Review of "The Fountainhead" - Ayn Rand

Ayn Rand in this book potrays man as a " heroic being". The philosophy which is the basis of this novel is Objectivism which she feels offers man a rational philosophy for living on earth by means of which he can achieve the best within him. Frankly the methods followed by Howard Roark (The protagonist) seem ridiculous at times. Ayn sees the world only as a Yes/No thing... but practically the world as we (rather I) know it is made up majorly by the "inbetweens". Well most of her stuff is bizarre and from what I could make out...

>> Accept reality and forego the presence of God!!! ... well this will tend to scandalize purists...but what she means is that we must stop thinking that God controls our destiny or that he makes things happen in our life. Frankly speaking I have seen many things with my own eyes (including miracles ...if they may be called so) to say that Ayn is 100% correct. Another argument is that reason is the instrument of knowledge / progress....true and accepted but still a bit reluctant on the God front

>> Live for own self...be a sort of selfish concieted individual...well i thot it was crap but then its beautifully expressed at the trial when Roark defends his "blasting"...still dont go with it fully. Also man should be an exponent of the free world. He should have no limits whatsoever. That I have a slightly tangent argument...and tht is "that such kinds of freedom have been misused thruout history and will be done again."

well for more on the philosophy visit this link

As for the book....
Message - - -> Not so clear .... not in the league of the common man...and can be easily misunderstood....However some parts are real good.(They will make up another post) 4/10.
Understanding - - -> Difficult..but then its philosophy and not my cuppa tea. 3/10
Readability - - -> well its not a thriller if you thot that and the plot goes haywire somewhere down the middle. (I had to glance off many pages to avoid boredom) 4/10

O/A id say its a 4-5/10...(The higher than normal is for her brand value ;-)!!!

Disclaimer: The views are personal and my own and should not influence you to think that I am from some anti-rand squad. I feel that the book contains good and bad concepts. Choose for thou art a rational being and reason shall be your guide...He He Rand style!!!