Ayn Rand - The Fountainhead (1943)

Five years ago, this book blew my mind: one of those things you can't put down all night and end up not sleeping at all. I was struck by how my views on life coincided with the main character's way of living. The important point is precisely this: I only thought that way and sometimes lived that way, while the main character Howard Roark actually lived that way, and to the fullest. After reading it, I got at least 5 more people hooked on this book. Now I have a fairly calm attitude toward the book, but then it was a kind of breakthrough.

What's it about? The Fountainhead tells the story of architect Howard Roark - from the time he finished school. What draws you in is the incredibly sharp and bold writing style: Ayn Rand (1905 - 1982), or rather Alisa Rosenbaum, being a Russian-Jewish immigrant in the States, had seen the horrors of the Soviet regime and was generally, as they say, a woman with balls. The book is saturated with her ideas and views on how one should live and how one shouldn't, embodied in various characters: the prototype of the ideal person is played in "The Fountainhead" by the main character, the archetype of lazy mediocrity is played by a corresponding person, and the cunning power-hungry manipulator dominating the crowd is there too. The personality of each of these people is written out to the smallest detail, every detail of their image only reinforces the impression. In general, Ayn Rand was often criticized for exaggerations and the abundance of stereotypical characters in her books, but I have nothing against it - NOBODY writes like that anyway :)

The cornerstone of the book is the philosophy of "objectivism," as she herself called her worldview. Rand explains the philosophy as: "the concept of man as a heroic being, with his own happiness as the moral purpose of his life, with productive achievement as his noblest activity, and reason as his only absolute". I would try to shed light on her ideas as follows: objectivism is a blend of individualism (that is, extreme rejection of socialism and any collectivity, which is quite understandable: Ayn Rand didn't flee the Soviet Union for nothing) and maximum egoism. And egoism is taken in its proper meaning: not in the sense of egocentrism, but in the sense of complete awareness of oneself, one's desires and aspirations. Anyway, the main character of the book clearly sees his goal - to build awesome skyscrapers, and goes toward it regardless of anything and not caring about himself, quite rightly ignores the opinion of the crowd, pays no attention to and doesn't participate in social games, and in general, simply put, has a vision and realizes it. Being a revolutionary in his ideas and ahead of public opinion, Howard Roark encounters numerous obstacles on his path, but successfully overcomes them, remaining true to himself.

Quotes

My Ayn Rand quotes were lost along with one of my old phones. Fortunately, Zhenka kindly shared her quotes, though from another Ayn Rand book - "Atlas Shrugged." However, this worked perfectly for our purposes, since Atlas is essentially an extended version of The Fountainhead :)

Atlas Shrugged, Book 3 (1957)

The purpose of life is joy, and that joy doesn't fall into one's hands accidentally, like a treasure - it must be achieved, and one mustn't allow the face of joy to drown in the swamp of momentary torture, for that would mean betraying joy.

The first prerequisite for the emergence of self-respect is that radiant egoism of the soul which prompts one to seek the best in everything, be it something physical or spiritual, a soul striving primarily for moral self-improvement, valuing itself above all.