Non-libertarian here.
Wow. This book took me 3 years (and one re-start 1/4 way in) to read.
But it was worth it!
I enjoy the forcefulness and certainty of Rand's writing, and the sheer scale of this book with its many characters and big ideas.
Yes, this book does have many shallow 2-dimensional characters -- they're typically more "caricatures" than "characters," particularly the characters who stand for the type of people Rand clearly hated with almost vicious cynicism in the real world. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the decisiveness and conviction of the leads. It's refreshing, in fact, to have a book so hell-bent on its ideas and narrative without a hint of shades of gray, without any patience for human weakness or intellectual murkiness, and with endless joy and celebration of the drive and decisiveness that make some people so admirable. Rearden, Francisco, [kinda-obvious-but-still-a-spoiler character], and especially Dagny were people you could root for... assuming you're not one of the "looters" Rand has so much hate for. If you're a selfish, sneaky, dishonest, needy person, well, this book will be like a 1000-page whipping for you.
That hatred of weak human beings is probably what I liked least about the book. Man, the hatred, it drips from the pages like a poison. The villains of this book aren't just dumb or misguided... They're portrayed as utterly hopeless and irredeemable in every way, useless lumps of flesh that are best destroyed under the wheels of their iron-willed betters. And in the real world, while the traits Rand hated exist in abundance and I understand and often share her dislike, people are not all such simple caricatures who should be discarded without any consideration for the qualities they DO have, or at least the potential they have. Rand seems to consciously ignore the idea that the world does "take all kinds" to function, and in doing so, misses out on some opportunities for her characters to find other ways to realize and express their intellectual and material values. You'll notice that nobody in this book has cancer. There are no children whom parents have to sacrifice for and love for no reason other than that the children are their own. There are no old men or women who are dying. The only children are Dagny and her friends who think like little adults, the only injuries are not terminal (i.e., minor injuries after airplane crash) and easily overcome with willpower and force of mind. Grappling with some of these things (like, I don't know, Dagny having leukemia) wouldn't necessarily have undermined Rand's philosophy (maybe); they could have made for some nuance to the way her characters' intellects and willpowers are exerted. People DO have a debt to others around them, whether it be someone stricken with a deadly disease being helped by their friends, or a toddler who needs protection and unpaid service from a parent. Again, these don't undermine Rand's philosophy necessarily, but she leaves a big gap for others to poke holes in her grand vision by not addressing such real-world issues. With a mind like hers, her narrative could have showed us how to make these things fit into her vision and philosophy, gave us some hint at an answer for how to deal with these things in a responsible way. She offers solutions to many things and maybe you can extrapolate some more... But for me, I don't see an answer to who will care for Dagny when she is old and feeble but still wants to be useful rather than shuttered, or who will clean toilets when everyone is trying to be a a fountain of intellect and creativity, or how the retarded and the simply dumb will find use for themselves in a world where everyone else is too busy pouring steel and being productive to notice. I wanted the book to provide some sense of these nuances, or at least express awareness that such nuance exists in real life, rather than just being a rally call to an absolute philosophy.
Regardless, this is a grand book filled with things worth thinking about, whether you come to Rand's conclusions or not. I am not a libertarian or a conservative at all (and definitely didn't walk away thinking anything crazy like, "down with government! let the capitalists govern indirectly through their brilliance! Taxes are evil!"). Yet I still found much to admire and emulate in her characters, much to celebrate about the drive and power of people doing the things they are good at with conscious and determined effort. Many of us could learn a lot about how to work hard to best use our personal talents for our own good, and in so doing benefit everyone; many of us could learn a lot about the joy of working hard and being responsible for our own destinies. Don't read this book as a libertarian bible (a terrible misreading, I think), but instead...... Take it as a rally call for each of us to demand as little of one another as possible and instead demand as much from ourselves as possible, and have love for your own ability to do both of those things consciously. It's a powerful novel and I enjoyed even the parts that I consciously knew were attacks on societal systems I support in the real world.
Come with an open mind and see the world from an absolute and infinitely self-assured perspective. I think you'll learn some good values even if Atlas Shrugged doesn't change your view of how to implement those values in your own life or society.
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Mixed feelings about the book
Unlike many books it has a lot of both good and bad things about it: The good: interesting plot, very good narration in between dialogues The bad: dialogues are cartoonish, and multi-page monologues (which are many) are mostly unbearable. When I was reading dialogues more often than not my brain was superimposing them on characters from Donald Duck or Chip&Dale or Rick and Marty in best case. Not always but like 80% of the time. The good: the key message of the book is brought home really well and from multiple angles, that modern society depends on talents and energy and motivation of the few and that any attempt to milk them or otherwise restraint considerably for the desired benefits of the so-called many leads to ugly consequences. The bad: this point and the whole plot could have been be fully elaborated in 2x less words for sure Pro tip: if you haven’t started reading your huge novels on kindle yet, this one should make you do it. Instead of holding the weigh of this behemoth book and breaking your eyes with small font in your hands set the font to 8 on Kindle Oasis and you will feel thankful very soon ☺️ P.S. watching “Mad Men” for the first time now, my god Peggy there is Ayn Rand, in both body and spirit! (but not quite in talent and ambition)
Opiniones destacadas de los Estados Unidos
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Calificado en Estados Unidos el 17 de noviembre de 2013
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Calificado en Estados Unidos el 1 de mayo de 2009
Opiniones más destacadas de otros países
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Amazing to know what he has done so far with more than 6 compagnies. He has revolutionized the world.Calificado en Francia el 14 de septiembre de 2024
Who is John Galt
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Antony GussCalificado en Emiratos Árabes Unidos el 25 de diciembre de 2024
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Mark Twain 12345Calificado en Reino Unido el 8 de noviembre de 2013
Self-indulgent and deluded twaddle that unfortunately has to be read
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Jessie S.Calificado en Singapur el 10 de junio de 2021
Not suggest to buy this version
Don’t suggest buying this version, the font size is too small.Jessie S.Not suggest to buy this version
Calificado en Singapur el 10 de junio de 2021
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hanzCalificado en Alemania el 29 de abril de 2025
a warning from the 50s of last century
