Der ewige Quell (1943)

This modern classic is the story of intransigent young architect Howard Roark, whose integrity was as unyielding as granite...of Dominique Francon, the exquisitely beautiful woman who loved Roark passionately, but married his worst enemy...and of the fanatic denunciation unleashed by an enraged society against a great creator. As fresh today as it was then, Rand’s provocative novel presents one of the most challenging ideas in all of fiction—that man’s ego is the fountainhead of human progress...

May need to DNF this one - for now - and maybe come and finish this later. Too busy reading for the UNO challenge. ( )

I can't say enough how much I disliked this book. It's so bad I felt physically ill after finishing it (and yes I did choose to finish it anyway, because how else could I form a comprehensive opinion, especially if I don't at least give it the chance to redeem itself?)


Having never heard of Ayn Rand, or read anything by her or about her, my AP English teacher suggested reading one of her novels for a short essay competition being hosted by the Ayn Rand society. I read "The Fountainhead" with no predispositions other than the vague awareness that it was probably famous since the author had her own society, and that presumably the book was food for thought since it was sponsoring an essay competition.

Where to start? The plot is pathetic and uninteresting; the characters are a paradoxical combination of everything unappealing about humanity while still managing to lack any semblance of humanity or depth; the romance is embarrassing; the writing in terrible, and comes across as smugly self-satisfied; and on a personal level I also found the philosophies it advocates as offensive, though I guess you could argue that's more a reaction to Ayn Rand herself than to her book.

In fairness, though, it's difficult to separate the two. She puts a lot of herself into her novel. Without the author's overwhelming presence, I'm not sure it would be much of a novel though.

But really, my biggest complaint about TF is that it doesn't achieve what it sets out to do. (The HON phrase "tryhard" comes to mind). I feel, mostly, that it's trying for greatness and not succeeding in any category. Ironically, this sets it apart from supposedly "trashy" books - think airpoint lounge shops - which don't try to be anything other than a timesink, and succeed admirably; the distinction does TF no favours. ( )

Long, drawn out and very philosophical. This is interesting in parts, then there are parts where nothing happens and nothing interesting is presented. ( )

i really enjoyed this book honestly, especially since i came across it because of orlando bloom and his quote about it (who knew orlando bloom would even read the fountainhead by ayn rand?)

it's my first book from this author, and i loved the depth she put in her characters, in their own views of the world, of each other, and how these views determine the way they interact with their surroundings.

i also happened to learn a lot of things about architecture, and find rand's philosophy on art rather interesting. ( )