I haven't been here in a while, and it seems a book club was founded. I look forward to this, as I love reading and talking about books.

I've read The Fountainhead before around 5 years ago when I actually got into this reading habit. None of my family were readers, and this, Paradise Lost, and Mein Kampf were the only books around the house. I don't even know why these books were even in my house, although I suppose they must have come into the family through a kind of residual purchase from a yard sale. It was a very odd beginning as a reader. I think it was Paradise Lost alone that kept me from quitting my decision to pick up reading (And I don't need to tell you about how good that book is).

I had just suffered through some tough times due to some external difficulties (putting it lightly), so the tale of a man going against the grain and succeeding against all odds should have really resonated with me, but I remember it making me feel even worse. To put my problems with the book succintly, it seemed unconvincing.

I read the entire book in two days. I actually don't remember most of the novel, aside from a few scenes that stuck to my mind for whatever reason. I guess spoilers if you haven't read it yet.

I remember Dominique being the most interesting character, only because she showcased, I thought at least, Rand's ideas of love. She was with a guy, Roark "raped" her (Both apparently wanted it, and we are just told that they both knew without, um, letting each other know), and now she was with Roark because he was more a manly individualist than the other guy, and the other guy accepted this and let her go to Roark without a fight. It just seemed so alien to me. She somehow made love to be a very mechanical and cold affair. I felt sorry for everyone involved in the love affair, even though I had no real reason to feel sorry for them.

Meanwhile I remember that large speech at the courtcase and when I saw what happened afterwards, I was thinking to myself: "Man, I wish I could blow up a building and then be acquited on all charges by making a speech with a beautiful babe by my side and a reputation that's good enough to still get jobs".

At that moment I was forcefully pushed out of the world of the book and had to admit none of this would ever happen in real life. That's what I mean by the book being unconvincing. It's a fairytale wolf in the sheep's skin of realism (per se). It has the semblance of being plausible enough for people to believe in, since there's no fantastical elements, but is full of falser things and people than even the most extraordinary of fantasies. I saw the story of a guy going against the tides of the days and living happily ever after while I was thrust into the whirlpools of the world and was treated with a torrent of ridicule, exclusion, failure, and a bit of humility.

I probably need to reread The Fountainhead one of these days, but I figure before I even get to that, I should read her other works. I think it would have been better if Roark actually did go to jail for his principles, being a kind of Martyr, although I suppose that wouldn't have worked out for what Rand.