NationStates Jolt Archive

I have finally given in and purchased Atlas Shrugged. I started reading it this evening, and already, 25 pages in, I feel that is rather simplistic and extremely preachy.

I know that 25 pages is far too short to judge this book, but to those who did enjoy it, did you start with this same feeling?

I got that feeling as well, but not in the first 25 pages.. first 300 maybe.. that's about the point where Rand decides that the reader isn't much interested in the plot and would like an 80-page restatement of her underlying philosophy just to underscore the message several times, with glitter and circles and such. :p

Personally, I think the book is awful, so I can't offer encouragement.

I'm tempted to pick up one of her books as I'm a huge Rush fan and I have to know what the big deal is all about. I would keep reading before putting the book down, unless it's that bad. :D

I have finally given in and purchased Atlas Shrugged. I started reading it this evening, and already, 25 pages in, I feel that is rather simplistic and extremely preachy.

I know that 25 pages is far too short to judge this book, but to those who did enjoy it, did you start with this same feeling?
What can you say about an author who wears a gold dollar sign on her lapel?

What can you say about an author who wears a gold dollar sign on her lapel?

Wore* :(

Edit: She did flee Soviet Russia, of course.. and it was during the Cold War.. I'd probably do the same. :p Quite a vivid way to support capitalism.

I'm tempted to pick up one of her books as I'm a huge Rush fan and I have to know what the big deal is all about. I would keep reading before putting the book down, unless it's that bad. :D

It's a romance novel at its core.. that should help the potential reader decide whether it's worth 1,300 pages of their spare time. :p

If every conversation is like the initial one between the James and Dagny Taggert, I might have wasted some money.

If every conversation is like the initial one between the James and Dagny Taggert, I might have wasted some money.

Ew.. that musta been a good $50 or so.. Public libraries are still good for something.. that's where I hunt for epics.. :)

Ew.. that musta been a good $50 or so.. Public libraries are still good for something.. that's where I hunt for epics.. :)

Nope, $15, big fat paperback.

I have finally given in and purchased Atlas Shrugged. I started reading it this evening, and already, 25 pages in, I feel that is rather simplistic and extremely preachy.

I know that 25 pages is far too short to judge this book, but to those who did enjoy it, did you start with this same feeling?
No, you've about got it right. It repeats itself over and over and over and over again.

It also has some interesting logical flaws in it that I enjoyed, but I did view it as more of a reaction to her having to flee Russia from the revolution than anything else. Kind of an extream anti-communism (And I just KNOW Melkor is going to wander in here and start yelling at us for this).

Nope, $15, big fat paperback.

Aha, lucky for you then. I'd say it's worth 15, just to get the references when they pop up. If you've got time to kill, that is.

I have finally given in and purchased Atlas Shrugged. I started reading it this evening, and already, 25 pages in, I feel that is rather simplistic and extremely preachy.

I know that 25 pages is far too short to judge this book, but to those who did enjoy it, did you start with this same feeling?

The book is essentially propaganda, although the fact that many of the ideas it propagates are good still makes it worth reading. Whether or not you like it will depend heavily on whether or not you like Rand's philosophy.

The characters in the book are generally very simplistic: almost everyone is either a hard working, ambitious, intelligent capitalist or a smarmy, lazy, self-contradicting statist. That said, I still liked reading about the doings of the capitalists, and the fact that they were so much larger than life made the book more exciting in some ways.

I liked the plot. The question "Who is John Galt" culminating in a remarkable plot twist at the beginning of the last section of the book is pretty cool, and there are some other surprises along the way as well.

It certainly is preachy, and only gets more so as the story progresses. I skipped one whole chapter of the book because it was almost like an essay on objectivism being read aloud by one of the characters and I didn't feel like wading through it.

Still, I'm glad I read the book, and I think it's good reading for anyone of the libertarian or capitalist persuasion.

What can you say about an author who wears a gold dollar sign on her lapel
Wore* :(


Heh. At first I thought you were trying to call her a whore. Now I get it . . .

*rubs temples*

I will.... refrain from any commentary on the posts which have preceded mine, for the benefit of everyone involved. I will offer my proverbial two cents [as I'm certain everyone has come to expect already], which I'm sure most of you will agree with.

My first exposure to Objectivism was through my brother. I had been unaware of the actual philosophy until maybe a year ago, but some of the major themes of it had occured to me in my childhood and in my teen years. As a result of my interest in the philosophy [leaving aside, for the moment, the fiction that it was borne from], the first real treatise I read on Objectivism was Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand by Leonard Peikoff. From this, I progressed to a number of Rand's essays, about half of We The Living and so far about 3-400 pages of Atlas Shrugged. Generally, one hears about AS first, and they either love it or hate it; either way they tend to avoid Rand's essays anyway, from what I can tell.

My father [as usual] said it best: "Ayn Rand wrote essays in novel form." [other quotables from him include "[American] Liberalism is like the Hotel California of political ideologies"] Strictly speaking, Rand wasn't a very good author. Many of the things her characters say wouldn't really be said in the real world: I can't imagine anyone being able to hold their head up through some of the monologues that appear in that novel. In these books, Rand is trying to express her ideas en masse. Since more people buy novels than buy long-winded essays, she likely felt that this was the best way to get her message out, rightly or wrongly. Many of the conversations are wordy and difficult to wrap your head around, and almost everything I've seen so far has been repeated almost verbatim in her later essays. I can only assume that this literature served primarily to put Rand into a position where she could broadcast her ideas.

Do I think this is a bad thing? Not really. It's what authors do, it's why we keep them around, it's what we pay for when we buy a book: whether we like it or not, whether we want that 2 weeks of our life back at the end or whether we spend another 25 rereading it. Like any other form of art, one's ultimate appreciation for it is a supremely personal phenomenon, and [given the nature of the novel] is generally strictly contingent on your opinions of its philosophical undertones. Most of its content seems to be limited to philosophical ideas, which means there isn't really much room to say "well, I liked the story but I couldn't sympathize with the book's undertones." As a result, its critics are almost invariably Rand's political and ideological enemies to begin with. I happen to beleive that the writing is, in fact, far below par for the course and if you're looking for the best read of your life, this wouldn't be what I would recommend [try Hemingway or, obviously, Shakespeare, but you should have done that already]. As one might expect, however, I am forced to admit that I find the ideas [and as a reult, at times, the dialouge] contained within the book I sympahtize with nearly implicitly.

Hey Vitto-- My advice on Ayn Rand is simple: Stick to the nonfiction. It's excellent, inspiring stuff. The fiction, not so much. I'll leave it at that.

The Fountainhead is better than AS.

The Fountainhead is better than AS.

Agreed.

I'm reading The Fountainhead now, and I find it to be an interesting, if slow, read.

Heh. At first I thought you were trying to call her a whore. Now I get it . . .
LOL

I have heard of this piece but have no idea what it is about.

I have gotten through about 100 pages right now, and my opinion hasn't changed much. I do find myself sympathizing with Dagny Taggart and Hank Reardon, along with despising Jim Taggart. Strangely enough, Eddie is the character I most identify with (I will find out later if there is a reason for this).

While the story is compelling, the characters and dialogue remain ridiculous. I understand where Melkor is coming from, this is an essay in book form, but the characters are so absurd, relentlessly stoic, always correct, vastly superior, that it gives off this elitist vibe that I am having trouble buying.

Heh. At first I thought you were trying to call her a whore. Now I get it . . .
Hmmm. You could make a good case for everyone who worships the Almighty Dollar being a whore, but I don't wanna go there.

I have finally given in and purchased Atlas Shrugged. I started reading it this evening, and already, 25 pages in, I feel that is rather simplistic and extremely preachy.

I know that 25 pages is far too short to judge this book, but to those who did enjoy it, did you start with this same feeling?

It is preachy, and everyone in the book is a one-dimensional archetype - but there are a lot of stories written that way.

The thing I like about the book is that she's right.

I have finally given in and purchased Atlas Shrugged. I started reading it this evening, and already, 25 pages in, I feel that is rather simplistic and extremely preachy.

I know that 25 pages is far too short to judge this book, but to those who did enjoy it, did you start with this same feeling?

Most of the book is "more of the same". Even the "love story" is about ownership. Two people who decide to have a relationship in Rand's philosophy "own each other." It is still a "buy and sell trade" sort of thing - and that's all you will get in this book.

Don't expect real characters. There are, roughly, two actual real characters in the book. One of them is a bit character that only exists for a chapter and the other is apparently Rand's way of saying, "Ok, sure, I guess you can be a good person and not be a super-genius who owns a company."

In the end, the book is propoganda. Reading the book recently left me with the following conclusion: "If the world that Rand creates in her head existed, she would be right about it."

I have gotten through about 100 pages right now, and my opinion hasn't changed much. I do find myself sympathizing with Dagny Taggart and Hank Reardon, along with despising Jim Taggart. Strangely enough, Eddie is the character I most identify with (I will find out later if there is a reason for this).

Of course you sympathize with them! There is no way to read the book otherwise. Anyone who opposes them on anything is a one-dimensional evil person with no redeeming characteristics whatsoever. If all of their opponents are cookie-cutter evil, how can you not sympathize with them?

I managed to read most of the book, but had to skip Galt's 40 page soliloquy. He just keeps saying the same thing over and over again in different, less interesting words. It was awful.

It is preachy, and everyone in the book is a one-dimensional archetype - but there are a lot of stories written that way.

The thing I like about the book is that she's right.

Anyone who creates an alternate, very skewed universe filled with 1-dimensional characters such that the only possible conclusion is what they want will be "right".

In Rand's case, she is "right" because she has constructed a universe in which she is right - in which people are either irredeemably evil or completely and totally virtuous. Rand's world doesn't leave room for a business owner who wants more than his product is worth, who will not volunatrily pay the wages the workers' work is worth, and who will concede defeat to anyone better than him in his business. The entire philosophy relies on two things: (a) A total lack of care for anyone other than yourself, except when you think they are better than you and (b) People to be much more virtuous than they have ever been.

If people were better than they ever have been (See Ishmael and My Ishmael), then pure capatilism would work wonderfully. Of course, if people were better than they ever have been, pure socialism would work too....

One thing I did like about it is that she didn't bring god into it at all.

If you didn't like Atlas, you'll like Fountainhead more (if ya haven't read it already)

One thing I did like about it is that she didn't bring god into it at all.

No, but she did use the literary device "deus ex machina". Her super-special motor can really be seen as nothing else.

If you didn't like Atlas, you'll like Fountainhead more (if ya haven't read it already)

Does it have any actual characters in it? Or, if not, does it take place in the real world?

I have finally given in and purchased Atlas Shrugged. I started reading it this evening, and already, 25 pages in, I feel that is rather simplistic and extremely preachy.

I know that 25 pages is far too short to judge this book, but to those who did enjoy it, did you start with this same feeling?

I felt the same way throughout the entire book.

No, but she did use the literary device "deus ex machina". Her super-special motor can really be seen as nothing else.


*Shrug* After the Reardon metal, I stopped worrying about that sort of thing. Anway, had she written about a motor that harnessed the casimir effect or some such, no-one would even be bothered by it.

I have finally given in and purchased Atlas Shrugged. I started reading it this evening, and already, 25 pages in, I feel that is rather simplistic and extremely preachy.

I know that 25 pages is far too short to judge this book, but to those who did enjoy it, did you start with this same feeling?

Well, I'm reading it right now (almost done with it; maybe 40 pages left) and I found the first 100 pages to be pretty tedious.

After that it really picked up for me and I could hardly put it down. The book could be considered somewhat tedious since its not a work of fiction per say, but a really long essay in novel form. Anyways, I really like the ideals espoused in it and have made it a priority to pick up some of her other books.