Atlas Shrugged

Atlas Shrugged I made for her when we lived in Ukraine:

[ effigy mistake ]

It was a necessary repair, but it pretty much proves I should be a cover designer.
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Original review:

I think Francisco D’Aconia is absolutely a dream boat. This book’s like blah blah blah engineering, blah blah blah John Galt, blah blah blah no altruistic act, blah bla- HE-llo, Francisco D’Aconia, you growl and a half. Also, there’s a pirate. So, what’s everyone complaining about?

Okay, it’s not that I don’t get what everyone’s complaining about. I get that Rand is kind of loony tunes of the Glenn Beck variety, and some people (maybe?) use her to justify being assholes, but I just don’t like to throw the bathwater out with that baby. Warning: I think, to make my point, I have to refer to Dostoyevsky a lot, which I seem to always do because he really is some kind of touchstone to me. The point I’m trying to make with all this blabbering is that the debate over Atlas Shrugged brings out something that I might hate more than anything else (more than weddings and kitty litter even). It makes people say that ideas are dangerous. People on all sides of the spectrum do this about different stuff, and whatever the argument, I don’t like it. If an idea is wrong, say it’s wrong. But genocide doesn’t happen because people put forward too many ideas. It happens because people put forward too few ideas.

Anyway, back to the book:

First, story. The third part of this book is super weird. It’s definitely not the actual ending of the book, I’ve decided, but more of a choose-your-own-adventure suggestion. It’s kind of fun that way because any end that you, the reader, come up with will be better than the one Rand suggested. My favorite part of her ending is how John Galt gives the most boring speech possible, and it lasts for about a bazillion pages, and you have to skip it or die. Then, at the end, Rand’s like, “The entire world was listening, ears glued to the radios, because Galt’s speech was the most brilliant thing they had ever heard.” No. Nope. Nice try, liar. So, that’s super lame, I agree, and you should just skip the third part.

But people don’t get as mad about the epilogue in

Second, writing. People complain about Rand’s writing, and I always think, “When was the last time you wrote a 1000 page book in a second language and pulled off a reasonably page-turning storyline?” The woman spoke Russian for crying out loud! It most certainly would have been a better choice for her to have written the books in Russian and had them translated, but, I mean, most native English speakers couldn’t be that entertaining. It’s at least A for effort. I’m not going to make excuses for the unpronounceable names she chooses for her characters, but I’ll just say Dostoyevsky again and leave it at that.

I know it made a huge difference in my reading of this book that I was living in a Soviet bloc apartment in Lozovaya, Ukraine at the time and had forgotten a little bit how to speak English. I’m sure a lot of weird phrasing didn’t sound weird to me because it makes sense in Russian. But, also, I feel like I’ve read a lot of translations of Dostoyevsky and other Russians that feel really weird in English. You know, everyone’s always having some kind of epileptic fit or whatever with Mr. D. But, we allow for the weirdness because we picture the stuff happening in Russia, where the weird stuff typically goes down anyway. I’ll tell you right now, Atlas Shrugged takes place in Russia. No joke. She might tell you they’re flying over the Rocky Mountains, or whatever, but this book is a Russian if there ever was one. Just so it’s clear, I LOVE that about it. That’s no insult, only compliment.

Third, philosophy. Maybe I told you this story already, so skip it if you already know it. When I lived in Ukraine, I had the same conversation with three or four people of the older generation who grew up in the Soviet Union. They would tell me, “Things were really wonderful in the Soviet Union, much better than they are now. We had free health care, free housing, and now we have nothing. I mean, every once in a while your neighbor would disappear, but it was completely worth it.” This was really disturbing to me, because it gave me this picture of the people around me – that they were the ones who ratted out the neighbors who wanted a different life. Sure, Rand’s vision is narrow and sometimes inhuman, but I think it is because she was really terrified of this equally narrow and, as far as I’m concerned, inhuman vision. I want a public health care option real bad, and my neighbor has some really annoying Chihuahuas, but if forced to choose between them, I’d probably still pick my neighbor.

Admittedly, the problem with this argument is that it sets up a dichotomy where our only choices are the prosperity gospel and Soilent Green. From what I know of Rand, though, she had seen her neighbors and family thrown out of Russia or killed for being rich. She was fighting something extreme by being extreme. Unfortunately, in America, this rhetoric turns into the idea that having public services = killing your neighbor. To me, this comes from people taking her arguments too seriously on both sides. Dostoyevsky has ghosts and devils coming out of every corner, and people take his stories for what they’re worth. We don’t think that liking his books makes us mystics and hating them makes us inquisitors. Why is it different with Rand?

Fourth, women. I’m not going to lie and tell you that there weren’t other badass female characters when Dagney Taggert came around. All I want to say about this is that the most valuable thing I got from this book was the idea that one person being unhappy doesn’t, and shouldn’t, make other people happy. I think, in this way, it was particularly important to me that the protagonist was a woman. I see a lot of women complain about their lives and families, but say it’s all worth it because they’ve been able to devote their lives to making their husbands or children happy. I’m paraphrasing, I guess. Anyway, that kind of hegemony really creeps me out.

When I read this book, I was just realizing that I had joined Peace Corps with a similarly misguided motivation. I wanted to go to the needy and unfortunate countries of the world and sacrifice myself to save them. It might sound more nasty than it really was when I say it like that, but I think it is a really arrogant attitude to have. We might have hot running water in America (for which I am forever grateful), but if somewhere doesn’t have that, it’s probably not because of a problem a silly, 23-year-old English major is going to solve. Don’t get me wrong, I loved Peace Corps, and it was maybe the best experience of my life so far. But I love it for the things that I got out of it, and if someone else benefited from my being in Ukraine, it was dumb luck.

I don’t know about other women, but I was raised to believe that the more selfless (read: unhappy) I was, the better off everyone else would be. I think it’s a pretty typical way that women talk themselves into staying in abusive situations – that their lives are worth less than the lives around them. This would be the Hank Rearden character in the novel. I love that Rand sets up characters who destroy this cycle of abuse. I love that her female protagonist lives completely outside of it.

So, not to undercut my noble feminist apologetics, but really Francisco’s just hawt, and I think that’s the reason I like this book. There are lots of other reasons to read Rand, but most of those get into the argument about her ideas being dangerous. I just don’t think they are, or should be. I think ignorance is dangerous, but I think it should be pretty easy to fill in the gaping holes in Rand’s logic. Yes, she conveniently ignores the very old, very young, and disabled to make a specific and extreme point. I don’t think her point is entirely without merit, though (in the sense that our lives are valuable, not in the sense of “kill the weak!”). I also think that if we give a “danger” label to every book that conveniently ignores significant portions of the population to make a point, we wouldn’t be left with much.

Anyway, read, discuss, agree, disagree. I’ll be making up some “Team John,” “Team Hank,” “Team Francisco” t-shirts later. I hear in the sequel there are werewolves.
I was visiting an previous supporter for the past few days, and she showed me this cover ofI made for her when we lived in ukraine : It was a necessary repair, but it pretty much proves I should be a cover designer._____________________________________________Original review : I think Francisco D ’ Aconia is absolutely a dream boat. This book ’ s like bombast bombast bombast engineer, bombast bombast bombast John Galt, bombast bombast blah no altruistic act, bombast bla- HE-llo, Francisco D ’ Aconia, you growl and a one-half. besides, there ’ s a plagiarist. then, what ’ mho everyone complaining about ? Okay, it ’ s not that I don ’ triiodothyronine get what everyone ’ south complaining about. I get that Rand is kind of balmy tunes of the Glenn Beck variety, and some people ( possibly ? ) use her to justify being assholes, but I precisely don ’ t like to throw the bathwater out with that child. warning : I think, to make my bespeak, I have to refer to Dostoyevsky a lot, which I seem to always do because he actually is some kind of standard to me. The steer I ’ meter trying to make with all this chatter is that the debate over Atlas Shrugged brings out something that I might hate more than anything else ( more than weddings and kitty litter even ). It makes people say that ideas are dangerous. People on all sides of the spectrum do this about different stuff, and whatever the argument, I don ’ thyroxine like it. If an mind is incorrect, say it ’ s wrong. But genocide doesn ’ t happen because people put advancing excessively many ideas. It happens because people put forth excessively few ideas.Anyway, back to the book : The one-third part of this ledger is super wyrd. It ’ s decidedly not the actual ending of the reserve, I ’ ve decided, but more of a choose-your-own-adventure suggestion. It ’ randomness kind of fun that way because any end that you, the reader, come up with will be better than the one Rand suggested. My darling region of her ending is how John Galt gives the most boring actor’s line potential, and it lasts for about a bazillion pages, and you have to skip it or die. then, at the end, Rand ’ sulfur like, “ The entire world was listening, ears glued to the radios, because Galt ’ s speech was the most bright matter they had always heard. ” No. Nope. Nice sample, liar. thus, that ’ s super feeble, I agree, and you should just skip the third part.But people don ’ metric ton catch as delirious about the epilogue in Crime and Punishment. Why ? That ’ s the same situation, where it kills all fun, and you have to ignore that it happened. Is it just because it ’ south unretentive, and it ’ sulfur called “ Epilogue ” ? possibly that ’ second enough. But, on the other hand, possibly people didn ’ metric ton read all the way to the end of Crime and Punishment. possibly, because it was written by a crazy russian man, not a crazy russian womanhood, people think they ’ ll legal deep if they say they like it.People complain about Rand ’ s compose, and I constantly think, “ When was the last time you wrote a 1000 page reserve in a moment linguistic process and pulled off a sanely page-turning storyline ? ” The woman spoke Russian for crying out forte ! It most surely would have been a better option for her to have written the books in russian and had them translated, but, I mean, most native english speakers couldn ’ thymine be that entertaining. It ’ mho at least A for campaign. I ’ m not going to make excuses for the unpronounceable names she chooses for her characters, but I ’ ll just say Dostoyevsky again and leave it at that.I know it made a huge dispute in my recitation of this book that I was living in a soviet bloc apartment in Lozovaya, Ukraine at the clock time and had forgotten a little sting how to speak English. I ’ molarity sure a draw of weird phrasing didn ’ triiodothyronine sound eldritch to me because it makes sense in russian. But, besides, I feel like I ’ ve read a set of translations of Dostoyevsky and other Russians that feel actually weird in English. You know, everyone ’ s always having some kind of epileptic match or whatever with Mr. D. But, we allow for the outlandishness because we picture the stuff happening in Russia, where the weird stuff typically goes down anyhow. I ’ ll tell you right now, Atlas Shrugged takes place in Russia. No joke. She might tell you they ’ re flying over the Rocky Mountains, or any, but this koran is a russian if there ever was one. merely so it ’ sulfur clear, I LOVE that about it. That ’ mho no diss, only compliment.Maybe I told you this narrative already, so hop it if you already know it. When I lived in Ukraine, I had the lapp conversation with three or four people of the older generation who grew up in the Soviet Union. They would tell me, “ Things were in truth fantastic in the Soviet Union, a lot better than they are nowadays. We had free health manage, free caparison, and nowadays we have nothing. I mean, every once in a while your neighbor would disappear, but it was wholly deserving it. ” This was actually disturbing to me, because it gave me this picture of the people around me – that they were the ones who ratted out the neighbors who wanted a different life. certain, Rand ’ sulfur vision is narrow and sometimes cold, but I think it is because she was in truth terrified of this equally specialize and, angstrom far as I ’ megabyte concerned, inhuman vision. I want a public health concern choice real bad, and my neighbor has some in truth annoyance Chihuahuas, but if forced to choose between them, I ’ vitamin d credibly calm pick my neighbor.Admittedly, the trouble with this controversy is that it sets up a dichotomy where our only choices are the prosperity religious doctrine and Soilent Green. From what I know of Rand, though, she had seen her neighbors and family thrown out of Russia or killed for being rich people. She was fighting something extreme by being extreme. unfortunately, in America, this grandiosity turns into the theme that having populace services = killing your neighbor. To me, this comes from people taking her arguments excessively seriously on both sides. Dostoyevsky has ghosts and devils coming out of every corner, and people take his stories for what they ’ ra worth. We don ’ thyroxine think that liking his books makes us mystics and hating them makes us inquisitors. Why is it different with Rand ? I ’ m not going to lie and tell you that there weren ’ thyroxine other badass female characters when Dagney Taggert came about. All I want to say about this is that the most valuable thing I got from this script was the mind that one person being dysphoric doesn ’ triiodothyronine, and shouldn ’ thyroxine, make other people felicitous. I think, in this manner, it was peculiarly important to me that the supporter was a woman. I see a lot of women complain about their lives and families, but say it ’ s all worth it because they ’ ve been able to devote their lives to making their husbands or children glad. I ’ megabyte paraphrase, I guess. Anyway, that kind of hegemony truly creeps me out.When I read this book, I was merely realizing that I had joined Peace Corps with a similarly misguided motivation. I wanted to go to the needy and unfortunate countries of the world and forfeit myself to save them. It might sound more filthy than it truly was when I say it like that, but I think it is a in truth arrogant attitude to have. We might have hot running water in America ( for which I am constantly grateful ), but if somewhere doesn ’ t have that, it ’ south probably not because of a problem a cockamamie, 23-year-old English major is going to solve. Don ’ thymine get me wrong, I loved Peace Corps, and it was possibly the best experience of my life so far. But I love it for the things that I got out of it, and if person else benefited from my being in Ukraine, it was dense luck.I preceptor ’ t know about other women, but I was raised to believe that the more altruistic ( read : unhappy ) I was, the better off everyone else would be. I think it ’ s a pretty typical direction that women talk themselves into staying in abusive situations – that their lives are worth less than the lives around them. This would be the Hank Rearden character in the novel. I love that Rand sets up characters who destroy this cycle of mistreat. I love that her female supporter lives completely outside of it.So, not to undercut my noble feminist apologetics, but actually Francisco ’ s just hawt, and I think that ’ s the cause I like this book. There are lots of other reasons to read Rand, but most of those get into the argument about her ideas being dangerous. I just don ’ t think they are, or should be. I think ignorance is dangerous, but I think it should be reasonably easy to fill in the agape holes in Rand ’ s logic. Yes, she handily ignores the very old, very young, and disabled to make a specific and extreme point. I don ’ metric ton think her luff is wholly without deservingness, though ( in the common sense that our lives are valuable, not in the common sense of “ kill the weak ! ” ). I besides think that if we give a “ danger ” label to every bible that handily ignores meaning portions of the population to make a point, we wouldn ’ t be left with much.Anyway, read, discus, agree, disagree. I ’ ll be making up some “ Team John, ” “ Team Hank, ” “ Team Francisco ” t-shirts late. I hear in the sequel there are werewolves.