Duane’s review of Atlas Shrugged > Likes and Comments

Duane, Very interesting review!! I enjoyed reading it.

I have a different take on Ayn Rand. Instead of genius vs looters, I see it as excellence vs mediocrity. Whether a worker in Rearden's mill or Rearden himself, it is excellence that Rand promotes. In "Fountainhead" it was bricklayer vs. architect. The looters want the status quo (and to keep their loot).

I see this happening with Uber. I travel the country. Uber is loved by drivers and passengers. I have ridden with professional drivers and retirees who want some additional income. Taxi drivers hate it and have been lobbying to drive Uber out of their cities. In those cities where the Taxi drivers are successful, medocrity wins.

Eddie Willers was not a genius or looter. He represents your average guy, Joe Lunchbox. In the end, Rand is telling us that without the one percenters as you describe them, the average guy loses. I think the most tragic figure in the novel is Eddie.

There is some truth to her assertion. Where would we be without Thomas Edison, George Washington or Sir Alexander Fleming?

Her foresight into the bank failures was interesting as well. In the real bank failures, it wasn't the wealthy who lost their houses (for the most part); it was the lower and middle classes that were squeezed.

Having said that Ayn Rand is extreme. There are no physically or mentally challenged individuals, no children. She doesn't account for the fringe of society. Whether it's Ayn Rand or Karl Marx -- one has to find the "philosophical" nuggets.

I do not believe in Truth with a capital "T". From quantum physics to philosophy, I see multiple truths.

And as a side note, if you take out John Galt's speech "Atlas Shrugged" is a juicy novel with strong female lead :-)

Glad you read it -- at 1400 pages it is a commitment. Cathy

I should have said bricklayer and architect vs the looters....

Cathy wrote: "I should have said bricklayer and architect vs the looters...."

Thanks for your comment Cathy.

It's been several years since I read the novel and only recently got around to giving it a very general review. I admit my analogy using the 1% vs. the 99% was extreme, but people are familiar with it and it expresses the gist of the idea. Most of Rand's analogies are also extreme in my view. Her "thinkers" were all capitalists and industrialists, and her fictional government was corrupt to the core.

You give her the benefit of the doubt I think when you say she thinks the average person would suffer without the "thinkers" efforts and contributions. That's right, but what she fails to acknowledge is that without government rules and laws that regulate industry and business, the average person would still suffer.

I did give the book four stars. The plot was complex, but the pace was good and it was entertaining enough to get me through. But I don't plan on rereading it.

Thanks, Duane

I own this paperback, but I wonder if it's better tackled as an audiobook? Opinion?

Good question BAM. I understand the audiobook is over 60 hours long so either way it is quite an endeavor. I listened to a few minutes of Scott Brick's narration and it sounded fine, but a large part of the dialogue in this novel is by a woman, so I'm not crazy about opposite gender narration. I prefer multi-cast narrations and I don't think there is one for this novel.

She just didn't write what I want to hear.

She didn't write what I want to hear either, Duane. :-)

Paul Ryan is said to be an Ayn Rand fan. “I give out ‘Atlas Shrugged’ as Christmas presents, and I make all my interns read it,” he said. “Well... I try to make my interns read it.”

Interesting. I couldn't get beyond the 100 page mark of this!

Carol wrote: "She just didn't write what I want to hear.

She didn't write what I want to hear either, Duane. :-)

Paul Ryan is said to be an Ayn Rand fan. “I give out ‘Atlas Shrugged’ as Christmas presents, an..."
Carol, that Paul Ryan anecdote doesn't surprise me, but it does scare me.

Violet wrote: "Interesting. I couldn't get beyond the 100 page mark of this!"
Violet, it was a struggle for me also. I certainly wouldn't do it again.

Duane wrote: "Carol wrote: "She just didn't write what I want to hear.

She didn't write what I want to hear either, Duane. :-)

Paul Ryan is said to be an Ayn Rand fan. “I give out ‘Atlas Shrugged’ as Christma..."

And since I'm old enough for Social Security and Medicare...that's not all that scares me about Paul Ryan. :))

Excellent review Duane.

A remarkably insightful review.