Ayn Rand

[treeduck]

QUOTE (Kudzu @ Apr 22 2007, 04:46 PM)

QUOTE (treeduck @ Apr 22 2007, 01:58 PM) I never really got interested in Ayn Rand. Just because Neil adapted some of her ideas for his lyrics never struck me as a reason to suddenly become an Ayn Rand fan or even an Ayn Rand enthusiast. It would be similar to me suddenly buying a game of Snakes and Arrows and proclaiming it my new favourite game, just because it now has a Rush connection... Rush or no Rush, Anthem is a must-read. I got waaaay too much other stuff to read mate...

[Jack Aubrey]

QUOTE (treeduck @ Apr 22 2007, 04:58 PM)

I never really got interested in Ayn Rand. Just because Neil adapted some of her ideas for his lyrics never struck me as a reason to suddenly become an Ayn Rand fan or even an Ayn Rand enthusiast. It would be similar to me suddenly buying a game of Snakes and Arrows and proclaiming it my new favourite game, just because it now has a Rush connection...

Hear hear!

 

[Lady April]

I didn't go and buy the book for the sheer fact that Neil once based a song on the story of Anthem. The first part is that I have always known OF Ayn Rand, my dad used to read her books in the 70's. Second, was a reintroduction by Neil and Rush to the idea of the Author.

Third, and what drew me to go buy any book by her, I was reading some notes on the conspiracy based around her writings and conspiracy attracts me. So what if I am a Rush fan? I bet you there are probably a lot of fans on here that had never heard of Ayn Rand until Rush who went out and bought the books. There are many ways in the universe for people to be introduced to things for the first time.

 

I really have no plans to go and buy the game Snakes and Arrows just for that fact that it's Rush oriented either

 

 

[third hand grace]

I ENJOY her books, rush or no rush.

I find her viewpoints interesting, and I LOVE Atlas Shrugged.

I wish it was made into a movie.

[udanax]

Still need to finish The Fountainhead.....so long......

[theredtamasrule]

When I read Atlas Shrugged it shook my foundations and had a big impact on me and the way I viewed the world...some good and later on I realized some bad.

 

I went back to it a few years ago & tried to read it...and I wonder how I made it through the first time. Not that tough reads aren't worth it (i.e. The Brothers Karamazov) but slogging through that was too much. I understand what she was trying to accomplish but it's a tad impossible I'd say to shove philosophy down people's throat AND tell an interesting story at the same time. The characters are little more than excuses to rant and they rarely change over time: they're either good or evil and all those damn speeches...ugh. A rather flat piece despite it's length. She could have saved time and just published the speeches which are the whole point of the book anyway.

 

I've more enjoyed her straight up philosopy books like "Return of the Primitive" way more than her novels. I will say that her books are perfectly aimed at the young and their desire to be different and change the world. And while I think some of her ideas are spot on, I find now most are wrong and would lead to a hard & indifferent world if carried out to their logical conclusions...but not bad at all for those with money.

 

I look back at her and her life and wonder what she would be like if she ever had children or her husband wasn't a submissive drunk. She seems to me now a rather sad character...cold and unsympathetic. I think there was some serious psychological or sexual abuse when she was young in Russia, I see that in her sex scenes in The Fountain Head & Atlas Shrugged because they are more than a little masochistic and devoid of any tenderness.