Anthem by Ayn Rand

I read something of Rand's in college in an Educational Philosophy class.  I'm going to perfectly honest here and say I HATED that class.  Our professor was a wackadoodle who wandered about the room telling us tales in broken English of Greek islands.  I could barely understand him, but they had nothing to do with what we had read in preparation for the day's class.  The more passionate he was about a story (again, not on any philosophical topic), the bigger his hair frizzed.  

Fast forward a lot of years to Mrs. Poffenberger donating this to the LMC.  I'm thinking maybe I should read this, since I didn't get much out of whatever I read of Rand's before.

Rand is a philosopher first, a novelist second.  Anthem is a dystopian novel (think Brave New World, The Handmaid's Tale, The Hunger Games, 1984) written in 1938ish (depending on which source you believe...).  It's a commentary on a collective society--where there is no longer an I, only a We.  Children are taken from their mothers at birth (conceived on the official mating date) and raised collectively until they are 15.  Their careers are decided by a Council and binding.

Equality, our main character, wants to be a Scholar, but the Council deems him a street sweeper.  In his daily tasks he finds an abandoned tunnel (pretty sure it's a subway tunnel) from the Unmentionable Times.  In this space, he will secretly study and learn.

Procreation is also determined by the government; mating pairs are decided upon by a Council.  Equality finds the idea shameful, instead wanting to love a young woman named Liberty.  They run away together, start new lives using old mythological names (I won't spoil them or the symbolism).

I get what Rand was trying to do with wiping out singular pronouns.  That being said, it drove me bonkers.  I found it just plain hard to get over, and coupled with 1930/40s language, I won't say I enjoyed this.  That being said, it still only took me a few hours to read.

The copy you'll find in the LMC is the novella's special edition, with a copy of the original manuscript and notes.  The actual story is only 1/3 of the length.

I don't expect to delving into any more deep philosophy any time soon.

Follow me on Twitter @RamblingsLMS and tweet what you're reading #whhs #summerreading

All opinions expressed on this blog are solely those of Mrs. W.