Fountainhead

Rating:
Summary: A Tract, Not A Novel
Review: WITH TYPOS CORRECTED

Everyone, of course, needs to read The Fountainhead. But it is certainly not a particularly good novel. For one thing, it is really a tract, not a work with a well developed plot or style.

Now, don't get me wrong. Personally, I agree with Rand's overall "philosophy." (Although, frankly, despite a lot of her mumbo jumbo, it is not nearly as complicated as many people would have you believe. Most of what Rand believes can be summed up by "Individualism: good. Collectivism: bad.")

My primary criticism of The Fountainhead is simply that it is poorly written. The characters are wooden and speak in a way that no human being ever does . . . or should. Rand's style is bad Taylor Caldwell. Well, okay, maybe that's redundant: there IS no such thing as GOOD Taylor Caldwell. But what I mean is that, in The Fountainhead, people are always storming out of rooms in a huff, usually after making some "devastating" remark that just seems silly.

And why was Rand never able to develop a name that SOUNDED like a real name: I mean "Dominique Francon," "Ellsworth Tooey," my God. Howard Roark (another clumsy an unappealing name) may be Rand's ideal man but, to my mind, he's a prig, a bore, and never acts in a way that seems natural . . . even for a supposed ideal human being.

So, sure, read The Fountainhead. But you're not going to like it. If you want to save some time, cut to the chase and read Roark's court speech at the end of the novel. Like everything else in The Fountainhead, it doesn't ring true. (No judge, past or present, would allow such a thing in court.) But at least it presents "the philosophy" in a pure form without the annoyance of Rand's leaden "plot," bloated and stilted prose, and her polyester characters. It really is an aggravating, amateurish book.

Rating:
Summary: Highly recommended
Review: I highly recommend this book to the intellectuals of the world. It's written for men or women, and will hypnotize its reader, provided he or she has an open mind to unusual philosophies. Ayn Rand had a unique thought process, and, inevitably, you will relate to at least one character in this novel. For me, it was Dominique. She is way ahead of her time: independant and strong, but constantly struggling to remain so. Roark is the typical laid-back man, continually harrassed by the torments of his own mind. The Fountainhead will definitely make you see the entire world in a whole new perspective.

Rating:
Summary: Great book--mind opener
Review: I just finished this book after reading it for the purpose of a contest. The first two sentences were enough to capture me: "Howard Roark laughed. He stood naked at the edge of a cliff." This book is good for both shallow and philosophical thinkers. The contiuous struggle and dissection of human thought and action were depicted wonderfully. After finishing the book, I was left with the feeling my best-friend had moved. I missed the characters extremely, so I started it over. Today I bought "We the Living", the first book written by Ayn Rand. I urge humans of every age to read this, especially independent thinkers.

Rating:
Summary: A Tract, Not A Novel
Review: Everyone, of course, needs to read The Fountainhead but it is certainly not a particularly novel. For one thing, it is really a tract not a work with a well developed plot or style. Personally, I agree with the overall "philosophy." (Although, frankly, despite a lot of mumbo jumbo, it is not nearly as complicated as many people would have you believe. Most of it can be summed up by "Individualism: good. Collectivism: bad.") My primary criticism about The Fountainhead is simply that it is poorly written. The characters are wooden and speak in a way that no human being ever does . . . or should. Rand's style is bad Taylor Caldwell. Well, maybe that's redundant: there IS no such thing as good Taylor Caldwell. People are always storming out of rooms in a huff, usually after making some "devastating" remark that just seems silly. And why was Rand never able to develop a name that SOUNDED like a real name: I mean "Dominique Francon," "Ellsworth Tooey," my God. Howard Roark (another clumsy name) may be Rand's ideal man but he's a prig, a bore, and never acts in a way that seems natural . . . even for a supposed ideal. So, sure, read The Fountainhead. But you're not going to like it. If you want to save some time, cut to the chase and read Roark's court speech at the end of the novel. Like everything else, it doesn't ring true. (No judge, past or present, would allow such a thing in court.) But at least it presents "the philosophy" in a pure form without the annoyance of this leaden "plot," bloated and stilted prose, and polyester characters.

Rating:
Summary: Ayn Rand is a genius. These ideas lead up to Atlas Shrugged
Review: The Fountainhead is about creativity, rationality, individuality, and other such virtues. Read it to gain philisophical insight about your life and then read Atlas Shrugged.

Rating:
Summary: Changes How You View the World
Review: This is one of the best books I have ever read. It has disturbed me and shaken the very convictions that I have built my life around. I have never read a book that had such power to do that, and it has opened my mind in a way that is almost frightening.

Rating:
Summary: A really great read.
Review: This is onethat you can not miss. Rand's philosophy aside, the story is one in which the protagonist's struggles and ethics become our own.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent exploration of independance and accomplishment
Review: This is a master piece of one individuals sucess and trimuph in the face of conventional thought.

Rating:
Summary: No Apologies Necessary
Review: In the world of "The Fountainhead," unlike the world in which we live, it is impossible to hide. This quality has made the novel both so admired and so despised. Is it too long? Probably. Is it merely Rand's soapbox from which she can dispense her thoroughly unrealistic expectations that she demands from humankind? Absolutely. And yet, in spite of this, the writing succeeds. It remains eloquent, but like Roark's buildings, it is not ornate. She writes simply and concisely, which sounds strange to say, in light of the fact that the novel is over 600 pages. True, many of the additional pages are repetitive, but no one can deny that her point was lost. This book has made me examine myself and my motives, and still continues to do so. I think it is a mistake to try to "be" Howard Roark, or worse, to measure yourself against him; some of the previous reviews seemed to be implying this in their unabashed praise. As readers, I think that it is our responsibility (if we defend what Rand writes about) to choose the path that most suits us, that allows us to take those steps toward self-actualization, and from there, we will come to understand the almost inhuman steadfastedness to principle that Roark exhibits. The book is brilliant. It is over fifty years old, and still gaining in popularity, but that is not why you should read it. You should read it to gain a new understanding of life - your own.

Rating:
Summary: excellent book
Review: I just finished this book today, and I was amazed the whole time.

I guess it turns out that I have been somewhat of a Howard Roark all of my life, but not entirely I must admit. This book is excellently written; Ayn Rand uses many literary techniques I believed to be my own (especially in the first couple of pages)

The only problems I found:

-The book seemed to be a bit too long for me. I don't mean this in terms of pages, but in terms of storyline (I'm definately not afraid to read long books. One of may favorites happens to be War and Peace). I think that the book should have focussed more on Howard Roark than it did; this would have made the message of the book stronger. There were too many scenes that seemed unnecessary to me.

-Toohey - -I think that his speech in Peter's room kind of ruined it for me. He reminded me too much of an insane super-villain.

Other than these two things I think it was an excellent book, and offers many brilliant insights into society and morality.