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pkrez 's review for:
We the Living
by Ayn Rand
I liked “We the Living” by Ayn Rand, and I think other readers might like it too. Thus, my rating was only 3 stars. However, this novel was and remains for me a ‘must-read’ and I would highly recommend it to fans of Rand’s other books.
I’ve read Rand out of order, starting with 1957’s “Atlas Shrugged” (her Magnum Opus), then 1943’s “The Fountainhead” (her first major success as a writer), and only now have gotten to 1936’s “We the Living” (her first published novel). So being so familiar with Rand, I was not surprised by the novel’s style or message. In some sense once you’ve read a little Rand, you’ve read it all. I describe her as a one-tick-pony writing about individualism, objectivism, and the struggle for freedom over oppression.
“We the Living” is set in Soviet Russia after the 1917 Revolution. The novel concludes in 1925. The main character is the daughter of a former factory owner whose family is trying to figure out how to live after being stripped of all their assets and social standing. But like many of Rand’s other characters, this one is hell-bent on pursuing her own goals and passions, against the flow of everyone else.
Rand was born in Russia and was 12 years old at the time of the 1917 revolution. For a time, she did live and study in a similar fashion to the characters of the novel, so this is her most autobiographical work (though she clearly said this is not a novelized memoir, and all the characters and events are made up).
Rand made it to the U.S. by 1926 and made her writing career in America.
The best things about this novel are (1.) it seems historical and believable. Unlike Fountainhead and Atlas that seem old-timey (because they’re more than 60 years old now) but also dystopian (because things are going so wrong for the country) “We the Living” is set in a time and place where the events described could have actually occurred. No mind-bending required about new technologies or government takeovers.
(2.) There are fewer monologues. There are whole chapters in Atlas that feature one voice going on and on about the philosophy. Enjoyable for readers of “We the Living”, is that these sorts of sermons rarely take up more than one page and are part of more normal conversation.
(3.) More appropriate for younger readers. “We the Living” certainly deals with sex, but the act is always implied or between the lines. There are no explicit passages as found in Fountainhead and Atlas.
(4.) Quicker read. “We the Living” is relatively short compared to Rand’s other novels.
“We the Living” has parts that are certainly exciting. And the end does not disappoint. But there are no gripping passages like a couple found in Atlas.
What I will remember most from this novel is the descriptions of how the people lived. How terrible the conditions were. Waiting in lines... ration cards... lack of nutrition (if not actual starvation)... no life of your own... your entire family living in a 2-room apartment. Every time I went to the grocery store, over the course of reading this book, I would just take a moment and be amazed about the thousands of choices of excellent products I could buy... compared to every character in the novel scrounging for whatever measly, rotten, scraps she could get her hands on.
To get some idea of that sort of situation, I recommend the first 1/3 of the 1984 movie, “Moscow on the Hudson” starring Robin Williams.
I’ve read Rand out of order, starting with 1957’s “Atlas Shrugged” (her Magnum Opus), then 1943’s “The Fountainhead” (her first major success as a writer), and only now have gotten to 1936’s “We the Living” (her first published novel). So being so familiar with Rand, I was not surprised by the novel’s style or message. In some sense once you’ve read a little Rand, you’ve read it all. I describe her as a one-tick-pony writing about individualism, objectivism, and the struggle for freedom over oppression.
“We the Living” is set in Soviet Russia after the 1917 Revolution. The novel concludes in 1925. The main character is the daughter of a former factory owner whose family is trying to figure out how to live after being stripped of all their assets and social standing. But like many of Rand’s other characters, this one is hell-bent on pursuing her own goals and passions, against the flow of everyone else.
Rand was born in Russia and was 12 years old at the time of the 1917 revolution. For a time, she did live and study in a similar fashion to the characters of the novel, so this is her most autobiographical work (though she clearly said this is not a novelized memoir, and all the characters and events are made up).
Rand made it to the U.S. by 1926 and made her writing career in America.
The best things about this novel are (1.) it seems historical and believable. Unlike Fountainhead and Atlas that seem old-timey (because they’re more than 60 years old now) but also dystopian (because things are going so wrong for the country) “We the Living” is set in a time and place where the events described could have actually occurred. No mind-bending required about new technologies or government takeovers.
(2.) There are fewer monologues. There are whole chapters in Atlas that feature one voice going on and on about the philosophy. Enjoyable for readers of “We the Living”, is that these sorts of sermons rarely take up more than one page and are part of more normal conversation.
(3.) More appropriate for younger readers. “We the Living” certainly deals with sex, but the act is always implied or between the lines. There are no explicit passages as found in Fountainhead and Atlas.
(4.) Quicker read. “We the Living” is relatively short compared to Rand’s other novels.
“We the Living” has parts that are certainly exciting. And the end does not disappoint. But there are no gripping passages like a couple found in Atlas.
What I will remember most from this novel is the descriptions of how the people lived. How terrible the conditions were. Waiting in lines... ration cards... lack of nutrition (if not actual starvation)... no life of your own... your entire family living in a 2-room apartment. Every time I went to the grocery store, over the course of reading this book, I would just take a moment and be amazed about the thousands of choices of excellent products I could buy... compared to every character in the novel scrounging for whatever measly, rotten, scraps she could get her hands on.
To get some idea of that sort of situation, I recommend the first 1/3 of the 1984 movie, “Moscow on the Hudson” starring Robin Williams.