Is Atlas Shrugged worth reading?

[bnmjy]

I have a friend who despises the politics of objectivism, but she loved this book. It seems most people who loathe the book never even held it within their hands. I'm not expecting a literary masterpiece, but I do want to see what all the fuss is about. Ayn Rand was an interesting woman. Although I disagree with her politics, I've always been the type of person who likes to explore opposing views.

[Bouvre]

From what I can remember, she couldn't write dialogue to save a life if every semi-decent sentence was a thousand dollar donation to Doctors Without Borders. I recall I stopped in the first major exchange between characters.

[Bouvre]

From what I can remember, she couldn't write dialogue to save a life if every semi-decent sentence was a thousand dollar donation to Doctors Without Borders. I recall I stopped in the first major exchange between characters.

 

Bad analogy; she hates charities.

[MasqueradeOverture]

No.

 

No.

 

Absolutely not.

 

Jesus fucking Christ, are you trying to be scarred from reading for life or something?

[bnmjy]

From what I can remember, she couldn't write dialogue to save a life if every semi-decent sentence was a thousand dollar donation to Doctors Without Borders. I recall I stopped in the first major exchange between characters.

 

Is that so? I know that there's an infamously long spiel some time in the book where the character is nothing but a mouthpiece for her views.

[bnmjy]

No.

 

No.

 

Absolutely not.

 

Jesus fucking Christ, are you trying to be scarred from reading for life or something?

 

Perhaps. I've read many a shitty fanfic, so I'll be fine.

[DragonSinger]

Not for me. I have way too many options to choose from before I'm ever bored enough to touch Ayn Rand's books. Anyone else reading it isn't my concern.

[bnmjy]

Well, everyone thus far has said no. I'm still probably going to read it, just to say that I have read it. I had watched a video with a quote from The Fountainhead the other day and it had detailed her philosophy, which to me seemed quite cartoonish. I just like that neo-industrial revolutional business tycoon feeling Atlas Shrugged superficially has.

[Chapinator_X]

A couple minutes in the comments section for a news article posted on Reddit should give you a general idea of what Atlas Shrugged is like.

[Bouvre]

Is that so? I know that there's an infamously long spiel some time in the book where the character is nothing but a mouthpiece for her views.

That's like all her characters are talking about.

[Naraku4656]

*cracks open another folder* LOOK AT ME I'M POSTING IN ANOTHER FOLDER, MARVEL AT THE WONDER OF THIS RARE SIGHT AND BE AMAZED. i hate reading, despise it like books are my kryptonite, yet i was curious after i played Bioshock. i got about 15 pages in and got bored. BACK TO FFA *poof*

[quebecelegy]

yes

[Gyaos]

I read about halfway through. The author couldn't write her way out of a fucking prison sentence. The dialogue felt fake. At some point I simply decided that reading the entire book was not worth the effort.

[Hornshire]

We liked The Fountainhead. But We've never picked up any of her other works. She writes in terms of absolutes, and her characters are neither human nor dynamic. From what We've heard from people who have read it, Atlas Shrugged is worse in this department.; as has been repeated in this thread, the dialogue is blatantly her espousing her philosophy, with the barest of narratives tacked around that. The ideas it deals with are caricature and hyperbole, and anything of worth that can be gained from it can also be gained from common sense.

 

The only reason to spend your time on it would be if you really liked her views, or you want to have an in-depth, legitimate discussion with someone about it.

[katt_goddess]

I've never had the horror but from what I've heard, it's mainly good for hitting insects with rather than actually reading.

[Top Gun]

Just play BioShock instead.  You get all of the same Objectivist nonsense, plus you get to hit freakish genetic mutants with a wrench!

[J.M. Matthews]

HUGE Ayn Rand fan here.Read everything of hers you can. You will be edified.

[J.M. Matthews]

On 9/19/2017 at 6:58 PM, katt_goddess said:

I've never had the horror but from what I've heard, it's mainly good for hitting insects with rather than actually reading.

Whhaaaa?? Ayn Rand was a GENIUS!

[katt_goddess]

48 minutes ago, Spindack said:

Whhaaaa?? Ayn Rand was a GENIUS!

People say that about Laurence Sterne too.

And if I could go back in time, I'd hide all his quills or force him to drink his own ink. Whichever worked. 

[J.M. Matthews]

Yeah, she has been respected for what is approaching a century.

Ayn Rand wrote about the INTP: Howard Roark in The Fountainhead.

Howard Roark is essentially me in 1940s format. 

Edited January 18, 2018 by Spindack

[J.M. Matthews]

5 minutes ago, katt_goddess said:

People say that about Laurence Sterne too.

And if I could go back in time, I'd hide all his quills or force him to drink his own ink. Whichever worked. 

I'll be sure to check him out...

[J.M. Matthews]

I love Objectivism and Subjectivism. The self vs. The Other.  Great stuff. 

[katt_goddess]

You couldn't have read 'Tristram Shandy' that fast. 

I'd rather read 'War and Peace' in the original Russian than read that crap again. 

And I'd still read that faster than 'Tristram Shandy' in English. >.<

Edited January 18, 2018 by katt_goddess

[J.M. Matthews]

Don't hate on her just because she's a genius who happens to be female. 

Just because she was a woman doesn't mean she couldn't be a genius. 

Are you guys going to go after Salman Rushdie next for not endorsing Islam just because he's Arab?

[Meilag32]

Ayn Rand is severely over-rated (at least in the Conservative sphere).  I've tried reading both "The Fountainhead" and "Atlas Shrugged"  and they are both barely readable, self-serving drivel.  Rand's ideas have about as much depth and insight as current Republicans have.