For no particular reason that I can discern, I've been thinking about Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead a lot lately. So much so that I actually went on several reconnaissance / archaeological digs around the house to see if I could find a copy either in my or my #1🌞's books. I know that at least one of us HAD a copy once upon a time...but I had the sneaking suspicion that I had sent my copy on for other hands and eyes, thinking that I would never read another Ayn Rand written word. I had no luck with Fountainhead, but I did find a copy of Atlas Shrugged, which I would have thought would also have moved on, so it gave me renewed hope and I had another look. But if there's a copy on the premises, it has managed to elude me.
Then I made a trip to Half-Price Books this morning, which has become something of a Sunday ritual for me. And there in the Special Books, Some Of Which Are Pricey section, I spotted a copy of The Fountainhead. A hardback copy. For a mere $8. But the back flap of the dustcover was torn...and I started thinking, "I've already read this book. And I kind of hate Ayn Rand, anyway." And I put it back on the shelf.
Then I looked at the Regular Hardback Fiction and the Regular Softcover Fiction stuff...and I'll confess that I did look to see if there was any Ayn Rand there. And there was...mostly Atlas Shrugged. And no The Fountainhead. So I decided that that was that, I was through with looking for The Fountainhead. And I decided to have a quick look at the Bargain Bin books before I left the store, because you never know what you're going to find there, but sometimes it's stuff you Have To Have.
And...Whoomp! There it is!:
But is it going to be my 37th Daily Devotional Reading subject? I don't know. But I've got at least 11 1/2 hours to think about that.
ADDENDUM:
Pros:
This is a novel which is thought-filled...one might even say provocative.
Ayn Rand really bothers me immensely. And I like that in a book.
The Universe told me that I should read this book.
And then The Universe practically put a copy in my hands when I couldn't find it in my house.
Cons:
I've already read this book. DDR isn't for mulligans, is it? It never has been before.
It's a really long book. Over 700 pages. Even at 20 pages a day, that means it would take me over a month to put it away.
Ayn Rand is kind of a shit writer.
There's a rape in the book. And after being raped, the woman falls in love with her rapist. That's not okay.
So...this could go either way. This is one of those times when I wish I had a Traveling Buddy to talk things over with, though.
Day 1 (DDRD 1,482) November 22, 2021
And? Well. I spent the morning finishing Stephen King's Billy Summers. (Which was not particularly satisfying, by the way. My thoughts on it HERE.) And then I looked at my $1 copy of The Fountainhead and asked myself, Do I really want to read this again? And then I thought, Maybe I'll just read Ayn Rand's "Introduction to the Twenty-fifth Anniversary Edition." 7 pages. A minor investment of time. So I did that.
It was kind of interesting. Among other things, Rand explains why she had decided not to use a quotation from Friedrich Nietzsche from the front of the book. The quotation was, "The noble soul has reverence for itself." (From Beyond Good and Evil, btw.) Her reason for its omission (it had been on her manuscript for the novel) primarily boiled down to, "I didn't want anybody to think I was affirming any kind of belief in religion."
And other than that, she was pretty much just being Ayn Rand: confident to the point of obnoxiousness, unwavering in her faith in Capitalism, allathat.
I felt my disdain for her rising up in me. But it didn't matter. I was caught in the tractor beam.
I read to page 20. Stopped.
Howard Roark...well, he was just Ayn Rand with a dick, wasn't he? And his Novel was Architecture.
But his disdain for the Architecture of the past actually made a lot of sense. His diatribe on how Roman architecture just did things the way they did because they were mimicking in marble what had previously been done in wood...not because it was necessary or functional, but because they were slavishly following the patterns of the past...struck a chord in me.
I went back and counted how many actual text pages of the novel proper I had read. It was only 6. Plus the 7 Introduction pages still only made 13. So I read to page 30.
As my youngest son once wrote in a short essay on making a hamburger, "Yes I'm going to eat it."
So we're off, you know.
ADDENDUM: Shortly after reading "Today's Twenty" and writing the above, I downloaded a sample of a book I had bumped into randomly...just because I was searching for some Hungarian stuff. The book was The Glance of the Medusa: The Physiognomy of Mysticism by László F. Földényi...and, of course, they had me at Mysticism. I started reading the sample and this bit stopped me:
"God created Something out of Nothing; Faust, however, can only create Something new from something already existing."
In seemed very much in line with the Howard Roark stuff that I'd just been reading in The Fountainhead. Then I had to do some stuff, and when I came back to the sample I realized that it had automatically opened to the first page of text, and that there was some other stuff that preceded that page. So I went back to look at it. Here's what I found on the first page of the sample:
Yep. Good old Fred Nietzsche. How's that for the universe talking to me?
Day 2 (DDRD 1,483) November 23, 2021
Read to page 51.
One of the things that strikes mean a major contributing factor to my opinion (previously stated) that Ayn Rand is a shit writer is that her dialogue (especially her dialogue, though the same criticism could be applied to her characterizations, plot, tone) lacks realism. It reminds me of why I don't like plays very much: because in most of them, people talk as if they are in a play. Too much declamation, too much bombast.
On the other hand...I was thinking about a novel a friend had given me, and since I thought he wanted my actual opinion rather than just support via praise, I said that I thought that the dialogue wasn't very realistic. He replied, "Why would I want realism?"
And it's true, isn't it. I mean...I love opera, and that certainly is filled to the brim with declamation, bombast, and histrionics. But it's the reason that I prefer the Adam West Batman to the Michael Keaton, Christian Bale, etc. Batmen: because it's not aiming for realism. Realism is not going to be cohesive when you're talking about a man dressing up as a bat and going out to fight criminals.
Besides, I've got to admit that Rand's words have power. It was no chore whatsoever to drink down twenty (+ one, for the record) pages this morning. And I actually didn't feel like stopping then.
At one point in the story, Peter Keating enters the architectural firm which has employed him straight out of college, and observes that the front office wall has pilasters. I had no idea what that was, so I looked it up and got this:
"In classical architecture, a pilaster is an architectural element used to give the appearance of a supporting column and to articulate an extent of wall, with only an ornamental function. It consists of a flat surface raised from the main wall surface, usually treated as though it were a column, with a capital at the top, plinth (base) at the bottom, and the various other column elements. In contrast to a pilaster, an engaged column or buttress can support the structure of a wall and roof above." (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pilaster)
And it was obvious that that was it in a nutshell: a pilaster is decorative, not functional. And that's what Roark was railing against: how building design had sacrificed function for appearance. It's the old classical / romantic split that Pirsig spent most of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance discussing. And it's why Roark admires the Dana building built by his soon to be employer, the now disgraced Henry Cameron. He, like young Roark, doesn't give a gram of shit about what other people think or about "pretty" work; he designs according to the context and the need. Thus people who work in his Dana building love the place, while people who pass it by on the street think of it as an ugly, warehouse-looking building.
I'm guessing that Rand did more than a little bit of work learning about architecture. She refers to some terms later on that I also looked up...an ornamental stringcourse...which Keating suggests to his boss. And it is basically just decoration...a line of protruding bricks than runs along the face of a building. It's a great hit with his boss, and, more importantly, with an architectural critic who writes for a popular magazine. But it has no function, so you can bet that Roark would have taken a sledgehammer to it if someone had put it onto his building.
At the bottom of page 45, Rand has somebody...I think it was Roark ...think this: "Men hate passion, any great passion." And that made me stop and think. Not in a bad, You've interrupted the story way, but in a, Hmmm, that's interesting way. And I started thinking about people who display passion in various ways. And it seemed to me that what Rand had said was true. And I wondered why. And it occurred to me that it might be the same reason that some older men seem to hate beautiful women: because they know there is no way, no day, that they're going to get even a sniff of that pie. So those who lead their lives of quiet desperation and muted frustration see people living passionately and it is like a slap in the face. It also makes me think of how every woman with whom I had a relationship during my teaching years would praise me for me dedication to my profession...and then would heap scorn upon me for working so hard, even when it had no impact upon them whatsoever. In other words, it wasn't because I neglected them. It was because in addition to my love for them, I had a love for something else...and they didn't like that.
It also hit me that somebody really should make another movie based on this novel. I've seen the Gary Cooper / Patricia Neal one...the one that was stolen from Barbara Stanwyck...and, in fact, have just requested it from the library, so I'll be watching it again soon...but it's not a good movie. So come on, Zach Snyder, let's get moving on that four hour monster that's been hiding in your basement for the past decade or so.
Well...I thought I was finished for the day. But then I found myself thinking about the book...and I didn't have any pressing need to read anything else (though I did try to take a little dip into Collected Fictions by Jorge Luis Borges...mostly because I saw the covers for a three volume series of conversations with JLB* and really wanted to buy them, but since I've read very little of his work I didn't think I should take that plunge until I took a peek)...so I went back for another nip of The Fountainhead. And before I knew it, I had another 20 pages down. So that's a good sign, ennit?
*
I mean...SERIOUSly...am I supposed to be able to resist those covers? But it would be a $56 bill (best deals I could find without resorting to Amazon), so that's not cheap. Then again, retail is $79.50...+ $11 shipping ( = $90.50) from the publisher, Seagull Books, or $42.82 from Amazon, but to be honest, I'd rather pay the extra $14 to get the books from Thrift & eBay.
Day 3 (DDRD 1,484) November 24, 2021
Read to page 112. It's interesting to see how Peter, who seemed like a pretty nice guy in college, is now finding his way to success via toadying, manipulation, and worse. I'm also starting to think about sex with respect to this novel. So far as I can tell, no character has had any at this point...and we're talking about character who are in their early 20s. Kind of strange.
Also, The Fountainhead is still following me around. Somebody tell her that I'm good now.
Day 4 (DDRD 1,485) 🦃November 25, 2021🦃
Read to page 150.
Day 5 (DDRD 1,486) November 26, 2021
Read to page 200...which is also the end of Part One.
I've been thinking about Roark and his refusal to "compromise" on his building plans. Rand prevaricates a little bit, but it seems clear that she sees his adamant obstinacy as a great characteristic, as a man who holds to the Ideal even when it costs him dearly (not getting jobs, not being able to pay his rent, etcetera). But it strikes me as bullshit. For one thing, if a person hires you to build a house, it doesn't seem unwarranted for them to say, "I want this or that." If I went to a restaurant and order fish and the waiter brought me squid pie, because that's what the cook envisioned for me, I wouldn't accept it, after all. But even more than that, I wonder if Rand really believes what she seems to be saying. After all, Peter wins his big award and makes his way up the ladder of success because he had Roark "correct" his plans. That seems to suggest that if Roark would just not be such an absolute pain in the ass that his buildings would not only bring him material rewards, but would also make people happy. More than that, too: with respect to the bank job, all that they wanted him to change was the facade; the interior plans would have stayed exactly as Roark drew them. It's not as simple as him being obdurate...but it's not all that complex, either.
In other news...TYPO on page 188, 2nd full ¶ lines 6-7: "He was right; right at the number of people who believed it." I'm going to keep track of this and any other typos and email the Ayn Rand Institute at the end of my reading. I have the feeling that they might actually give a shit about such things.
Day 6 (DDRD 1,487) November 27, 2021
Read to page 250. Which included The Rape Scene. Which I am not at all happy about. If I'm supposed to admire Roark because of his refusal to compromise his vision, then turning him into a rapist is not going to keep that admiration afloat. Perhaps its fortunate that I don't admire that "refusal"--since I see it as an inability to understand that he is not the only person in the world. But that just makes it harder to care about Roark at all. And I don't think that that was what Ayn Rand was aiming for. Which makes me wonder...did she really think that this rape scene was okay...that it wasn't going to make Roark a contemptible character...a villain? Hard to believe, but I don't know. I get the distinct impression that Ayn Rand was a lot more fucked up than I would previously have guessed. For one thing, she sets this rape up in ways that I don't think she was conscious of. When Dominique first sees Roark, for instance, Rand dwells on the fact that he's standing in a gigantic gash in the earth, and that he is pounding the granite of that earth with a jackhammer. And later when she asks him to come into her bedroom to work on her fireplace (oh come ON now), he looks at the scratch on the piece of marble, takes out a hammer and chisel and puts the chisel into the scratch, hits it and breaks it. That's a whole lot of breaking into gashes by the man who then rapes the woman. Beyond that, we're also told that Dominique has some bruises following the rape...and worst of all, we're told that she experienced an orgasm while she was being raped.
And there's this:
"One gesture of tenderness from him - and she would have remained cold, untouched by the thing done to her body. But the act of a master taking shameful, contemptuous possession of her was the kind of rapture she had wanted."
The kind of rapture she wanted.
Rapture.
I mean...that is beyond fucked up. Normally it'd be enough for me to stop reading then and there, but I guess just putting it in the context of Ayn Rand and her own Fucked-Up-edness doesn't make it a deal breaker this time around. Plus the fact that it's a woman, I suppose. I can't imagine keeping on with this if it had been written by a man.
So there it is.
Obviously the pages have been flying by. My daily average at this point is almost 42. If this keeps up, I'll be finished in less than two weeks.
And then? Hmmm. I did mention that I'd found my copy of Atlas Shurgged....
Day 7 (DDRD 1,488) November 28, 2021
Read to page 312.
Here's a thing: "There are two things we must get rid of early in life: a feeling of personal superiority and an exaggerated reverence for the sexual act."
Well. I wish I'd read the latter about twenty years ago. I passed up some primo stuff for the sake of that exaggerated reverence. Sigh. Oh well.
Here's a thing that's not quite as funny: Rand makes reference to "defective children." That goes way into the danger zone for me, as the dad of two special needs adult children. Not bailing out, but feeling more than a little bit of scorn for Ms. Rand right now.
Day 8 (DDRD 1,489) November 29, 2021
Read to page 350. Probably going to read some more, but there are a lot of social events happing at the K Manse this afternoon and evening, so I thought I'd better tie it off JiC.
In Today's Twe--uh, Forty. -Ish. There was this follow-up to my last comment on yesterday's reading: Rand refers to special needs kids as "subnormal" and calls them "blighted ones."
Well. Fuck that bitch.
Still not bailing, but...well, FUCK that bitch.
On a less seminal note, I thought that this--
"It's something made me very sick once, but then it turned out it make no difference at all, in the long run. " (348)
--actually did jibe with my personal experience. So at least there's that.
ADDENDUM: Read to page 362. Speaking of which...I'm past the halfway point now. Definitely going to finish this up way before I thought I would.
Day 9 (DDRD 1,490) November 30, 2021
Read to page 400.
"Then he knew that he had always wanted this woman, that it was the kind of feeling he would have for a whore, only lasting and hopeless and vicious. My wife, he thought for the first time, without a trace of respect in the word." (373)
Nobody tells a 🌹love story🌹 like Ayn Rand, am I right?
Also, here's another fine typo:
"If I demanded it, I'd destroy you. That's why I won't stop you." (376)
Pretty clearly that first "I" should be "you," ennit?
And oh my...a bit later on came typo #3:
"But don't they know that if suffering could be measured, there's no suffering in Stephen Mallory when he can't do the work he wants to do, than in a whole field of victims mowed down by a tank? (388)
Clearly the "no" should have been "more." Or maybe Ayn was aiming for "mo"...ahead of her time again. At any rate...I can't imAGine that The Institute will be happy about this.
Day 10 (DDRD 1,491) December 1, 2021
Hey, lookee there: it's 1,491 and Day 1. I guess we'll be in sync again for a little while.
Read to page 450.
And here's Ayn Rand on Donald Trump...about 75 years early:
"He gave people what they wanted, plus a justification for indulging the taste of which they had been ashamed." (408, & actually talking about the way Gail Wynand ran his newspaper, The Banner.)
Hmmm. ANOTher typo (#4, I believe):
"Whatever that bastard Wynand is after," people said, " it's not after money." (411)
Obviously this should be either "he's not after money" or "it's not money."
Y'know, for the most part I tend to focus on the shittier qualities in Rand's writing. Her dialogue is preposterous much of the time, her characters do things that no real person would ever do without ingesting large quantities of dangerous drugs, etc. But one thing I will say for her: even though it was first published 78 years ago, this novel does not seem dated at all. And that really is something.
Day 11 (DDRD 1,492) December 2, 2021
Read to page 500.
Had some real groaners today. Especially irritating was the whole bit about the play that was so bad that it should have been thrown away, but instead became a huge hit...because people are so stupid that if they are Emperor's New Clothes-ed about something they will immediately capitulate. Ergo...
"It was an air of inanities uttered as revelations and insolently demanding acceptance as such; an air, not of innocent presumption, but of conscious effrontery; as if the author knew the nature of his work and boasted of his power to make it appear sublime in the minds of his audience and thus destroy the capacity for the sublime within them." (491)
Not that it's completely without truth. Certainly the popular taste can be corroded by bad works, especially if they're wrapped up in political correctness and Fear of Not Being Correct Enough--isn't that how Hamilton became a hit? But as always, Rand takes it too far, far beyond any realistic possibility.
And just in case THAT's not enough, there's this:
Mmm-hmm.
Day 12 (DDRD 1,493) December 3, 2021
Read to page 570. That's right, a 70 page day. I wish that I could say it's because the story is so compelling, but that's not it. In part it's just because I had some waiting in the car time today. In part it's because I don't have an "extra" book I'm particularly interested in reading right now (just the "usual" 8). And in part it's because I kind of want to get this over with. Which is not to say that I'm not interested, because I am. But the dialogue is So Fucking Bad now that it chafes me to read it. You'd think that the person who wrote this book had never spent any time around actual human beings and had constructed all of the dialogue around what she knew from operas and comic books. (And I say that as a Big Fan of operas and comic books.) It's pretentious and bombastic and completely lacking in authenticity. And it's just kind of embarrassing, actually.
No typos in this stretch, though, so that's something.
Day 13 (DDRD 1,494) December 4, 2021
Only read to page 594...a mere 24 pages...but also read the Afterword (10 pages) & Reader's Guide (10 pages), mostly so that I wouldn't have to read them after I finish the novel. Stopped at 594 because that means I only have 100 pages of text left to read. And I may do a little more reading later today, we'll see. But I'm thinking that I'm down to at most two days until I finish this thing off, and yes, I am looking forward to that. And no, I shan't be reading Atlas Shrugged next...or ever again, most likely. I think my Ayn Rand stomach is as full as it can ever be. I am thinking about reading Zombie Capitalism next, though...
I've had it for a long time, been meaning to get around to reading it, and think it might be just the thing to wash Ayn Rand's semen out of my mouth.
Day 14 (DDRD 1,495) December 5, 2021
So later today I'll be going down to the Main Library...for the first time in a couple of years...to listen to
'Cause of the Architect thing, see. I will confess that for all its faults ...and there are MANy...reading The Fountainhead has really pushed my Architecture Lust into overdrive, so when I saw this lecture listed on the library's website, I immediately registered for it. News as it happens.
Meanwhile...
Read to page 644. Which leaves 50 pages.
It can't come too soon for me at this point.
But first, here's a thing from yesterday's reading which I meant to comment upon:
Because I have to give this to Ms. Rand: her idealism with respect to the individual does have an inspirational aura on occasion. Reading this made me stop and think about my own writing, for instance. My frustration at not being able to get published was a large contributor to my finally saying to hell with it and stopping work on several projects, including two novels in progress. Obviously "Others" had become my motive power. And thinking about it in that way made me go back to have another shot at my own writing. So I have to give a nod of thanks for that feeling, and hope that it isn't fleeting.
Ahn de otter hund...
My God. Tooey goes on and on for about six pages, almost completely unbroken. Constant posturing by all characters. It's just so overblown, so histrionic, that it makes me cringe.
And there's snide shit, like this from page 623: a reference to "...the bookkeeper who had wanted to be a pianist, but had the excuse of a sister to support..." Because, you see, it's never a good thing to sacrifice yourself or your dreams for the good of another. And worse than that, to do so is an indication that you are a weakling. See, you're not really a good person who wants to help your sister, you're a weakling who uses that as an exCUSE to avoid following your dream. For fuck's sake.
And this bit, which is, in a nutshell, what's wrong with Ms. Rand's writing: on page 625, she tells us that "The Banner editorials were written by Gail Wynand as he stood at a table in the composing room, written as always on a huge piece of print stock, with a blue pencil, in letters an inch high." Right. Now imagine an editorial which has been hand-written in letters one inch high. That would take a lot of paper, wouldn't it? It's just fucking ridiculous.
And the typos are coming fast and furious now.
Typo page 629 third full paragraph first and second line: "He saw the white flesh, the mouth hanging open in triumphs, the face...." Obviously "triumphs" should be "triumph."
Typo page 633, lines 22 and 23: "...they'll beat him with rubber hose if he doesn't obey...." And here "hose" should either be "hoses" or rubber should be preceded by "a."
Typo from last line of page 644 to second line of page 645: "And one thing I won't do is I won't picket line. No, sir. The way I feel is, pickets right or wrong." I would suppose that what was meant here is "I won't cross a picket line."
Typo page 645 near the end of the second full paragraph" "We must have some say in the running of the place where, we make our living." Obviously there should not be a comma after "where."
Maybe at this point the proofreader and / or editor just couldn't stand to read the text too closely any more.
Day 15 (DDRD 1,496) December 6, 2021
And...it's a wrap. The last 20 pages were actually painful, though. That tedious and absurd courtroom speech by Roark. The jury finding him not guilty. Oh, my aching balls. In fact, these last pages made me question whether it was worthwhile to spend my time reading this book at all...and had me answering, "No." That should wrap it up for me with Ayn Rand, I think. Except for the email I'm about to send to the Ayn Rand Institute, to see if they care about the typos.
Speaking of...here's one more for the road:
On page 647, lines 9 and 10 from the bottom: "...he's so friendly and witty, and what an erudition!"
There should not be an "an" before erudition.
As for the aforementioned email, it goes like this:
Dear Ayn Rand Institute Representative:
I recently finished reading the Centennial Edition of The Fountainhead. In the course of my reading, I found 9 proofreading errors. Would you like a list of these so that future printings of this book can be corrected?
Yours,
Brother K.
I'll let you know if I hear back from them.
Oh...one more thing. This bit:
"The basic need of the creator is independence. The reasoning mind cannot work under any form of compulsion. It cannot be curbed, sacrificed or subordinated to any consideration whatsoever. It demands total independence in function and in motive. To a creator, all relations with men are secondary." (679-680)
I just have to note that this is complete bullshit. As I recall, Mozart, one of the greatest artists of all time, had a patron who placed various compulsions upon him. As did Michelangelo. And...well, pretty much every artist you could name. In fact, it'd be more reasonable to argue that the "reasoning mind" cannot work without some form of compulsion.
Ayn Rand is full of shit, man.
As for those 8 typos...
1. On page 188, 2nd full paragraph, lines 6-7: "He was right; right at the number of people who believed it."
Correction: "right as the number of people...."
2. On page 376, 12 line from the bottom: "If I demanded it, I'd destroy you. That's why I won't stop you."
"I" should be "you."
3. On page 388, 3rd line from top: "But don't they know that if suffering could be measured, there's no suffering in Stephen Mallory when he can't do the work he wants to do, than in a whole field of victims mowed down by a tank? (388)
The "no" should be "more."
4. On page 411, 9 lines from the bottom: "Whatever that bastard Wynand is after," people said, "it's not after money."
This should be either "he's not after money" or "it's not after money."
5. Typo page 629 third full paragraph first and second line: "He saw the white flesh, the mouth hanging open in triumphs, the face...." Obviously "triumphs" should be "triumph."
6. On page 633, lines 22 and 23: "...they'll beat him with rubber hose if he doesn't obey...."
Here "hose" should either be "hoses" or rubber should be preceded by "a."
7. From the last line of page 644 to the second line of page 645: "And one thing I won't do is I won't picket line. No, sir. The way I feel is, pickets right or wrong."
I would suppose that what was meant here is "I won't cross a picket line."
8. On page 645 near the end of the second full paragraph: "We must have some say in the running of the place where, we make our living."
Obviously there should not be a comma after "where."
9. On page 647, lines 9 and 10 from the bottom: "...he's so friendly and witty, and what an erudition!"
There should not be an "an" before erudition.
Contact Information for The Ayn Rand Institute:
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