Nicky Cheese

Today I had a really enjoyable afternoon soaking up some Houston sun and reading Ayn Rand’s Anthem. I actually finished it all in one sitting (can’t remember the last time I’ve done that). Compare that to the months upon months it took me to get through The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged. Woof…Now that I think of it, it took less time to read Anthem than it did to read the entire John Galt speech. Haha.

In any case, I highly recommend Anthem for those who are interested in Rand’s fiction but unwilling to commit to the epic length of her more popular novels. At 105 pages, it’s super quick.

But moreover, it’s just different…in a refreshing way. Whereas both The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged are written from a 3rd person, eye-in-the-sky perspective–in true Objectivist fashion, I suppose–Anthem is written as a 1st person narrative with a sort of phenomenological approach. And, rather than contemporary realism, it’s a dystopian, sci-fi novel set in a collectivist future where the concept of “I”–through totalitarian social conditioning–has no existence. Consider it the logical extension of pure egalitarianism and socialism. Below I’ve copied one of my favorite parts:

The word “We” is as lime poured over men, which sets and hardens to stone, and crushes all beneath it, and that which is white and that which is black are lost equally in the grey of it. It is the word by which the depraved steal the virtue of the good, by which the weak steal the might of the strong, by which the fools steal the wisdom of the sages.

What is my joy if all hands, even the unclean, can reach into it? What is my wisdom, if even the fools can dictate to me? What is my freedom, if all creatures, even the botched and the impotent, are my masters? What is my life, if I am but to bow, to agree and to obey?

But I am done with this creed of corruption.

I am done with the monster of “We,” the word of serfdom, of plunder, of misery, falsehood and shame.

And now I see the face of god, and I raise this god over the earth, this god whom men have sought since men came into being, this god who will grant them joy and peace and pride.

This god, this one word:

“I.”

The book is in the public domain–has been since 1966–so set aside a few hours and read it now. Yes, right here! Let me know your thoughts…