Ayn Rand angers me a little. I can't properly say why. Probably because she's so damning eloquent. Her eloquence is a sky scraper and I'm just a hot air balloon lucky enough to fly up to her staggering heights. 
 What's even better is her conception. The fountainhead is brilliantly conceived. All with the intention of discussing objectivism. And what better way to discuss this than through aesthetics? And what better area of aesthetics to select than architecture? 
 Roark the main character is Randian Objectivism made alive. An architect with completely unconventional, but practically perfect designs, he gets laughed at by an establishment that refuses to believe that anything could replace the classical styles of building. The whole theme surrounds this idea of design for the sake of practical considerations and truly objective appreciation versus design for the sake of impressing others; art that relies on the herd mentality of self affirmation, rooted in unreality. 
 Roark is a robot; a revolutionary that neither fights nor gives up. He is not human. The Fountainhead is not realistic at all. Rand's idea of perfect, stand alone objectivism is riddled with so many contradictions that it falls in on itself, even in the book. 
 But where the book does hit home is in giving you an idea of what objectivism is all about. How difficult it is to be completely objective. And WHY we must be objective to begin with. It's a crusade against all pre-existing notions, all subliminal influences; a crusade to force us to question our true intentions and ideas. 
 In the process it exposes the sad fact that perhaps precious few people really have original thoughts, notions and ideas. Accusing the majority of simply copying others. Leading xeroxed lives. Objectivism as Rand conceives it; as a stand alone philosophy, would never survive. But no other philosophy or way of life would ever succeed without it. 
 To be sure the book has parts I do not like. The mills and boon esque backshelf trash romance that happens between Roark and Dominique for instance. I understand the need for it. The story was set up like this from the beginning. It being a dopamine inducing saga of two men 'Kane and Able' style. But it didn't have to be so cheesy. 
 Some of her characters like Elsworth Toohey spout philosophical mumbo jumbo at the press of a button. Her 'intellectuals' are all people who haven't spoken a direct word in their lives. And everything they say is underlined by some ulterior motive. Virtuous characters don't survive long in the fountainhead. Or if they do, they just survive. Cringing and bowing down to the strong. 
 I only found the need to read half of this imposing tome before i got the general idea. The rest is probably predictable. No less compelling that the first half, i'll wager. But my time is probably better spent in other pursuits for now. It was an enlightening read though, and very gripping. Highly recommended.