I'm so sorry for the week+ blogging hiatus! I wish I had some elaborate story to excuse my absence, but unfortunately it was just laziness and a lack of motivation that kept me away from the keyboard. But no worries, I'm back on track now, and ready to implement a few new things to the blog, starting with a book review. As many of you may know, I'm an avid reader and I love sharing my reading experiences with friends, so I've decided to include regular book reviews of what I'm reading, be it fiction, non-fiction, classic, contemporary, adult, children's... you get the idea.
I've just finished two books in the last few weeks and they'll be my first two reviews: Ayn Rand's classic The Fountainhead and The View from Mount Joy by Lorna Landvik.
I was never assigned The Fountainhead in any of my high school or college English classes, so I recently decided to pick it up on my own and see what all the fuss was about. It was immediately obvious that this book is not for light readers, both because of its bulk (750+ pages) and its author, Ayn Rand, who is known for her complex philosophical writing. The Fountainhead, originally published in 1943, follows the careers of four men: Peter Keating, Ellsworth Toohey, Gail Wynand and Howard Roark and their various experiences and perceptions of "success."
It took me a while (probably a few hundred pages) to really get into the text, and initially I found all of the characters utterly unlikable. Rand writes with a heavy philosophical hand, and the text and characters are very elitist, to the extent that the reader feels alienated and often insulted by the book's attitude about "the masses," aka non-socialites. However, as I continued reading, I could not help but admire Rand for her obvious brilliance and ability to break down the complexity of Objectivism and make it accessible to the layman. Ultimately, I found myself being drawn into this world that I couldn't quite identify with, and was unsure I wanted to identify with, and yet I was still intrigued to learn more about it. Perhaps that's what makes this book really remarkable. Most great novels are "great" because they allow the reader to connect with the characters and subject matter, thus aligning the reader with a particular character in hopes for his/her success (or failure, depending on the character). The Fountainhead encouraged me to read on despite my own beliefs and to open my mind to other theories about the ego, altruism, selfishness, and power. I most certainly don't agree with all of the philosophy The Fountainhead preaches, yet I can honestly say that it has made an indelible impact and I'd recommend it to anyone looking for some deep thinking and lots of reading.
After finishing The Fountainhead, I desperately needed to read something less intellectual and more fun, so I picked up Lorna Landvik's The View from Mount Joy and found it more than satisfactory. In a nutshell, Mount Joy is about how life doesn't always turn out as planned, but it can be pretty great anyway. Joe Andreson, the main character, is one of the most genuinely likable (and real!) characters I've read in a long time. A star athlete in high school, Joe has aspirations of playing pro hockey and dating the head cheerleader, Kristi Casey, yet when more than a few curveballs are thrown his way, he learns to deal with the unexpected (and sometimes tragic) with grace and dignity. Kristi, meanwhile, is a character we've all seen before - the manipulative pretty girl who knows how to get what she wants (think Reese Witherspoon in Election, or, more current, Quinn Fabray from TV's Glee). And yet, though we know her well, she is still surprising and entertaining, proving that Landvik can make even the most unlikable characters in this book of lovable people kind of, well, likable. I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a light, enjoyable read. You'll laugh, you'll cry (I did), and you'll leave feeling satisfied.
I'm currently reading One Thousand White Women: The Journals of May Dodd by Jim Fergus, and if anyone would like to read along, I'd love to hear your comments and opinions! It can be like an unofficial book club, and I can include your comments in my review, or you can post them after I write the review. I'll even tag each post (at the bottom) with the title "book club" so that you can search for all relevant posts. Also, if you have any suggestions on books you'd like to read/think I should read/review, I'd love to know about them!
Alright, I think this post is lengthy enough. I'll continue with the updates tomorrow!
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