The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand

I decided to go back to reading this year. Nothing related to the pandemic and its corresponding gift of “time.” I just felt like I should.

December of 2019 when my boyfriend got me this 2-inch thick classic of a book I wouldn’t pick up myself if I was the one buying. It was The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand and it became my first read for 2020.

The novel revolves around Howard Roark, an architectural student drop-out who is way ahead of his time. The story is set in New York back in the 1920s with Roark designing modern structures in contrast to the massive columns, decorative moldings and heavily-arched structures that are the norm of the time. It’s basically a novel that tells the story of his individualistic ideology and his struggles with the “second-handers” who value conformity over independence and integrity.

The book is divided into five parts, giving its reader a closer look at the main characters which are Howard Roark – our protagonist; Peter Keating – introduced as Roark’s classmate in architecture, rose up in the industry as a well-celebrated architect, but eventually falls into his impending demise; Dominique Francon – daughter of one of New York’s best architects and is every main character’s muse; Ellsworth Toohey – an architectural critic and journalist who is also the proponent of New York’s most notorious community unions; and lastly Gail Wynand – a newspaper mogul who owns The New York Banner.

I am amused with the way individualism and creativity were portrayed in the novel. I felt like there is probably no person in the world who ever lived or lives or will live like Roark, a person who never compromises his ideals for the acceptance of the norm. Throughout the book, he only designs buildings that are “right” to their supposed existence with no unnecessaries. And all of his encounters are based around that fact. Imagine, in all aspects of Roark’s life as an architect, he is challenged by all these second-handers every step of the way in different purposes. He was even sued and tried a couple of times because of his conviction.

 A lot of times the book kept me down. Made me question my own judgments regarding individualism being superior to collectivism. I was entertained but not fully influenced. I still believe that there can be no absolute thing in the world – all the more our philosophy.