The Fountainhead

The Fountainhead
By Ayn Rand
Plume, 1994. 736 pgs. Fiction

Simply put, this is the story of a man who knew no other way to live than in complete self interest and total honesty. Howard Roark is that man and the world seems to be at complete odds with him throughout his career, though he never seems to mind. His world is populated with men searching for happiness through the acquisition of fame, fortune, and power. Their ultimate failure to achieve these goals illustrates, with stark contrast, the power of Howard’s confidence and sincerity.

This was my first venture into the world of Ayn Rand. I was blown away by her storytelling along with her theories of the world and society. Whenever I start reading a big fat book like this, I worry that it will be unable to keep my interest and I happily report that The Fountainhead definitely succeeded in drawing me in throughout the story. I also worried that, since I haven’t read a lot of books that require ‘deep thinking’ recently, I would be unable to critically evaluate a book with such an academic reputation. I’m not sure I am ready to write a 10 page essay on the underlying themes and messages in Ayn’s work, but I believe I still caught on to her agenda and, while I certainly do not agree with all her views, she gave me a lot to think about. This book deserves its ranking among American literary classics.

CZ