A passionate hater of religion, Rand founded a cult around her own person, complete with rituals of excommunication; a passionate believer in rationality and logic, she was incapable of seeing the contradictions in her own work. She was a rationalist who was not entirely rational; she could not distinguish between rationalism and rationality. Of narrow aesthetic sympathies, she laid down the law in matters of artistic judgment like a panjandrum; a believer in honesty, she was adept at self-deception and special pleading. I have rarely read a biography of a writer I should have cared so little to meet.
Monday, February 01, 2010
Authentically horrible ...
... Ayn Rand: engineer of souls. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
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Tried to read The Fountainhead once. Well, not really - i saw it in a bookshop, recognised the name as one of these must-read classics like On the Road, but mysteriously every page i opened at random seemed like a load of crap, so i decided to leave it be.
ReplyDeleteMediocre literature is sometimes turned into excellent film, though; King Vidor's "The Fountainhead" with Gary Cooper and Raymond Massey is a prime example. Anyone agree?
ReplyDeleteI thought that Cooper got down perfectly what Daniels says about Roark. And I agree, mediocre books can make good films. In this case the film is definitely better. And don't forget Patricia Neal.
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