No. 28 - We the Living

by Ayn Rand

Started: May 7
Finished: May 21

Notes: Despite the fact I despise her politics and find her philosophy lacking in so many ways, Ayn Rand is one of my favorite authors. It's just too bad she didn't leave behind more novels and stories. This is one of her earliest novels, originally published in 1936. It's semi-autobiographical, pertaining to a young woman's survival in (and I'm guessing eventual escape from) early Soviet Russia.

Mini review: As always, Ayn Rand writes an excellent novel. This being her first novel, it's not quite as intense as her later, stronger books that are more philosophical. Still, there's an excellent story here about the struggles and trials of people trying to survive in the early days of the U.S.S.R. As can be expected to some extent, the story is not an overly happy one. And the reader can see how Rand is still working out the themes to her personal philosophy of objectivism. This novel is semi-autobiographical, as Rand herself admits, though most of the characters and events are made up, as are all the characters' names.