. Of course I'm jealous, I'd love to make millions out of nothing. Who reads this rubbish?

Rating:
Summary: About as Brilliant as Black Chalk
Review: The ultimate kindergarden philosophy posing as something worthwhile. Nothing is as shallow as the written dialogue between Roarke and anyone he speaks to. Plus Ms. Rand is expecting us to idolize a rapist. What a bunch of hooey. Read anything else and you'll be smarter.

Rating:
Summary: Impractical characters yet interesting plot
Review: The protagonists- Howard Roark and Dominique are an embodiment of every conceivable other worldly impractical ideals. At the end of a decade of struggles in their lives, Howard and Dominique are given a fairy tale like "they live happily ever after" ending. If anything, I would consider Howard to have been extremely lucky in getting away with being an architect who considered his clients to be guinea pigs for his creative ideas.

Howard's statements in his own defense at the final trial, in which he draws a comparison between the creative human spirit behind the first use of fire and that of his own experiments in architecture, are contemptuous. In my opinion, Ayn Rand could have show-cased her philosophy of objectivism more effectively by grounding her story in some other profession which has a more direct impact on people's lives than in the field of architecture.

In summary, I found many parts of the story defying common sense and what emerges from the book is the mindless quest of two cold individuals who want to have their own way in the world, oblivious to whether they fit into the larger interests of society and in the process willing to subject themselves to adultery and violent schemes-all in the name of pioneering human progress. I would still strongly recommend this book for the fun of journeying through Ayn Rand's brilliant thoughts and unbelievable plot.

Rating:
Summary: No hype and DEFINITELY NO REFUND OF MY MONEY!
Review: I read this book twice-when I was 19 and when I was 30. I thought maybe I had missed something the first time I read it. Well, I didn't, and I still don't see what the hype is about this book. This book is 95% philosophy and 5% plot/story. I remember someone told me that this book changed their life. The only change I got was the from the cashier when I got this book. If you're just looking for a good fiction to read, don't even waste your time. This book needs to be filed under either "self-help" or "psychology/philosophy" in the bookstore-not fiction.

Rating:
Summary: Book Review
Review: The Fountainhead chronicles (in third person) the saga of brilliant architect Howard Roark, the society that hates him and his violent romance with stunningly beautiful Dominique Francon. It's a wonderful story brought down only because Rand wrote this book only to prove her philosophy of Objectivism; therefore her characters aren't three dimensional at all, and the dialogue is rather rigid. It is also a tad unrealistic when characters rant for several pages about something. The storytelling also exhibits a heavy bias towards Roark and those who are his allies. The story is excellent though, filled with page-turners and bursting with excellent descriptions and thought sequences. I do not agree with all of Rand's philosophy however, shunning altruism, and spirituality of any kind.
Included in the society that is against him, is the wildly adored, but greedy, power-hungry newspaper columnist, Ellsworth Toohey. He believes in collectivism, where everything is simplified and watered down to the masses. I like how Ellsworth doesn't reveal that he is truly evil till the end of the book. Another one of the foes, although not seen until later into the novel, is Gail Wynand, the owner of a popular, newspaper that runs shallow stories about things such as poor pregnant young women. Peter Keating, Roark's rival since college, is widely adored, and experiences a quick rise to fame as opposed to Roark's sluggish one. However, he has no real talent as an architect, and is written as a sort of worm in the story.
Dominique Francon is a socialite with a frivolous newspaper column. She is exquisitely beautiful, but she is very icy until she meets Roark. Then she becomes more proactive in the novel. She has a rather pessimistic view of society, and surrounds herself with things she hates so that she cannot witness society tearing apart the things she loves. She and Roark have a violent, psychological love affair lasting throughout the entire book and are thus smiled upon by Rand. Their relationship is in direct contrast to Keating's cutesy and insipid romance with his college sweetheart Katie.
Rand's novel, although extremely one-sided, is an excellent read, a true contemporary classic, and very thought provoking.