Ayn Rand

This forum is for discussion about authors. You can discuss specific authors, types of authors, groups of authors, or any other topics related to authors.

Related Special Forums: Author Articles | Author Interviews

If you are an author or writer looking to discuss writing and author-related issues, please use our writing forums instead.
cooltodd
Posts: 27
Joined: 27 Dec 2006, 18:17
Bookshelf Size: 0

Ayn Rand

Post by cooltodd »

I saw a few other people in the forums mention Ayn Rand. How do you all feel about her? Do you think she was a good writer and thinker? Do you like her books?

Has anyone not read her books? She's the author of such books as Atlas Shrugged, a fictional book with the theme that independent and rational thought is the engine that powers the world.
User avatar
sleepydumpling
Posts: 1719
Joined: 14 Jan 2007, 03:25
Bookshelf Size: 0

Post by sleepydumpling »

I had a go at Atlas Shrugged but simply couldn't gel with it. It felt pompous and self-praising to me. It succumbed to the "Rule of 50" for me.
Have a Hoot: Read a Book! http://www.haveahootreadabook.co.uk

Image
NickNorris
Posts: 6
Joined: 19 Jan 2007, 16:13
Bookshelf Size: 0

Post by NickNorris »

Love Nietzsche, Hate Rand
DanteAzrael
Posts: 31
Joined: 05 Jan 2007, 17:36
Bookshelf Size: 0

Post by DanteAzrael »

As everyone whose read things I've posted, I'm a big fan of Ayn Rand. People complain that her books are too much of her just wanting to hear herself speak. Unfortunately, I view that all writers do that, otherwise it would be pointless for them to write anything.

I agreed way before with a lot of the ideas of what Rand incorporated in her novels and then explained through her non-fiction books about her philosophy. I've searched through a lot of different philosophical views and I came to the point that Ayn Rand's is most applicable.

As a thinker, I believe she was amazing. As a writer, just the same. But, I personally enjoy the descriptions and the dialogues and the inner thoughts. She was amazing at setting up plots and themes.

Right now I'm reading Atlas Shrugged again as I just finished reading the Fountainhead again. Atlas Shrugged is probably my favorite book of all time...Though, the Count of Monte Cristo is right behind...and the Divine Comedy (though it is not a novel).
The hottest places in hell are reserved for those who, in times of great moral crisis, remain neutral.
NSUSA
Posts: 60
Joined: 13 Nov 2007, 19:19
Bookshelf Size: 0

Post by NSUSA »

sleepydumpling wrote:I had a go at Atlas Shrugged but simply couldn't gel with it. It felt pompous and self-praising to me. It succumbed to the "Rule of 50" for me.
What is the "Rule of 50"? (Sorry if I'm being stupid. :oops: )
Chris
Posts: 9
Joined: 05 Jan 2008, 04:22
Bookshelf Size: 0

Post by Chris »

Ayn Rand can be extremely difficult reading. If you're not comfortable with philosophy and politics you'll want to stay away from Rand. While I've never read her fiction I've devoured most of her non-fiction. And to this day I'd consider myself a 3/4 Objectivist. The only aspect of Objectivism I struggle with is Laissez-Faire capitalism.
User avatar
Mr. Pessimistic
Posts: 20
Joined: 05 Jan 2008, 08:52
Bookshelf Size: 0

Post by Mr. Pessimistic »

Rand totally bores me. She is overly verbose and her characters seem to me to be paper thin. I only read half of Atlas Shrugged and had to put it down...I was in no way compelled to read on.As someone once said somewhere....I did not care WHO John Gault was! lol

Mr. P.
User avatar
Scott
Site Admin
Posts: 4068
Joined: 31 Jul 2006, 23:00
Favorite Author: Eckhart Aurelius Hughes
Currently Reading: The Unbound Soul
Bookshelf Size: 340
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-scott.html
Reading Device: B00JG8GOWU
Publishing Contest Votes: 960
fav_author_id: 248825

Post by Scott »

I like Atlas Shrugged but perhaps more for its political and philosophical commentary than for its artistic qualities as a fiction book.

Though I disagree with a lot of her philosophy, I view her as a very influential philosopher, talented at making political arguments.

Nonetheless, I think the story Atlas Shrugged does a great job at demonstrating the utilitarianism of free market economics.
"That virtue we appreciate is as much ours as another's. We see so much only as we possess." - Henry David Thoreau

"Non ignara mali miseris succurrere disco." Virgil, The Aeneid
User avatar
Eric
Posts: 120
Joined: 16 Apr 2008, 06:14
Bookshelf Size: 0

Post by Eric »

NickNorris wrote:Love Nietzsche, Hate Rand
ditto.
Freedom of conscience entails more dangers than authority and despotism. -- Michel Foucault
Genevieve_ann
Posts: 9
Joined: 17 Sep 2010, 03:25
Bookshelf Size: 0

Post by Genevieve_ann »

She's my favorite author. The Fountainhead was probably the first book to really change how I thought about the world. A lot of what she preaches, and yes, she does get overly preachy, is hard, if not downright impossible to put into practice in real life. But the independence and strength she reveres is something I don't see anywhere else. I love Howard, I love Dagny, I love Hank. I wish there were more ruthlessly intelligent people out there.
Perrywinkle47
Posts: 598
Joined: 31 Aug 2010, 05:51
Bookshelf Size: 0

Post by Perrywinkle47 »

Seems like a great author.. I'll see if I can get anything by this author.
Gsmith3286
Posts: 3
Joined: 27 Sep 2010, 15:02
Bookshelf Size: 0

Post by Gsmith3286 »

I just finished Fountainhead on audiobook. I thought it was very good and very insightful, but the characters themselves seemed too unreal - almost comic-book-esque. As an accountant, I found myself asking many questions about the liklihood of events surrounding these building deals...since when does an architect act like General Contractor? I don't think Ayn understood the nuts and bolts of business but I like her philosophizing nonetheless. Ellsworth was my favorite character...
Danielle
Posts: 3
Joined: 22 Mar 2011, 17:39
Bookshelf Size: 0

Post by Danielle »

I agree with some of what has already been posted - specifically that Rand says in 1200 pages what could have been said in maybe 700. I found the characters in Atlas Shrugged to be two-dimensional and her attempt to bring an interesting philosophy to life fell flat. There's nothing worse than an antagonist with no redeeming qualities and a protagonist with no intentional flaws. At times it felt childlike in its simplicity, although it felt like a book trying to be so complicated that the 'looters' would never be able to understand. Taken in the context of 1950s America, it's a little more understandable, but the main conflict is still too black and white to be credible as an argument for the superiority of reason.
User avatar
mouseofcards89
Posts: 68
Joined: 18 Dec 2011, 09:51
Favorite Author: Fyodor Dostoevsky
Favorite Book: Notes From Underground
Currently Reading: Precipice
Bookshelf Size: 0
fav_author_id: 9263

Post by mouseofcards89 »

One of the only female writers I've encountered whose work I respect. Most people don't understand that she was just prating the status quo, because individuals who need to read her are either denizens of blue collar cubby holes who have never read a book in their lives or corporate executives looking for a fairy tale. True, "Atlas Shrugged" is a bit pedantic in places. But, this was necessary to get her point across. That being said, if you've read one Ayn Rand book, you've read them all. The woman is very consistent. She propounds the same philosophy in a parable-like allegory. Hank Rearden is Howard Rourke, etc.
"The world is a vampire/sent to drain/secret destroyers hold you up to the flames/And what do I get for my pains?/Betrayed desires, and a piece of the game."
User avatar
Craigable
Posts: 128
Joined: 10 Nov 2013, 06:13
Bookshelf Size: 3
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-craigable.html
Latest Review: "How To NOT Get A Job" by Charlene Holsendorff

Post by Craigable »

I found Anthem to be a great prolonged exercise in the importance of singular personal pronouns. The world is a strange place indeed without them.
Latest Review: "How To NOT Get A Job" by Charlene Holsendorff
Post Reply

Return to “Discuss Authors”