Fountainhead

Rating:
Summary: Big book for small minds
Review: The continuing praise heaped upon "The Fountainhead" as well as Rand's other tired novels is proof that intellectual sophistication is an endangered character trait, rapidly being eroded by a myopic, self-righteous population.

Ostensibly an anthem for humanists, "The Fountainhead" tells the parallel tale of two men. The first, Howard Roark, is a strong-willed individualistic genius architect who avoids any semblance of success for fear of compromising his personal integrity by selling out. The other is a sniveling toad for whom success, fame, wealth and material things mean more than any amount of pride or self respect. As expected, the pure-of-heart hero suffers for both his art and beliefs, while his soiled and foul counterpart reaps huge rewards at the expense of his soul.

Unfortunately, "The Fountainhead" was ponderous, overly pretentious, transparent, preachy, self-indulgent and hollow. It is little more than a puffed-up facade of integrity and individuality complete with a whole bunch of really big words.

The "valiant" fight waged by Howard Roark against the phillistines and ignoramuses of the world (who are just too pig-ignorant to appreciate his un-spotted art and talent) in this constipation causing opus probably serves as justification for those who believe that their own worth is unappreciated by the rest of society as a whole.

Rating:
Summary: Read it, read it, read it
Review: Even if you are intimidated by "classics" (or the size of this book), you will love this book. It's very interesting, very insightful and very modern. Pick it up. You will be glad you did.

Rating:
Summary: I love Howard Roark
Review: This was definitely a life changing book for me. I read it in high school and immediately fell in love with Howard Roark and all of his ideals. Rand did an amazing job putting together a novel that really expresses that intangible desire to be more -- particularly considering the fact that the book was written in English, which was her second language.

The fact that most people who come to Rand as a writer move on to explore her philosophies, well, that's somewhat of a disappointment. I did, too. Ordered all sorts of pamphlets and immersed myself for a while in all of the Objectivist activities. But she was not a perfect woman; she was not a good role model or philosopher. But she WAS one hell of a story teller. And this is a story to hold close to your heart.

It also is an ideal gift for anyone making a big change in their lives -- graduation, moving, job change.

Rating:
Summary: An unusual review for an unusual book
Review: Haven't you ever had to laugh at a joke that wasn't funny? Did you enjoy that? When was the last time you complimented someone for gain without truly believing what you said? How many times have you smiled when you weren't happy? Who hasn't stood aside and let their principles fly out the door? Does that feel good? My grandmother died when I was 11 and I didn't cry. Did I feel sad? No; so why should I compromise myself to make everyone believe I was hurt? Through my entire life I've fallen for the traps presented by those who wish to control me. As a teen I was embarrassed to ask girls out because when I was a child and teen I was ridiculed for being different since I was the new kid at a small school. I felt guilt when I felt good because I feared egotism! I carried a deep self-disdain because I was athletically and mentally skilled; I'd let others win when I could have easily bested them. They labeled me hyperactive and persecuted me for it and made me believe that I was the "wrong" one. My ego depended upon your acceptance, which was a weak foundation to begin with.

When I read this book it was like looking into a mirror. I've always realized that I had to "let go" at some point but couldn't discern what I had to let go. Psychologists told me I had to listen and feel for others; they said that intellect shouldn't be a basis for friendship, less intelligent people could carry an emotional depth that would bring about a prosperous and rewarding relationship. What a lie! Dependence is that's called. They were a crutch that I used to create myself. This book revealed what everyone has effectively concealed from me: I could only rely upon myself. I feel guilt no longer. In some ways I'm now guided more so by my emotions than ever; these emotions aren't empty hunches but rational and logical reasoning. But, I guess, such things would be incomprehensible to those who base their lives around Ally McBeal, spiritual searching, and trends. I guess I should feel stupid because I had to discover this from a book. Well, I don't feel any such remorse. I've seen much in my short life; I've fallen for the best lies there are, ranging from self-sacrifice to spiritual enlightenment. None of these answered any questions or cleansed my soul in any way. The people who beat me down into a sniveling social worker are the collective minds of a hundred thousand years. I was bested by the best and have accepted the knowledge of my impotence. Everyone seems to believe that such a philosophy doesn't leave room for love, happiness, or emotions. Well, I disagree. I laugh when I'm happy and cry when sad (which isn't often). There are those I love, but I they aren't the foundation to my temple, only I take that honor. Others cannot hurt me anymore. This all came out of a single book, The Fountainhead. Laugh, flame, scorn, insult my grammar and organization, debase my intelligence, and attack my mistakes all you wish. You no long control me.

Do I worship Ayn Rand? No. Unlike those of you who worship and dedicated yourselves to those who give you knowledge or freedom, I owe no debt to Ayn Rand. You describe those of us who subscribe (I like that term) to her philosophy as "drooling masses" and use that as a weapon to depersonalize my beliefs. Ayn Rand didn't create her philosophy any more than birds created air or chimps created bananas. There is truth in her writing and that is all that matters to me. Belief in your god or your neighbors and I will belief in my god, myself.

I don't simple believe what Ayn Rand has to say. I've read the works of those who disagree with her such as R. Buckminster Fuller and still agree with Ayn. The Fountainhead wasn't meant to reflect reality but rather exists in a vacuum to prove a valid point. Maybe I enjoyed this book because I come from a fiction/sci-fi literature background and can easily accept the reality presented by the author. Suspend your disbelief and prejudice and enjoy this story.

This review is NOT the property of Amazon and can only be modified with my permission. My intellectual property, my way. Don't post this if you wish; it doesn't matter since I wrote this for myself.

Rating:
Summary: A lesson learned
Review: The Fountainhead was not inteded to entertain people. It was intended to educate us, to show us a new point of view, and it does. Some would say the book is simply Ayn Rand stuffing her objectivism down the reader's throat, but she has every right to, as she wrote the book. As an audience, we must simply try our best to see things as the characters see them. Although the characters do seem a bit unrealistic at times, it is all to show the reader the goal that Rand is getting at. Perhaps objectivism, like so many other philosophies, can never exist in the real world in its true form, but perhaps just a touch of it could make our lives better. It seems, as this book shows us, that if we were to all put a little Howard Roark in our lives, maybe the world would be a better place. Even if it didn't, Howard Roark still proves to be one of the greatest unsung heroes in fiction.

Rating:
Summary: I avoided this book for a long time...
Review: ...because I'd read somewhere that the hero committed an act of rape. I was convinced that if I read the book, I'd end up too disgusted by the hero to continue.

One day, I opened the book at the middle, and started to read the story of Gail Wynand's life. I still didn't want to read about Howard Roark. But Wynand's story was and still is fascinating.

Finally, in order to find out what happened to Gail Wynand, I had to sit down and read the book from the start. And that's when I discovered that I liked Howard Roark as a character. It's hard not to like someone who's faced with virtually every setback in education and in career, and who faces it all with the courage to endure and with an integrity that appears all the greater for the contrast to Peter Keating. I still don't like the fact that he raped Dominique, but I don't feel that this detracts from the plot or the unique character of Roark. The book says something very simple to me : be true to yourself and to your dreams, don't let anyone try to mold you into their idea of what you should be. By the way, Ayn Rand has a great writing style, too. I wouldn't call this the be-all end-all novel (Dominique is too irritating) but it's pretty damn good.

Rating:
Summary: Not literature, not philosophy and not worth reading
Review: If ever a novel needed an editor's blue pencil this was it. 700+ pages of stale, colourless philosophizing posing as dialogue, two-dimensional caricatures posing as characters, and adolescent fantasy posing as thought.

Although I had to skip some of the interminable flashbacks or extended philosophy-monologues (shoved gracelessly into the mouth of whoever happened to be in a particular scene)I read to the end, thinking that surely some small ray of humour, humanity or writing talent must emerge from such a doorstep of a book.

Sadly, it didn't.

Despite it's pretensions to literature and philosophy, the heart of this book (not that the heart is given a chance to beat anywhere in it) is the masochistic rape-fantasy of Dominique Francon. "The Fountainhead" belongs, some 600 pages shorter, on an airport bookshelf under S&M, with a tasteless picture of a rugged young architect and some bedraggled, anorexic socialite at his feet.

It is the longest, drabbest pulp I have ever read, and the hollow, depressing boredom it left me with makes me wish it were possible to unread a book.

I read it alongside Germaine Greer's excellent book, "The Whole Woman", which is probably the best antidote to Rand's extraordinary adulation of the worst aspects of the male psyche.

Rating:
Summary: Marvelous Story, Interesting Idealogy
Review: In her book the Fountainhead Ayn Rand writes one of the most compelling narratives ever. The story makes the book difficult to put down, while the underlying philosophies awaken the reader's since of self. I can not praise this story enough and although I do not necessarily agree with all of Ayn Rand's philosophies, I will continue to promote this book to anyone willing to listen.

Rating:
Summary: Worthless, philosophically unsound
Review: This book is philosophically unsound, both in its arguments and in its source.

Just as an example: Ayn Rand has the excellent suggestion that a building's style should be determined by its materials, and both should be determined by its purpose and its location.

But if that is so, how can she think of building a temple for the human spirit out of stone (one of the central themes of the book)?

What human spirit would be content in stone? What human spirit does not desire to create, to modify, to move? As such, the only proper temple can be living flesh and blood. Yet one of her central themes does seem to be that noble human spirits are best enshrined in steel and stone.

She didn't carry her philosophy all the way through.

This problem is repeated time and again. Thus, to those who find philosophical soundness to be important, I would advise them to go elsewhere. Even Atlas Shrugged is better on that scale.

Rating:
Summary: Intelligent but flawed author
Review: Her idealogy was only valid in a time of a real or imaginedcommunist/socialist/collectivist threat. She apparently wanted tochange the world -- and extremes (masked as objective "realities") are so much better for herding than real political nuances.