For me, the joy in reading a good book or watching an excellent movie is ephemeral and transient. A really good book (like Zen & the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance (ZAMM), Lila, Death of Vishnu, Fury, Catcher in the Rye) leaves me with a few lines/ideas to think about, but ask me about the story or the names of the characters, and I will have NO idea few weeks after I finish the book. They are the lesser details for me - names, events, sometimes even plot. But chances are, I will remember the names and characters in Fountainhead for a while!
Clearly defined, yet leaving enough space for the reader to extrapolate, imagine, and understand on their own. Re-reading important sections of a book is not something I have done before. ZAMM goes down as the only book I have read twice. But after finishing Fountainhead, there were a few sections I wanted to re-visit - Ellsworth Toohey's talk to Peter Keating when he insults him for his lack of originality; Henry Cameron's parting words to Howard Roark; Howard Roark's conversation about second-handers in the cruise with Gail Wynand; Howard Roark's testimony in court in the end; but the line that made me pause, ponder, and smile, was - "Why should any living creature exist in pain? By what conceivable right can anyone demand that a human being exist for anything but his own joy?"
I don't agree with everything that the author claims - I believe there is some 'virtue' in socialism; capitalism is not the panacea that she claims it is (in hindsight, has not proven to be the cure-all that the author perceived it to be in the 40's). There is some happiness in giving - the gumption that YOU receive in making life better for someone else, purely for your own selfish reasons, YOUR gumption.
Spoiler (dont read further if you haven't read the book yet and plan to): Roark blowing the Cortlandt project up - that was drastic. If it was his (or the author's) means to an end, where he could present his reasoning and thoughts to a larger audience in the court and try to get them to see the light, it might be justified. But could he have made his point without blowing up money spent (albeit, not well spent) - maybe..
But yes, goes right up there, among the best books I have ever read. I ask myself - how much of a Howard Roark can I dare to be? This is a great book to read in your college days, before you start your career, most people read it then. I didn't, am glad I finally caught up to it..
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2 comments:
yaaaay!...I finally get to read what you thought about the book.
A lot of what Rand (born Alissa Zinovievna Rosenbaum) has to say is based on her experience as a Russian Jewish immigrant. Rand's heroes (and they have always been heroes - no room for exceptional women - atleast to the best to my knowledge)are exceptionally talented and that brings them in conflict with the society.
Rand's works are particularly suited for the countless idiots(and hence her enduring popularity) who like to feel that their 'exceptional' talents being crushed by circumstances. Her work is a true homage to megalomania.
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