The Fountainhead // Ayn Rand
Despite the controversy of Rand’s philosophy, I could not help but fall in love with the message of this book. Ayn Rand was the Lena Dunham of her day, in that they are both talented, successful women who centre their own happiness as their “moral purpose” and productive achievement as their “noblest activity”; also in that they are both widely hated. I won’t argue politics here; only the literary genius that is The Fountainhead is not at all as intimidating or problematic as one might initially think.
My favourite part of the book occurs in a dialogue between a headstrong architect and his impervious friend, whom he tells of his unconventional plans for a building. “My dear fellow, who will let you?” his friend asks, to which the architect responds: “That’s not the point. The point is, who will stop me?” That, in essence, is what this novel is about: don’t let anyone stop you from doing what you passionately believe in.