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| 26 January 2007
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| The Fountainhead
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Not a very long time ago, when I was just hanging out at CP, I saw a bookstore. Curious as I have always been about libraries and bookstores, I decided it's now high time I pay it a visit. So, I stepped inside. And what I saw I couldn't have imagined.
Lots and lots of books. Classified into lots and lots of sections. And the prospective customers reviewing the lots and lots of books to choose which ones to pick. I mean, every book is readable. If it wasn't, why would it be published? Isn't it? So what's the use of spending so much time on choosing which ones to read? Moreover, how can anyone decide whether the book is worth the price by a mere glance at the coverpage or by reading the brief gist at the backpage? Anyways, I decided to go ahead.
Now which book to choose? I could have easily picked the first book I laid my eyes upon, but it turned out to be the ATLAS. Irritated, I went to the other end of the bookstore, only to pick up 'Harry Potter'. Irritated, I was at a loss of what to do. So I took my friend's advice. He suggested I should check out "The Fountainhead" by Ayn Rand. So I searched for that book, and after a few tiring moments, found it. On the way to the counter, my eyes glanced at the section of books by "Osho" under the Philosophy Section. Curious again, I decided to give that a try too. If I could read Osho, I could read anything else. So I came out the bookstore richer by two books and but otherwise totally impecunious.
The night I came back, I thought I'll start with the Osho book : "The First Principle: Talks on ZEN". So I started reading it. And I still haven't been able to go beyond the second chapter. The book is all about crap. It suggests that the First Principle is something which cant be said, if done so it will become the Second Principle. Nowhere in the whole book is there a mention of what First Principle actually is. But I guess it taught be something very important in life which I can find good use of : how to beat around the bush....
So I started with the second book. By this time I had acquired knowledge that "The Fountainhead" is a highly acclaimed novel. So, enthusiastically I started the process of reading the book. This process started exactly 11 days back and finished it just yesterday. With the page count of around 700 pages, I read around 70 each day, not bad by my standards. The Review? Well here it goes.
The main characters of the story are
1. "Howard Roark", modern architect, builds to please himself, not to please others. Unwilling to compromise. Egotist. Appreciates art.
2. "Peter Keating", School topper, ace architect, popular mass appeal, works in the best architect's company, sensible and follows public sentiments.
3. "Ellsworth M. Toohey", popular sociologist, philosopher, orator, mass gatherer and mass leader, influences public easily.
4. "Gail Wynand", started penniless, by 40 was the owner of the biggest newspaper empire in the US, doesnt hesitate in using illegal ways in getting work done and loathed by the public for the same
5. "Dominique" (Female), Writer in Wynand's newspaper, very beautiful and attractive, loyal and obedient wife, dynamic and radical bachelerotte
6. "Catherine" (Female), Lives with Toohey, very soft-spoken and homely kind of a lady, doesn't-like-going-to-parties kind of a lady, down-to-earth, modest, humble, cares more about others than about self, never-complaining.
However the relations that these people share with each other are even more interesting than their individual personalities.
5 is attracted towards 2. But then she realizes that she loves 1. But she denounces 1 in public. But then one day, she marries 2. Then one day, she divorces 2 and marries 4, though she has never loved 4. In the end, 5 makes her affair with 1 public and later marries 1 after divorcing 4.
2 knows that 6 loves her, so one day asks her to marry him the next day. 6 agrees, but 2 marries 5 instead that very night.
2 is initially a very good friend of 1, but then becomes his enemy and arch-rival. But in the end, he again regains his friendship.
There are a lot of other relationships too which I guess you would like to unfold yourself. The book ends on a very predictable note with everything going as it should have.
I still dont understand why "The Fountainhead" is highly acclaimed.... And it was certainly not worth the time I spent on it... I would have rather watched 10 movies in the same amount of time and enjoyed a hundred times more...
If you want to, then read it at your own risk... Don't blame me afterwards....Labels: book, greed, intellectual |
posted by Rohit Agarwal
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