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We the LivingBy Ayn Rand, Signet, 1996, 464 pages I
have been a fan of Ayn Rand for about five years
- since I read Atlas
Shrugged. Rand also wrote Anthem and
The Fountainhead. Each of her books contains a very different plot,
yet relates something so innate that one cannot help but feel passionately about
it. We the Living caused controversy from the beginning. United States publishers were
hesitant because the book was anti-communist and anti-fascist, and they were
careful not to anger countries believing in those ideologies. After finally
being published in 1936, the type was destroyed by the publisher because of poor
response. However, in England and in Italy, sales soared and the book achieved
great success. Without Rand’s consent, an Italian film company pirated a movie
version, but the Nazis demanded Mussolini ban the movie and the book, realizing
it was a protest against Mussolini’s oppression. Twenty years later, after the
success of Atlas Shrugged, the book
was republished in the United States and achieved great success. The setting of the story is Communist Russia in the city of Petrograd (St. Petersburg) in the early 1900s. Rand gives a realistic look into Russia, using believable characters and accurate descriptions of life under socialism. Kira, who Rand says embodies her own philosophical and moral views, is faced with many difficult decisions. Her lifelong dream is to be an engineer and build great bridges. She falls in love with Leo Kovalalsky, who is well known for his capitalist views. Andrei Taganov is a stalwart in the Communist party. He meets Kira at college and falls in love with her, which causes conflicts with his own views, with Leo and with Kira. These young people, in the midst of a political and social revolution, all think they have the answers to the economic and philosophical dilemma of their country, but who has the right answer? I do not agree with the portrayal of every moral issue in the book, but if you look beyond that and see the underlying theme, then the book’s true meaning is obvious. This story shows the inside pages of history and how state control encourages a godless society without independent thinkers. The great minds of the world will be turned into walking zombies¾as Kira points out. Sure enough, one character of this trio will realize the truth and break, another will break under the pressure, and the third will leave to start over anew. I won’t spoil the ending, but the character you vow to hate somehow turns into the one you love. Rand herself grew up in Communist Russia and witnessed the
great despair of the nation she once loved. When things changed, she knew the
only way to live was to leave. Reading of the horrors inflicted upon the Russian
people in the early 1900s by the Communists, I am thankful I live in a
democratic society and not under a controlled society or dictatorship. ninetyandnine.com ©
2001, Rani Coleman ---------- Rani Coleman attends First Pentecostal Church of Denham Springs, Louisiana. She is a
senior at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge. She coaches Intermediate
Bible Quizzers and expects them to know the chartwork and memorize the
concordance before the Extravaganza. (Of course, as a quizzer she somehow never
found the time to do this before State Finals!) |
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