Have I read this before: Nopers.

Review: I really liked this book. I liked it a lot more than I thought I would. I don’t (or didn’t, rather) know anything about Rand’s philosophy other than it gets a lot of criticism, so maybe that allowed me to enjoy this book more than if I’d gone into it knowing what to expect in terms of that philosophy being infused in it.

Just as a story, it’s really good. Rand has an enjoyable writing style. It’s clean, blunt, and peppered with natural but arresting analogies. Roark was, of course, a very intriguing character, but I think I like the way that Dominique was written the most. It’s like we’re allowed to see what she does and get a glimpse of why, but we’re never quite in her head the way we are with Roark or Keating or even Toohey. She’s almost written in a fog, if that makes any sense. Which matches with her withdrawal from her values throughout most of the book.

If you include Rand’s philosophy alongside the story, I still think it’s really good. The development of her Objectivism came after the publication of The Fountainhead, so it’s never explicitly included, but the basic viewpoints are in there. I can see why those views can be criticized and can be easily warped into something their not, but the way Roark goes off on his philosophical rant near the end of the book and explains his understanding of “selfishness” makes this viewpoint really make sense in my opinion.  

Favorite Part: Roark going off on the meaning of selfishness. It’s too long to re-type here, haha, but it’s a really good explanation of Rand’s idea of selfishness and individualism.

Rating: 7/10