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Anthem

3.59 of 5 stars 3.59 · rating details · 56,429 ratings · 3,980 reviews

Anthem has long been hailed as one of Ayn Rand's classic novels, and a clear predecessor to her later masterpieces, The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged. In Anthem, Rand examines a frightening future in which individuals have no name, no independence, and no values. Equality 7-2521 lives in the dark ages of the future where all decisions are made by committee, all people li...more

Paperback, 105 pages

Published December 1st 1999 by Plume (first published 1938)

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Oct 30, 2012 Matt rated it 4 of 5 stars

Quick read with a lasting impression. Released over a decade before George Orwell's '1984', this is Rand's objection to the idea of Socialist unity and embraces the idea of the human ego and individualism.

Rand herself described this story as a poem, allowing the story to flow. She is able to enforce her philosophy of 'objectivism' without the challenge of a long winded novel (Atlas Shrugged, anyone?)

Although her writing in 'Anthem' is more transparent then her norm, the book still captivates an...more

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Nov 08, 2007 Pete rated it 1 of 5 stars Recommends it for: pretentious Ron Paul fans

Congrats, Aynnie! You've received my first single star rating! I read this in high school when I was reading a lot of dystopian future literature and thought it was by far the worst of the lot. Granted, if I'd read it when I was younger I might have liked it more, but saying that the even younger, less mature, more pretentious version of my teenage self would have liked something is hardly a glowing endorsement.

As such I've steered /way/ clear of her door-stoppers. I don't think you really need...more

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Nov 29, 2012 Mike (the Paladin) rated it 2 of 5 stars

Ayn Rand is I think deserving of the appellation "an odd duck". One of her dearest ideas (and I would suppose ideals) is the the right, willingness and ability to think for one's self. But she functioned in her life with the approach, "my way or the high-way".

This book is worth reading and I think there are valuable things to take away from this little novella. But you need to be able to think. Ms. Rand is a classic case of "throwing the baby out with the bath water." I'd say, read and learn, b...more

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May 21, 2007 Zora rated it 1 of 5 stars Recommends it for: oblivious egotists

Shelves: gawdawful

The real tragedy of this book is that the billions of copies that have been printed could have been more appropriately used to build homes for people in third world countries. This book could not be more self indulgent if it came with a bottle of Absynthe and a membership to MENSA. Not only is it impossibly boring to read, the characters are so one dimensional that they put V.C. Andrews to shame. Do yourself a favor: set this on fire and use the fourteen hours that it burns to read Martin's Song...more

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Dec 04, 2007 Irina rated it 4 of 5 stars

The book is about human identity and freedom, and how one can degrade under the chains of collectivism.

A lot of reviews on this book, which are posted on this site, use the word “futuristic” events. I intentionally put the quotes around this word as I tend to totally disagree with the choice of this word. I used to live under socialist regime, a collectivistic society. So I can relate and completely understand the events described in the book, where the word “I” doesn’t exist, when it is a shame...more

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Aug 16, 2007 Jonathan rated it 1 of 5 stars

Of all the dystopian novels I have read, this one felt like one of the least inspired. The characters are one-dimensional, the story lacks context altogether, and is entirely made to support Rand's liberal philosophies. Sure, it's really short--so is Animal Farm, but that is a story with depth. Ironically, they both claim to be about Soviet Russia--or at least the author's experience with such. I hope I can claim that my reasoning for disliking this book has more to do with its content, and less...more

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Lady Eilonwy Just to be clear, Rand was anything but liberal, and there is nothing ironic about it at all. Rand was a libertarian/Objectivist, and that is a very d...more
Apr 10, 2010 11:50pm

Nullifidian I knew when I opened this comment up that the response was going to be a complaint about the use of the word "liberal". But "liberal" is the correct t...more
Aug 15, 2011 07:02am

Lady Eilonwy Nullifidian wrote: "I knew when I opened this comment up that the response was going to be a complaint about the use of the word "liberal". But "liber...more
Aug 16, 2011 10:41am

Apr 17, 2007 Michelle Cavalier rated it 1 of 5 stars

I know it is one of her lesser works, but I feel it gave me a full impression of her: self-absorbed, capitalistic, pedantic, overbearing, ignorant, etc. The story has been told before and by better writers.

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Sep 04, 2007 Phyllis rated it 1 of 5 stars

ridiculous

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Aug 16, 2008 Danny Salinger rated it 1 of 5 stars Recommends it for: emotionally mature people interested in a good laugh.

Shelves: half-read

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Alright. If, for some reason, the values of individuality or independence are completely alien to you, you should read this book. Everyone else is better off skipping it. It has nothing else to offer and it's got a good chance of convincing that you're smarter or more enlightened than you actually are.

Granted, I was a bit biased against Ayn Rand while reading this. But before reading this I had that sort of play-aversion that you carry around because it's fun to make fun of famous dead people....more Alright. If, for some reason, the values of individuality or independence are completely alien to you, you should read this book. Everyone else is better off skipping it. It has nothing else to offer and it's got a good chance of convincing that you're smarter or more enlightened than you actually are.

Granted, I was a bit biased against Ayn Rand while reading this. But before reading this I had that sort of play-aversion that you carry around because it's fun to make fun of famous dead people. After reading this my contempt for her has become deep and far-reaching.

The setting is simplistic and nonsensical. Unlike other dystopias such as 1984 or Brave New World, it's not portrait of a functioning oppressive society or a sad commentary on human nature as much as it is a vague, untenable strawman. Other dystopias are written with an awareness or sensitivity towards the human condition. 1984 dealt with our willingness to circumvent logic for a comfortable, patriotic lie. Brave New World dealt with our willingness to completely ignore issues and problems as long as we're entertained. Anthem on the other hand, deals with our willingness to sacrifice logic, comfort, entertainment, and freedom for the good of our neighbors.

Oh wait... that doesn't make sense. In fact it flies in the face of the oldest, and most confounding problem in the social sciences, The Tragedy of the Commons. Biology and psychology have also found that self-sacrifice without compensation is an exceedingly rare phenomenon, and that animals (including humans) are ,as a general rule, selfish. Even the Soviet Union, a major influence behind this book, was only maintained by the general acceptance of the communist ideal for a short time before it was replaced with the KGB and the threat of the gulags. Considering how easy it was for Equality to escape from confinement, I'm comfortable saying that critical element was absent. This might be more excusable if it was meant to be a highly stylized hyperbole like The Giver, but Rand says herself in the introduction that this is not only the inevitable sum of collectivism, but what all socialists and collectivists secretly WANT.

All this leads me to believe that a person who could seriously believe, much less write, this would have to be someone who saw their self-interest as unique, and imagined the majority of humanity a swathe of ambitionless drones. That, or a reader who's mouth salivates at the word "individuality" and who, when it comes to the affairs of the world, automatically equates cynicism to realism because it makes them look clever and critical.

The writing's painfully overwrought as well. You have to understand this book is listed as half-read because despite my several attempts I can't finish it. I either get tired of self-indulgent prose and put it down or I start reading it out loud and I can't take it seriously (a friend and I did this to pass the time while waiting for a bus once.) The character thinks in short, declarative sentences that seem to rely on the reader seeing his struggle as novel and impactful. If you don't do this automatically there's nothing really there to MAKE you. The struggle in question, is a one-dimensional tug of war between We and I without the complexity or variability seen in actual human thought.

Even the treatment of individuality once it's "achieved" is trite. After you figure out the "I" and the "ego" you're pretty much scott-free. You don't have any uncertainty about what you want to do or who you want to be, and you don't have to worry about things like self-deception, insecurity or over-confidence to mess with you. Congratulations, you are one of an elite few! Rand's portrayal of selfishness and independence as some miracle cure is sophomoric and overly simplistic, and it gets hammered into you from the beginning. It's not even as if calls to challenge, question, and break social oppression or embrace your individuality are hard to find, even in Rand's time, and a lot of these calls don't have to resort to strawmen or heady promises of perfection. Read Ender's Game, The Giver, My Side of the Mountain or any other young adult novel. Even song lyrics (Tilly and the Wall, Say Anything, Incubus) treat the topic of self-definition and social constraints with more intelligence. This book might have been revolutionary for its time, but we've moved on as a culture. We've gotten over the novelty of selfishness being a virtue and social control being a bad thing, and we've managed to produce far more intelligent treatments of the subject.(less)

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Apr 23, 2007 Conrad rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-high-school, fiction

Definitely the only book by Ayn Rand I will ever need to read, unless I happen to be reincarnated as an asshole. When people start modeling their book covers after Mussolini-era Italian architecture, worry.

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Jul 01, 2007 Mads rated it 2 of 5 stars

I never quite figured out why my highschool lit teacher made this required reading. It's something I've always wondered about. Anthem struck me as too much "anti-communist." Somewhat propaganda material for the anti-communist forces. I've always been skeptical of rabid anti-communism. In the novella, the characters have serial numbers instead of names, isn't that what's happening in the capitalist system as well, with our identity cards and employee numbers?

15 likes · like · see review

Feb 01, 2012 Gavin rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: sci-fi

First off, let me say this: SHAME ON YOU AMAZON! You have prohibited a great cover of this novel from showing here on goodreads. The cover I speak of looks like this: five ghostly apparitions stand forlornly, one is reaching toward a light that looks as if it is an exploding star; they all have chains on their wrists; the far right figure, the only woman, is tenderly reaching for the hand of the man trying to grasp the light; a pitch black background acts as a backdrop. It is the perfect cover f...more First off, let me say this: SHAME ON YOU AMAZON! You have prohibited a great cover of this novel from showing here on goodreads. The cover I speak of looks like this: five ghostly apparitions stand forlornly, one is reaching toward a light that looks as if it is an exploding star; they all have chains on their wrists; the far right figure, the only woman, is tenderly reaching for the hand of the man trying to grasp the light; a pitch black background acts as a backdrop. It is the perfect cover for this novel. It tells so much without revealing anything (that is unless you have read the novel). So I say again: SHAME ON YOU AMAZON.

Okay, now on to the book.

ANTHEM by Ayn Rand is a novel set in a far-off post apocalyptic future, in a world where technology has been relegated into the land of myth and fancy. People of this world are no longer given birth names; they are given a name according to the cohort they were born into. It is a world where the individual is less than the collective.

This is the story of Equality 7-2521. In the beginning, they (he) are destined to be great thinkers. No other cohort in history has thought the way they (he) do(es). But this is not to be. Equality 7-2521 is given the job of Street Sweeper by the Council of Vocations. It is this council that determines what is essential for the collective at the moment. Equality 7-2521 does a grand job of keeping the streets clean. It is not until they (he) comes across Liberty 5-3000, renamed the Golden One, that Equality 7-2521 begins to think outside of the proverbial collective box. Later, when Equality 7-2521 discovers a secret cave (which in reality is an abandoned subway tunnel) does the meaning of individuality actually begin to take root in their (his) head. While stealing away to this “secret place” Equality 7-2521 begins to experiment with copper wires, eventually making an apparatus that conducts electricity. Equality 7-2521 is overwhelmed by this discovery, and wants to share it with the World Council of Scholars. But before they (he) can do that, it is discovered that they (he) is not in at curfew. Equality 7-2521 is taken away to the Palace of Corrective Detention where they (he) are beaten and tortured and interrogated. Equality 7-2521 never talks, not so much as a whisper. When they (he) decide to escape, the morning of the meeting for the World Council of Scholars, they (he) bring the electrical apparatus. When shown the device, the members of the World Council of Scholars shirk back from it in fear. When Equality 7-2521 offers to give the council this gift, they scoff at him and berate them (him) for thinking not of the brotherhood but of only them(self). Equality 7-2521 refuses to be detained again and runs off into the Uncharted Forest with the device, there they (he) wander aimlessly, and await the moment a beast tears them to shreds. But it is not a beast that confronts them (him); it is the Golden One that finds them (him). Together, Equality 7-2521 and the Golden One go on a journey further into the Uncharted Forrest. When they happen to come across an old cabin, they investigate the relics left behind from the Unimaginable Times, mainly books. It is at this moment that Equality 7-2521 goes from them to him. It is at this time that he begins to understand that “I” can be more powerful than “we”. With this new knowledge, Equality 7-2521 renames himself, Prometheus. It is also at this time that he gives the Golden One a new name, Gaea. It is at this time that first-person narration takes over. (The rest of the novel you will have to read for yourself.)

For this reader, the premise of this novel is intriguing. The setup and the style in which it is written allows for a fast paced story, packed with delicious nuggets of thought. And, to boot, Rand wrote this as a writing exercise while she was outlining ATLAS SHRUGGED. Now don’t get me wrong, I think Rand was a big sloppy bowl of crazy. But what she has written in ANTHEM is a testament of what people should do to keep their governments in check. Basically, Rand tells the reader to remember this: governments work for the people, not the other way around.

Alongside Yevgeny Zamyatin’s WE, ANTHEM is considered a classic within post apocalyptic literature. I’ve never read WE, but I will be certain to read it sooner than later. Is ANTHEM a good book? Sure. Is it a book worth reading eighty plus years after it was published? Yep. Does it have all the answers? Not even close. This is a book of ideas. Plot and characterization and setting are shadily written. Perhaps that is the genius of this brief 120 page novel. Perhaps Rand wanted the reader to fill in the gaps with their own struggles against their own government. Regardless, this is a quick read that any reader of science fiction, or any person interested in the struggle between individualism and collectivism should read. If anything, it should make you think.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
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Aug 21, 2007 Jodi Lu rated it 2 of 5 stars Recommends it for: suckers that don't suck as bad as the suckers that read her other books and pretend they like them

see i could DEAL with rand's writing this. she says what she's gotta, then ends it. she's like, "okay let's be honest, i'm not a novelist b/c i really don't write very well BUT i have this THING i really believe in and i wanna share it and gosh darnit people like parables so HERE." why ANYONE would want to read MORE about it and suffer through the out-of-her-element (yes donnie, i said it) torture of the other beasts is beyond me.

10 likes · like · see review

Jul 27, 2007 Jill rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: criticism, fiction, society

Ayn Rand was the most overrated writer (I can't even call her a philosopher) of the 20th century, and a great gaping asshole to boot. This book is yet another to support those facts.

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Mar 14, 2007 Edward Park rated it 1 of 5 stars Recommends it for: No one really

Witless, styleless, and self-righteous. "1984" and "A Brave New World" are far more effective books. Although I can't say I agree that individualism is more important than collectivism, especially when people come together as a whole to do things positive in this world.

12 likes · like · see review

Mar 19, 2012 Alex rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: reading-through-history, 2012

When dystopian novels - or any science fiction novels - are useful, it's not because they predict the future in any exact way. It's fun when they happen to get it right, but it's beside the point. They're not about the future; they're about now. So Zamyatin's We (1921) shows a future in which individuality has been willfully destroyed in order to point out the shortcomings of the post-revolution Soviet state. Huxley's Brave New World (1931) takes Henry Ford's philosophy to its logical extreme no...more When dystopian novels - or any science fiction novels - are useful, it's not because they predict the future in any exact way. It's fun when they happen to get it right, but it's beside the point. They're not about the future; they're about now. So Zamyatin's We (1921) shows a future in which individuality has been willfully destroyed in order to point out the shortcomings of the post-revolution Soviet state. Huxley's Brave New World (1931) takes Henry Ford's philosophy to its logical extreme not because he thinks we might end up there precisely, but to criticize what it's up to right now.

Dystopia in the hands of a good writer is an elaborate way of saying, "Chill, dude." In the hands of a nutjob, it's Anthem.

Like Huxley before her, Rand rips off We blatantly. The generic names assigned to people and the annihilation of the individual; the impersonal mating system; the illegality of being alone; the shutting-out of nature; the mythical past war that destroyed civilization; the banning of literature; most obviously, the very word "We," which is used elegantly in Zamyatin's masterpiece and like a fucking jackhammer in Anthem (1937).

But at its core, Anthem is about something different. It uses its extreme vision of the future to propound an equally extreme philosophy for today, and that's why it's crazy talk.

The word "We" is as lime poured over men, which sets and hardens to stone, and crushes all beneath it...the word by which the depraved steal the virtue of the good, by which the weak steal the might of the strong...

What is my joy if all hands, even the unclean, can reach into it?

This is a sophomoric thing to say. When you take collective living to its grotesque extreme, it doesn't mean that any collective thinking at all is terrible. It means that you shouldn't take it to its grotesque extreme. Zamyatin knew this. It doesn't take a genius, but it's still beyond Ayn Rand. Anthem is an overreaction. It's loony, extremist, fanatic. It's stupid.

And this book is terrible. It's amateurishly written, as all her books are. Its characters are ludicrously one-dimensional - particularly its lone woman - as all her characters are. It steals its setting wholesale from We, and then drives it pell-mell over the edge of a cliff: Rand's plagiarized We without understanding it. It's poorly written and poorly thought, and it's a crap book.

Literature is never dangerous. To read literature is just to have someone else's idea. And ideas are never dangerous. I have all kinds of ideas: good ones, bad ones, silly ones. The dangerous thing is bad judgment: when you're wrong about which ideas are good, and which are bad. Go ahead and read Anthem, but don't be mistaken: it's a bad idea.(less)

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Dec 26, 2007 Heather rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: old-favorites

This book really helped me get my self esteem back together. This was my mantra going into college.... I think it got me through a lot of BS. It is not bad to remind yourself of the following things every once in a while.....

"I am. I think. I will.

My hands . . . My spirit . . . My sky . . . My forest . . . This earth of mine. . . . What must I say besides? These are the words. This is the answer.

I stand here on the summit of the mountain. I lift my head and I spread my arms. This, my body and...more

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Mar 25, 2007 Kamyar rated it 5 of 5 stars

Neither a science-fiction masterpiece, nor a futuristic predicament, ANTHEM is a personal reaction to the collectivist system, dominant in Soviet Union and its modernized colonies for more than seven decades. Assumed too much reactionary by leftist intellectuals for rather a long time, it depicts the apocalyptic chaos in a world ruled by collectivist thoughts in the same way that Orwell’s 1984 builds it (for instance, you can think of a world after a nuclear crisis and then come to the meaning o...more

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Aug 29, 2007 Jae rated it 3 of 5 stars

I’d been meaning to read some more Ayn Rand ever since I finished Sewer, Gas, and Electric: The Public Works Trilogy, which includes a 6-page synopsis of Atlas Shrugged. Oh, and one of the characters is a virtual Ayn Rand that exists inside an electronic lantern. Anthem trumpets a familiar Randian theme: Everything good about the world derives from individuality and personal freedom. There is nothing particularly noteworthy about Anthem, but it does smell a bit like Corporate America. And it can...more

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Feb 25, 2008 Kat rated it 1 of 5 stars Recommends it for: precocious 3rd graders

Futuristic society that doesn't recognize individuals -- everyone's name is "Equality" followed by a number. Cute, huh? One day, Equality-some-number-or-another stumbles across a cave with books in it and discovers the word "I" and immediately realizes what it means even though his cultural and linguistic backgrounds have in no way equipped him to understand but whatever, it's a novella and Rand doesn't have time. Anyway, now Equality-### has an "I" and so he lives in the cave forever and is fre...more

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May 03, 2009 Aerin rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: litrachur, dystopia, read-for-class

What was Ayn Rand smoking, seriously? Can I have some? No, nevermind, then I might start spouting off about rational self-interest and the evils of altruism and the knock-down drag-out world of architecture. Whatever, Ayn Rand. WHAT-ever.

This is my favorite of her books. It is also the shortest. There may or may not be a causal relationship between those two statements.

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Jun 23, 2007 Katie rated it 1 of 5 stars

Ayn Rand should have put down her pencil during the time she made novella notes or just named this thing "Ego".

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Jun 24, 2007 Emu rated it 1 of 5 stars Recommends it for: anyone that despises good writing.

Shelves: actual-score-of-zero-stars

Possibly the most pretentious writing I've ever experienced.

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Feb 16, 2008 Amy rated it 3 of 5 stars

A truly interesting read, Ayn Rand's book holds a captivating narrative. But as I watched the character swerve from the absolute collective to an absolute, egocentric conclusion, I ended up pitying the hero and his hapless companion for stumbling upon the wrong conclusion upon which they would base the rest of their existence. And what happened to "The Golden One" (his much less assertive true love)? All I could see was that for all the hero's self realization, his mate was merely a follower and...more

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Dec 20, 2007 Kati Giblin rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: politics, sci-fi

Like many other reviews pointed out, the characters lacked depth, and have no personality. It's obviously anti-Communism, which is why I put it on my "politics" shelf. This novel seems to be the opposite of most sci-fi/dystopia novels, in that it is pro-progress and pro-technology. I tried not to be biased while I was reading this, but knowing Ayn Rand was a capitalist made it hard.

The reason I read this book is because it's required in my English class right now. We'll have to do a timed write...more

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Jul 28, 2011 Amanda rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: classics

"If that which we have found is the corruption of solitude, then what can men wish for save corruption?" (p. 85)

I have very mixed feelings about "Anthem." At first, after reading an unforgivably haughty introduction by Leonard Peikoff, I truly expected to dislike this short novel. However, Ayn Rand's writing style is nothing short of captivating. The voice of Anthem is simple, using only a few words, but only needing those few words to thoroughly capture the feelings and circumstances of the cha...more "If that which we have found is the corruption of solitude, then what can men wish for save corruption?" (p. 85)

I have very mixed feelings about "Anthem." At first, after reading an unforgivably haughty introduction by Leonard Peikoff, I truly expected to dislike this short novel. However, Ayn Rand's writing style is nothing short of captivating. The voice of Anthem is simple, using only a few words, but only needing those few words to thoroughly capture the feelings and circumstances of the characters. The thrill of discovery, the pain of disappointment, the helpless sting of pity, all are conveyed flawlessly through Rand's beautiful linguistic styling. Within the first 10 pages, I was completely immersed in the story.

As for the content of the story, it reminded me strongly of Orwell's "1984." (To be fair, Anthem was published in 1938, so I am not accusing Rand of ripping off Orwell's ideas.) Rand's is a post-apocalyptic world, in which the knowledge of mankind has been lost to the ages through a long and arduous war. There is a hidden "they" who control the fate of all men in society, determining everything from what the people may wear to what kind of work they do, and most of the people accept this without question. Those who do ask, perish, painfully.

Some of Rand's dark illustrations are frightfully close to reality. For example, one person who shows potential as an artist, yet draws without the permission of the Council, is punished by being given the job of street-sweeper, rather than being given the job of artist. The hero of the story, Equality-72521 (characters are given names that are nothing more than concepts and numbers), shows true potential as a scholar, but is also given the same punishment as the young artist. I think we have all seen this happen before. Those who dare challenge the system with new ideas are punished by those in charge -- those who are usually content with mediocrity and resistant to change.

What I did not like about the book has more to do with Rand's philosophy than the story itself. By the end of the novel, Equality and his love interest have run away from their society to discover their own truth. This truth leads to self-worship and calling themselves gods, and further stating that they have no obligation to other men. I stubbornly disagree with this idea. Einstein once said, "Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile." While I do believe one's own soul is precious and ought to be nurtured, I do not believe it should be at the expense of love for others. Humility is a virtue that ought to be valued, not scorned. Some of history's greatest heroes were those who lived to serve others (Jesus Christ, Harriet Tubman, Joan of Arc ring a bell?). In contrast, some of history's greatest villains were egomaniacs (Napoleon, Hitler, various Popes sound familiar?). While I understand how growing up in a communist country, as Rand did, can make a person think that way, it hardly excuses such faulty philosophy.(less)

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Jun 03, 2011 Martin rated it 2 of 5 stars

I read this short book in one night after a friend lent it as a curiosity. He is reading Ayn Rand's novels and thought I'd find "Anthem" intellectually stimulating, as it is one of the super-famous Rand's first works and lays the foundation for her later writings on her philosophy of Objectivism. For a brief explanation of Objectivism by Rand herself, check out this link: www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ukJiBZ8_4k

I had never read a word Rand wrote (and didn't know much about her, either) until plowing...more I read this short book in one night after a friend lent it as a curiosity. He is reading Ayn Rand's novels and thought I'd find "Anthem" intellectually stimulating, as it is one of the super-famous Rand's first works and lays the foundation for her later writings on her philosophy of Objectivism. For a brief explanation of Objectivism by Rand herself, check out this link: www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ukJiBZ8_4k

I had never read a word Rand wrote (and didn't know much about her, either) until plowing through "Anthem." I expected Rand's atheism, embrace of reason, and exaltation of individualism over collectivism would make her appealing to me. But, as we say, the devil is in the details. Philosophies in the abstract make for good debates and make us feel good about believing in some enlightened principles, but philosophies don't always go down so smoothly when they have to be applied to the real world or -- even worse -- applied to ourselves. Rand, who called programs like Social Security "evil," collected Social Security benefits. Digression over. Now to "Anthem."

As a novel, "Anthem" is mediocre. It is set in a nondescript, future world where individualism has been eliminated from every aspect of society as well as from the collective memory of the population. In its place, people live in a collectivist society where all men work for the whole. An individual refers to himself as "we." If someone utters the word "I," he has his tongue cut out and is burned at the stake. No one has a real name; instead they have names like Equality 7-2521, to use the moniker of Rand's protagonist. Children are herded into schools where they are taught a bland curriculum. At age 15 the students go before a council that decides which job each person will have for the rest of their life; Equality 7-2521 is sent off to be a street sweeper. All workers get up at the exact same time every day to the ring of a bell, work all day for the supposed benefit of all no matter how mundane their "profession," and then are marched into their nightly entertainment that amounts to nothing more than indoctrination in collectivist ideology. There are no mirrors, preventing people from seeing themselves as individual beings; they only exist as part of a whole. Society is ruled by collectivist councils, i.e. World Council and Council of Scholars, where the few make incontrovertible judgments that affect the masses. The Councils have ruled since the Great Rebirth. No one can really remember what life was like before.

If all this sounds like an allegorical broadside against the Soviet Union and Stalinism, you are correct. However, Rand said that she did not write "Anthem" to repudiate her homeland's tragic descent into totalitarianism, although she did despise communism. Written in 1937 (Stalin's era), "Anthem" is an attack on all collective thinking. It is an exaltation of the self and the ego.

So Equality 7-2521 does the forbidden: he thinks independently. He manages to discover electricity. When he presents his discovery to a council, Equality 7-2521 is horrified that they reject his work solely because it does not conform. It was a product of his individual thinking, thus forbidden. He worked on it alone, thus a crime. And his discovery will ruin the central plan to produce so many candles, simultaneously ruining the "careers" of all the candle makers. Equality 7-2521 escapes and eventually finds hidden deep in a forbidden forest a home that predates the Great Rebirth. In the home he finds books that were written before society sank into collectivist hell. And for the first time Equality 7-2521 sees the word "I." "Anthem" ends as Equality 7-2521 discovers the beauty of the self. This takes about 100 pages to accomplish so you can see why I read this in one night.

In her preface, Ayn Rand says the "greatest guilt today is that of people who accept collectivism by moral default; the people who seek protection from the necessity of taking a stand, by refusing to admit to themselves the nature of that which they are accepting..."

She continues: "Those who want slavery should have the grace to name it by its proper name. They must face... the full, exact meaning of collectivism, of its logical implications, and... the ultimate consequences to which these principles will lead." In Rand's view, the horror of Communism is one end.

But one wonders whether Rand seriously considered whether her own vision of an absolute meritocracy, a world without charity or altruism, a world where ANY government action is condemned as a step toward slavery and totalitarianism, would also lead to destructive results.

Moreover, my fear of becoming a victim of collectivism on par with Rand's ominous vision is tempered by what my eyes have shown me in "individualist" America, the greed-driven, to-hell-with-the-consequences financial practices that brought the economy to near collapse -- if not for the aggressive intervention of the government, which Rand's disciples refer to as "socialism."

Should we be free to destroy ourselves?(less)

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Dec 18, 2012 Gabby Hess rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: anthem

Anthem by Ayn Rand
It is a sin to write words down that nobody knows. It is against the law. They committed a crime so great that there isn't even a name for it. Men are forbidden to take notice of women and women are forbidden to take notice of men. Equality 7-2521 had discovered a new power of nature and they discovered it alone. They alone would know it nobody else would. The sky turned white as if the sun had burst into flames in the air, the fields lay without breath.
My favorite part in th...more

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Apr 02, 2013 Vanessa rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: library-loaned

This was my first Ayn Rand book. I'd not really ever heard much about her before, but my boyfriend informed me that she was a bit of a crazy lady with all sorts of wacky ideas about life. Intriguing! (apparently she renounced all her views before she died, but there you go...)

I didn't really know what to expect going into this. All I knew was it was a dystopian story, and it was written in a very specific style (from having seen a video review by Sanne from Booksandquills on it). And I have to s...more This was my first Ayn Rand book. I'd not really ever heard much about her before, but my boyfriend informed me that she was a bit of a crazy lady with all sorts of wacky ideas about life. Intriguing! (apparently she renounced all her views before she died, but there you go...)

I didn't really know what to expect going into this. All I knew was it was a dystopian story, and it was written in a very specific style (from having seen a video review by Sanne from Booksandquills on it). And I have to say, I was enthralled at the start! I loved the description of the lives of people in this world; when you're five, you go to school for ten years, and when you reach the end of your schooling at fifteen, you are placed in a job and you will like it. If you show any kind of resistance, there are extremely serious consequences. Men and women only procreate every so often in a specific building dedicated to the purpose, and then for the rest of the time they live apart. Uh, what? So yes, very interesting and very horrifying. As soon as I started reading it, I was getting heavy 1984 thoughts, except of course this book was written quite a while before Orwell's novel.

Another really interesting thing about this book is the narration style. Instead of using I, the narrator refers to himself as we, and so on and so forth. In fact, that word is shrouded in secrecy so that no one gets any big, clever ideas about being better than their brothers. In some ways I think this made the world of Anthem scarier than 1984, and that's really saying something.

However, I felt that after a little while I was losing a bit of interest. This was mainly towards the middle section of the book, even though that was where there was more action taking place and the plot started moving. I thoroughly enjoyed the beginning's description of the world, and I liked the ending (even if it started getting a little too preachy), but yes. I don't know what happened there, I think I was too excited at first and then built it up way too much for myself.

Having said all that, I did enjoy this book. I may try some more of Ayn Rand's novels, but as I am aware that her other works are real door stoppers, I think I'll wait a while before I venture into her crazy crazy literary worlds again.(less)

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Dec 23, 2011 Lee rated it 2 of 5 stars Recommends it for: no one... absolutely no one.

I remember reading this in high school and loving it! So what made me ruin my memories for reading it now, some 15 years later?? I'm not sure, but I found the book to be annoyingly pretentious. I wish I could put into words the bad taste it left in my mouth, but I'm at a loss. I'm thankful for it being a quick, short read, or I might actually be upset with the amount of my life wasted re-reading this.

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About Ayn Rand

Alisa Rosenbaum was born in pre-revolutionary St. Petersburg to a prosperous Jewish family. When the Bolsheviks requisitioned the pharmacy owned by her father, Fronz, the Rosenbaums fled to the Crimea. Alisa returned to the city (renamed Leningrad) to attend the university, but in 1926 relatives who had already settled in America offered her the chance of joining them there. With money from the sa...more

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Quotes from Anthem

“My happiness is not the means to any end. It is the end. It is its own goal. It is its own purpose.” — 363 people liked it

“The word "We" is as lime poured over men, which sets and hardens to stone, and crushes all beneath it, and that which is white and that which is black are lost equally in the grey of it. It is the word by which the depraved steal the virtue of the good, by which the weak steal the might of the strong, by which the fools steal the wisdom of the sages.

What is my joy if all hands, even the unclean, can reach into it? What is my wisdom, if even the fools can dictate to me? What is my freedom, if all creatures, even the botched and impotent, are my masters? What is my life, if I am but to bow, to agree and to obey?

But I am done with this creed of corruption.

I am done with the monster of "We," the word of serfdom, of plunder, of misery, falsehood and shame.

And now I see the face of god, and I raise this god over the earth, this god whom men have sought since men came into being, this god who will grant them joy and peace and pride.

This god, this one word:

"I.” — 121 people liked it

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