The Fountainhead

I can't stop thinking about this book. Like many of you, I had a certain impression of Ayn Rand's books to be inaccessible, and saturated with highbrow philosophies. At the urging of my sister, I suspended my preconceived notions, and just read the damn thing. So glad I did.

The Fountainhead follows 2 architects, Howard Roark and Peter Keating, through their lives and careers. Roark is a brilliant, visionary artist, who's career keeps stalling as he refuses to compromise the way he designs to mimic other styles of architecture. His level of commitment to preserve the originality of his work often leaves him ostracized from other professionals, and frequently out of work. While this would frustrate most people, Roark is incapable of being affected by society's cold shoulder. He is a self-sufficient egoist in the most positive form. Aware that his ideals are in direct conflict with those of the majority, he is unable to feel the sting of rejection, as he deems their opinion irrelevant. This leaves Roark to design on his own terms, though in the beginning, he is not a popular architect to hire.

Peter Keating is the complete antithesis. He is New York's golden boy of architecture - adept in schmoozing, and intent on climbing the corporate ladder. But the fact is that he does not have any real talent. So he cozies up to Roark, who he finds uncomfortable and severe, because obviously Roark can see through Keating's phony facade. Despite their conflict of interest, Roark finds himself helping Keating on design commissions, and to Keating's surprise, rejecting any business connections he is offered. Why would Roark help someone he finds so reprehensible? Because he loves architecture and design far more.

To shake up this boy's club, we are introduced to Dominique Francon, the only female character in the story. She is a strong-willed newspaper columnist, who calls things as she sees them. Obviously, both men become smitten with her. Dominique is a modern woman, with a few screws loose, as she becomes intent on destroying both men.

There are a few other major characters of note - Ellsworth Tooney, who writes an influential cultural column for the salacious newspaper New York Banner, and Gail Wyland, its publisher. Both men have a major impact on the fates of Keating & Roark, through their ability to manipulate the opinion of the masses.

It's difficult to put into words just how good this book really is. Rand is so brilliant at character development, descriptions, and dialogue. The Fountainhead introduces her philosophy, Objectivism, which is also pretty cool. In a nutshell, it proclaims the importance of individual achievements over compromising such for the benefit of the common good. Sounds sort of selfish, but her explanations make a great deal of sense. I think that deserves a separate blog post. I'm not done with talking about the Fountainhead yet - it helps me to completely understand everything I read if I continue typing away at it.