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The Early Ayn Rand: A Selection from Her Unpublished Fiction

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Rating: - If you love idealism, you love her[Ayn Rand].

I read this book as if it were the last one she had written. I savored the stories, the characters, the sometimes enevitable plots. I grew up with Ayn. First I read Anthem, then The Fountainhead, and then Atlas Shrugged.(These over the course of my teen years.) I believed that what she said was true. Yes, I have matured and realized life is not quite so perfect as I wished it could be as Ayn had expressed it. However, I have found that if I expect the best from life, and except nothing less, then that is what I will recieve. I think that is all Ayn ever intended to say. Yes, she seemed to make it all complicated and profound, but all in all she just wanted what was the best and what was right. Don't we all?? YOU determine what is right and best for you. It doesn't have to match anyone else. I just happen to match Ayn. Have you read We the Living? If you have not please do. I think this is as close to Ayn as you will ever get. Yes, she is an idealist and a capitalist to the nth degree. Ahhhh, but to believe in something so strongly, that is admirable.

Rating: - "It is best to avoid the beginnings of evil." - H.D. Thoreau

The beginnings of evil, in this case, are some really terrible fiction (even worse than Ayn Rand's later stuff) and some outtakes from THE FOUNTAINHEAD that Rand never intended to publish. If you *must* enrich Leonard Peikoff and his cronies by purchasing this volume, at least pay close attention to the passages excised from THE FOUNTAINHEAD. Howard Roark was originally conceived as a man completely incapable of giving a damn about anyone but himself; later revisions made it a bit less obvious that his origins lay in Rand's vulgar understanding of Nietzsche. Since she later filed the serial numbers off of her Nietzschean influences, the passages presented here are of some historical interest. Some of the other works here presented - e.g. the play IDEAL, in which actress Kay Gonda conceives herself as the most marvelous creature alive, wishes in good Randian fashion that there were someone else in the world she could look up to, and eventally lets some poor fellow kill himself on her behalf in the erroneous belief that he is rescuing her - also provide some insights into the Mind of Rand; most of them are not pretty. But *none* of them are any damn good - even for early fiction.

Rating: - The birth of a modern religion

I believe Ayn Rand's writings are very destructive. And this isn't because of her highly un-original philosophy. No, the reason for this is the powerful grip the books has on her followers. In her books they find justification for behaving in a anti-social manner that is slowly destroying the fabric of the societies of the Western World. This egoism is supposedly derived from "reason". In the real world however there is no reason for people not to find fulfillment and meaning from helping others and caring for their family and friends. The accusation that "altruism", i.e. decency and goodness, leads to tyranny is nothing but products of a very paranoid mind. The craziest thing about this though is the fact that Ayn Rand has been raised to a saint-like status by her followers. No disagreement with her writings is ever accepted and if you disagree you are an evil communist/collectivist. To be a true individualist you must agree with everything she has ever written. Isn't this collectivism in a true sense? No, says her followers, those views are derived by reason and must therefore be share by all intelligent human beings. Pretty scary!! Note that Objectivism, like Marxism, Freudianism and Jungianism, is a closed system of thought in the sense that any critisism of the system is automatically seen as a symptom of unreason. This is what makes Objectivism a religion rather than a philosophy or scientific method. And this is also the reason for the fanatical behavior of her disciples.

Rating: - This book was terrible, even for a beginning author

The author has created poorly constructed and rather lifeless characters. Although the author has imposed much passion on her characters they still seem plastic. As for the story, well I'd rather read something else.

Rating: - There's more?

Though it's obvioulsy not Atlas or Fountainhead, this is a good read. For anyone who's looking for more Rand Fiction, it's short, interesting, and enjoyable. The style IS in some ways similar to O. Henry, which was an added bonus. Because, hey...I loved O. Henry. Though the book may not be as life altering as some of her others, it is still a very enjoyable collection. (And if you haven't read O. Henry, read him too.)

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