Fountainhead

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Summary: Battles Between Dreams, Genius, and Professional Life
Review: A flooding sensation of being inside the mind of a genius is felt from the beginning of Ayn Rand's "The Fountainhead". However, the genius is not Ms. Rand alone, who is famously known from her homeland of Russia to the United States of America for her writing ability that places you right next to the characters in several astonishing stories.
Howard Roark is a man whose entire being has been devoted to architecture from his early childhood. The devotion, indescribable intellect, or both, have enthralled his mind in a way that has let temptations, jealousy, and competition dwindle like dust from his headstrong future. His mastermind provides him with more than an acute sense of perfection, and almost wild and scary blueprints. The impeccable accuracy of Rand to detail of both plot and character develops Roark and Peter Keating, his old friend into men you feel you know. Not only is the story one with a passion for individual integrity shown by Roark, but also of love from Dominique Francon, a uniquely beautiful woman, who didn't always have the courage or heart to be there for the man she truly loved... The story delves equally into human temperament and into the separate worlds of men, all striving for an equal goal of seeing their mapped future unfold before them.
The unwavering perfection to detail and insight of intricate and multipart characters, mainly grown men, have left me with a feeling of enlightenment and a creepy feeling of human knowledge. "The Fountainhead" tells the story of a lonely genius' reach for his love, the obstacles that come up in any businessman or businesswomen's career, and discusses what makes and breaks any man or woman; the ability to follow one's own dream.

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Summary: The most misogynist book it is humanly possible to write.
Review: I could have justified giving this book two stars, or even three. It is, after all, well and cleverly written. It is seductive, easy to get caught up into the plot and hard to resist caring about the characters, even when your head tells you that you REALLY don't even marginally like any of them. Also, there are parts of Rand's "philosophy" that are undeniably true, and need to be heard in the modern world. But she's made it clear that she prefers honest hatred to indifference, so I'll do her that much courtesy.

The biggest problem with this book is the "romantic interest", a term which I use advisedly. The main character is supposed to be Rand's concept of the ideal man; one must therefore assume that the female lead must be the ideal woman for such a man (after all, if he's ideal, he wouldn't fall for just anybody, right?) and their relationship must also be ideal.

That relationship begins with him raping her. No, this is not an exaggeration, it isn't date rape, it's actual, honest-to goodness, no mistake or confusion rape. But that's okay, because it's only what she secretly wanted from him, and certainly what she had coming; she was, after all, a snotty rich woman who'd treated him with a lack of respect just because he was (so far as she knew) a common laborer.

Does anybody else out there see a problem with this concept? How about the fact that she spent the rest of the book trying to convince herself that she deserved him, because his treatment of her earned her worship?

There are other problems with the philosophy expressed in this book, as if there's actually any need for MORE reasons. But this one is sufficient in itself to make the book utterly worthless, in spite of the validity of SOME of its message. Those parts of the message can be found in other books that do not have the baggage that this one carries. I recommend "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest" by Ken Kesey.

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Summary: If Philosophy is Your Bag...Or Even if it's Not
Review: The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand is an exciting book that has a very powerful message. It can be read on many different levels. It can be read simply as a fictional story about an architect who overcomes obstacles and challenges. It can also be read for the deeper meaning of the philosophy behind it. There are also many different levels of thinking in-between. No matter what level you read it on, it is still a powerful book.
The main character, Howard Roark, is based off Rand's perception of the "ideal man". Roark lives out Rand's philosophy of objectivism, as the main characters in other Rand pieces similarly do. Rand's integration of philosophy and exciting fiction makes for a good read whether you agree with objectivism or not.
I gave this book 5 stars because it holds your attention, makes you think, and helps you develop your own views on life. While the book doesn't necessarily contain "action" the whole time, the characters and their personalities keep you turning pages. The book is written in a way that it doesn't force any ideas on you, but it lets you form your own opinions. It all depends on what level you read the book. If you read it as just another fiction novel, you'll come away with the same beliefs as you did before, and that's great. But if you really dig into it and try to understand the ideas behind it, you'll probably get more out of it.

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Summary: Rand casts a pearl.
Review: Howard Roark is an architect who dismisses the design practices of the past as a crutch for lesser architects and their impressionable clients. For Roark, form follows function, and there will be no compromise. No matter how hard pressed he is for money. Peter Keating, however, has no such qualms, and is perfectly comfortable with the old-school way of doing things. But he does know his limitations. These he circumvents by having Howard Roark redesign some of the more complicated commissions that come his way.

Years pass. Peter Keating rides the crest of a wave with the help of the boss' daughter, Dominique Francon. Howard Roark, on the other hand, struggles from one commission to another. One of them is a property scam which worked out for the better. Another lands him in court because of manipulation of a client by the newspaper columnist, Ellsworth Toohey.

Dominique Francon, who had married Peter Keating, leaves and marries the media / property tycoon, Gail Wynand. Peter Keating's world begins to crumble, and he finds himself begging the influential Ellsworth Toohey for a chance at the government's housing development project, Cortlandt Homes. Ellsworth Toohey invites him to try, well knowing that the chances of him succeeding in the bid are slight, since he suspects that Peter Keating hasn't designed everything he has claimed to.

So Peter Keating turns to Howard Roark, begging him to secretly design the project. His plea is accepted on the proviso that under no circumstances, whatsoever, is the design to be diverted from. Peter Keating agrees, signs a secret contract with Howard Roark, and has Ellsworth Toohey submit the design, which is accepted. The project is begun.

Returning from a yachting trip, with Dominique and Gail Wynand, some months after the commencement of the project, it transpires that Peter Keating has been forced to acquiesce, mutilating the original design. None too surprised, Howard Roark decides to dynamite what has been constructed of the Cortlandt Homes project and take his chances in court....

Read as a work of fiction, and not as a Trojan horse for the Rand Manifesto, my opinion is:

There is a lot of eye-poppingly bad and redundant literary prose, as unnecessary to the story as gargoyles and Athenian arches would be on a Howard Roark building.

The use of mixed viewpoint robs the reader of a more direct understanding as to why some of the characters have some of the extreme attitudes that they have. Having Dominique Francon issue streams of almost incomprehensible dialogue to have someone else say they don't have a clue what she's talking about is hardly the best way to involve the reader.

There are occasions when the logic is a bit skewed. For example, Dominique encounters Howard at her father's granite quarry and wonders what such a noble specimen of manhood is doing breaking ( unyielding ) rocks. She contrives a way to meet him at her home. The means she chooses is to damage a marble slab fronting the fireplace in her bedroom. Howard appears as instructed and lectures her on all the types of marble available and how it is vital that she obtain the correct grade. Dominique doesn't give any thought to how a rock-breaker would be so articulately knowledgeable on the subject of marble. And so she doesn't make any attempt to have her earlier wonderment answered. Details such as this are quite a common failing, its rectification subordinated to the eye-poppingly bad prose.

Even so, The Fountainhead is obviously written by someone who is tremendously skilful at integrating a plethora of sub-elements; can create a sense of high drama; and can cut through the utter mush that prevails in the world today.

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Summary: THe Fountainhead
Review: This is a book that every high school kid should have the opportunity to read to better understand the meaning of individualism and it's importance in their lives.
Howard Roark is a character that epitomizes success by doing what is in his heart and mind, and not what society tells him to do.
The Fountainhead is not a book for the weak minded socially concious person who relies on American media for all their information.
Read the Fountainhead if you have the desire to be an independent thinker.

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Summary: One of my all time favorites!
Review: Ayn Rand has the uncanny ability to bring to life heroes of epic proportions. In The Fountainhead her theme is the role of an independant mind in shaping one's life as opposed to living as a second-hander who conforms to the mob and acts selflessly. Through the progression of the hero's career, Rand demonstrates the practicallity of principled action based on self-interest. It is amazing how simple this idea is yet even more amazing how few people have fully appreciated its power.

If you have never read Rand, this is a good book to start with. take your time and enjoy it, and when you are done get Atlas Shrugged as soon as you can. Then prepare yourself to really start living!

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Summary: Rand is a must for all thinking readers.
Review: This is not for fans of Steven King. Sorry, but I couldn't help responding to "Brenners" review. I found this book to be intelligent, interesting, relatively fast moving, and educational. The characters are exagerated and intense, which helps get the point of the story across. The underlying dicussion is good. Egotism vs. Altruism and the individual vs. the collective. There is good drama along the way. I don't know if you will love any of the characters, maybe Howard Roark, but you will definitey loath and maybe pity some of the others. Also, don't be afraid of the 700 plus pages. You will be done before you know it.

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Summary: My personal thought
Review: When I first read "The Fountainhead" by Ayn Rand it was given to me as a graduation gift from one of my teachers. I fell in love with it as soon as I finished. It is the portrayal of a moral ideal as an end in itself. Rand has placed 'man-worship' above all and has brought out the significance of the heroic in man. Man-worshippers are those who see man's highest potential and strive to actualize it. The Fountainhead has brought out the greatness of man - the capacity, the ability, the integrity and honesty in man - as an ideal to be achieved. It is based on the idea of romanticism which means that, "It is concerned not with things as they are but with things as they might be and ought to be."
The Fountainhead is the story of an architect, Howard Roark-, whose genius and integrity was as unyielding as granite and of his desperate battle waged against the conventional standards of society. It is a tale of hatred and a story about society and how it's against a man. Ayn Rand's daringly original philosophy of 'objectivism' is the base of The Fountainhead. The motive and purpose of her writing is to bring forward the most challenging ideas that man's ego is the fountainhead of human progress. This piece of literature is great for anyone that is stepping into something new and unexplored lifestyle.

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Summary: Spare Me
Review: I read Atlas Shrugged a long time ago and thought it awful. Just to be sure, I read The Fountainhead awhile after and sure enough it was awful too. It was inconceivable to me that anyone would mistake this woman for a writer or philosopher or even someone you would want to have any more to do with than an unexpected swallow of sour milk. So now, 40 years later I find she is on lists of "classic" authors, and even a US postage stamp. Oh God, spare me. I only hope that those who proclaim her magnificance have never read Faulkner, Hemingway, Cormac McCarthy, or even Steven King.

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Summary: Should be Required Reading
Review: There was a time when the Fountainhead was required reading in many high schools, and in a large number of college architecture programs -- it still should be. This is a book that should stay accessible in your home, and it is one that you will enjoy reading more than once. Each time, you may see in it more than you did before and draw parallels to contemporary events, people, and ideas. It is not surprising that political liberals tend to hate this book and the author. The Fountainhead remains a refreshing and optimistic story that continues to inspire true free-thinkers.