The Fountainhead: Ayn Rand

It would be impossible to do a quick summary of this book and do it justice. I wasn't sure what to expect with this novel since I often read great works and get disappointed. This one was Very good, I wanted to race through it, but at the same time wanted it to last longer. I didn't see how there could be a happy ending, but really wanted one. The story has a lot of depth and meaning you can pull from any and all of it. The novel starts with Howard Roark contemplating suicide after being expelled from Architect school (later another great man will also have a suicide scene) because his work is too different from the other students, too original. The story follows the lives of Roark and his classmate and antagonist Peter Keating. Peter has no pride and uses others to become successful, he is classified as having no real talent, but does what is asked of him- his life seems easy, though filled with jealousy. Roark refuses to conform and has many setbacks and difficulties in finding employment. there are several other important characters including 2 people Roark ends up loving, Dominique and Gail, they both try to ruin him before he gets started because she knows this world can't handle true talent and beauty. There is also a vile character in Elworth Toohey who is compared with Dominique, they both try to ruin people, but for different reasons. The ending was shocking in that Dominique leaves her husband when he needs her most and Toohey just seems to disappear after being fired. I would recommend reading this book; it would be a great choice for a book report since there is so much one could write on.