The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand, Leonard Peikoff Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of The Fountainhead
Book Review: A Tract, Not A Novel
Summary: 2 Stars
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 well crafted piece of fiction with a satisfying plot or style.
Now, don't get me wrong. Personally, I happen to agree with much of Rand's basic "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 the phrase "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 reminiscent of a bad Taylor Caldwell novel. Well, okay, maybe that's redundant: there IS no such thing as a GOOD Taylor Caldwell novel. 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 ... well ... just seems rather silly.
And why was Rand never able to develop a name that actually SOUNDED like a real name? I mean "Dominique Francon," "Ellsworth Tooey," my God. Howard Roark (another clumsy and unappealing name) may be Rand's ideal man but, to my mind, he's a prig, a bore, and he never acts in a way that seems natural . . . even for a supposed ideal human being.
So, sure, read The Fountainhead. But, if you have any literary taste at all, you're not going to like it. In fact, if you want to save some time, cut to the chase and read Roark's court speech at the end of the novel. You'll get the gist from that. But, like everything else in The Fountainhead, even it doesn't ring true. (No judge, past or present, would allow such a thing in court.) Nevertheless, 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. Despite its popularity, this really is an aggravating, amateurish book.
Book Review: A Tremendous 500 Page Book . . . That Lasted 700 Pages
Summary: 4 Stars
From the first pages of the Fountainhead, I was captivated by the struggle between Keating and Roark, not onlyas they battled as professionals, but even more importantly as they waged a less public war for their souls. Ultimately, the important question that Rand posed to me was whether a person can ever justify a compromise of their intellectual or artistic integrity to achieve a purely utilitarian goal. Rand, through Roark, answers this question in the negative, but her characters' ultimate fates leaves the question unresolved. I was immediately impressed by how well Rand developed her characters and made me care about how their lives would progress, especially in the first half of the book when Keating and Roark are defining themselves and their artistic visions. The book bogged down a bit in its later stages, particularly when developing the relationship between Roark, Dominique Francon, and Keating. Because of its extraordinary length and the fact that it lost some steam towards the end, I cannot recommend it to everyone, but I can recommend it wholeheartedly to those people who may feel disenchanted with a society that often values the material and superficial over the enduring.
Book Review: A Warm Novel
Summary: 5 Stars
The book was excellent, and has the rare quality of being a book that is able to make the reader feel good. The reader may object to the idea of objectivism as a solution to the plagues of modern society, but he should keep in mind that this philosophy has not been offered as a solution at all. The world may not be better if the world is filled with men and women like Howard Roark, but the reader must not miss the fact that the book believes that care for others is unimportant, and of secondary concern. This is a valid point; the very point that makes it such an eye opening piece of literature. The world may not be as pleasant for some, but it will much more successful and make more progress if more men and women follow the example that Ayn Rand has set through her hero Howard Roark.Book Review: A Zenith in 20th century literature
Summary: 5 Stars
The concepts and ideas contained in this novel were very compelling to say the least! I thoroughly enjoyed the style of writing and the level of explicit character development present. Rand's realization of each important character (a unique manifestation of some abstract ideal) was brilliant. The book is extremely well written and thought provoking. If you despise compromise this book will reach you with certain intensity. If allowed one criticism it would be Rand's overuse of some obsolete slang (e.g. bromide).
Book Review: A bit trite, but still thought provoking
Summary: 4 Stars
While Ayn Rand has written a rather predicatble storyline, it is remarkable how she shifts the readers feelings towards the characters from one extremity to the other, and how the main characters in her book always seem to "play both sides against the middle" with respect to their views on the hero.It is a fascinating book, and well worth the 9 bucks. I enjoyed it a great deal.