The Fountainhead (Paperback)

I find it impossible to describe precisely what I took away from the book other than an overwhelming desire to meet the protagonist, Howard Roark. I compared myself (somewhat unfavourably) to his inspirational character; a man of complete integrity (in the sense of being whole and unimpaired) and, above all, a man who remains incorruptibly faithful to himself (odd though that sounds - read the book!). I fell short in almost every respect because he is, of course, a work of fiction living in a stylised world. However, I have since found that in some small measure we can attempt to lead our lives in a manner which more closely resembles Roark's philosophy (or, rather, his way of being). I agree with another reviewer that this is not The Answer, but I believe it is some small part, without which the remainder may be unobtainable.

This book will not be universally liked. It polarises opinion because its message is not to everyone's taste. Nor is it the most beautifully crafted prose (it was the author's second language, after all). And, Ayn Rand sometimes verges on being self-consciously clever. However, if the measure of a book is how often you refer back to it, how heavily you rely on its message and how vociferously you recommend it to others, it is clearly the best book I have ever read (and the only book I have felt obliged to review online).

Just my thoughts - I hope you enjoy it.

The Fountainhead is one of two explicitly philosphical novels Ayn Rand wrote to dramatise the principles of her philosophy, Objectivism (the other is Atlas Shrugged). To my mind The Fountainhead is the better of the two - it's shorter for one thing and makes it's points more precisely. It also reads more like a "proper" novel than Atlas Shrugged whose characters operate much more obviously as illustrative examples of her philosophy.

The Fountainhead is basically the story of a radical architect and his struggle to remain true to his vision of his work in the face of the public's preference for tradition and mediocroty and unscrupulous opinion-makers who wish to enforce these traits for their own ends. But what the book is REALLY about is the conflict between individuality and collectivism. Ayn Rand's insight into this theme and her powerful ideas more than compensate for her slightly dull prose style.

The reason this book had such a profound effect on me was that it was my first real exposure to the rich tradition of classical liberalism (often called libertarianism) in the US which is, unfortunately, very little known in Europe. For anyone disillusioned with the false conservative/socialist political dichotomy we're presented with by the media and political elites in the UK Ayn Rand's work will open up wonderful, hopeful, new ideas. I hope you will go on to read her explicitly philosophical and political non-fiction as well. Objectivism is like a draught of cool water to a parched mind!

There are three telling omissions in "The Fountainhead": the first is that, although this is an epic tale, covering several decades in the lives of many characters, there are no babies born, no children reared. I'm afraid a philosophy of selfishness has to go the way of dirty nappies when Baby arrives. The second omission is humour. There are no laughs here. Egoism is a serious business. The third omission, perhaps arising from the first two, is emotional warmth. Ironically, Rand's essentially Humanist (that is, atheistic and anthropocentric) view lacks humanity. Her heroine can only achieve sexual fulfilment through being forcibly raped, her hero's heart and soul are centered on bricks and mortar. This novel will oblige you to think, but will not move you to laugh or cry.

"The Fountainhead" is well written and thought provoking, but in addition to the points I mentioned above, I was left wondering what the problems were supposed to be in relation to the architecture of the time. This was the age of Art Deco and of Frank Lloyd Wright, surely a golden age in American architecture. And is the era of the the Wall Street Crash, the Great Depression and Roosevelt's New Deal really the best advertisement for laissez faire economics?