I just finished the 2nd part of Atlas Shrugged the other day, and, frankly, I'm quite exhausted with it. Is it worth going through the final act? I'm aware there's a grandiose 50-page philosophical manifesto interjected in there at some point, and I'm quite partial to Rand's philosophy on the whole, but I feel as if I've been worn down too much to merit any further investment into the book. Any advice? Thank you.
>>22077608the general idea of the book is pretty apparent by that point, you can skip the manifesto, it was already expressed perfectly well by the main characters earlier and more consicely
>>22077619Is there any payoff to the book, or is it just a build-up with no climax beside the speech?
>>22077608Yes for the kino Galt speech that solves philosophy.
>>22077672theres a plot but not really a payoff, the book peaks when the train explodes
>>22077738that chapter is unironically epic
i am one of those walking memes who read atlas in his youth and it became my whole personality i remember reading it during my math and physics studies, so i was already autismal as heck and didnt have a problem with wooden dialogue or 50 page rants and i understood that unrealistic characters are inspirational power fantasywhen i finished my studies, i was supposed to go into big budget bureocracies, government agencies, giant firms, etc etcbut i read atlas and so i decided to take a welding apprenticeship, worked in a small pc repair shop for a time, worked construction jobs and finally got licensed and certified as a welder and electrician at the end of itregistered my own small business (yes its named is inspired by atlas shrugged) became self employedbecame a millionaire before hitting 30 my life is extremely fucking boring, i have a minor shoulder injury which i suspect might be permanent at this point, but it is what it is, i only regret not working on some grand interesting national project, everything i did was small scale and mundane, otherwise im perfectly fine with my personal life, its just that everything interesting requires a security clearance and i probably should have gone into big engineering/government agencies
Bumping to keep the thread alive
Atlas Shrugged is the great Romance novel of the 20th century. You have to finish the book to find out if Dagny Taggert ax4ay2nd John Galt find true love.
>>22077868Duly noted.
>>22077608As someone who has both religious and economic beliefs that are totally opposite of Rand's, I enjoyed Anthem. Anthem is short and can be read as a more direct critique of the Soviet Union and the focus on individualism is broad enough that I feel most people can resonate with it.It's hilarious to me that even Randheads struggle to get through Atlas Shrugged.
>>22077868How do you base a business of a welding licence?
>>22081876Simple. It's WaaS
>>22081118It really boils down to how Rand writes; namely, in such a roundabout manner that it seems as if she harps on the same points ad infinitum, and, while there's nothing wrong with those points in and of themselves, its when they're relentlessly being reiterated that it starts to get grating. I understand that that's somewhat the point (continuous struggle and an inviolable spirit against nigh-insurmountable odds) but goodness gracious does it not make for a lively read. She has fantastic moments of prosaic ingenuity, however, when she describes environments (especially Taggart Terminal and the John Galt Line throughout Vol 1). Very straightforward, very bold and vivid, but somehow passionate and romantic enough to not seem contrived or uninteresting. It's everything else that bogs it down. One last thing, I noticed that she never seems to allow herself to give a name to a specific emotion a character is feeling, and is on the whole quite ambiguous and vague about it, and does it so much so that it starts to become a real problem once you notice it. Some minute trimming would do Atlas Shrugged a lot of good.
