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I did finish The Fountainhead at last! And all I can say is that I really liked it and want to read more of her works. (I have this uncanny habit of reading several books of the same author in case I like their writing.)

Ayn Rand takes a bit of time to build characters but the outcome is fabulous. Be it Howard Roark, Dominique Francon, Ellsworth Toohey, or Gail Wynand, each character has a soul and resembles real life people. What I liked very much was the fact that though the novel was written in early 1930s, it seems as if it is a story of modern times. The theory of objectivism is put forward by the protoganist Howard Roark during his trial is something to ponder. It advocates personal achievement over altruism, and the fact that no man can be happy by living for others sake. He has to first achieve his goals and then work towards achieving something for the society. Roark also condemns collectivism and says that the original idea for any work is of one person, the rest of the people working just to achieve that dream. There are people who do not compromise on their beliefs and work and there are also people, generally second handers, who sacrifice their soul to please others and thus achieve the material gains.

I had always wanted to read this novel by Ayn Rand, but couldn’t find enough time for it. However, I did lay my hands on it a couple of days back on the visit to Crossword, the bookstore in Mumbai. A friend had suggested reading it long back and praised it so much that it remained somewhere at the back of mind.

At the outset, the first couple of pages were not at all interesting, but as it is progressing, it is becoming something to reckon with. As of now, I have only finished Part 1, but I am impressed. The characters have so much of substance that you are bound to think about the fact that can there be real people like them? Howard Roark, the architect, is shown so confident of whatever he does that it sometimes feels as if so much of confidence is indecent…he would not settle of anything less perfect in his profession (What he calls perfect is his perception, not what the world thinks and that’s where the conflicts arise). Other characters are also intriguing enough…but that’s all for now because I am again going to be glued to the novel and write down my reactions to it once I am through.