Great early Ayn novel. A frank look at a change to Socialism.

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	• We the Living Ayn Rand Signet, 1996 - 464 pages average customer review:based on 133 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Beautiful, Magnificent, and Often Overlooked

I am a huge fan of Ayn Rand and while many of her readers think The Fountainhead, and especially Atlas Shrugged to be her best novels. I think We The Living is right along up there. This is a good deal smaller than Atlas Shrugged, but it still has a lot of power in it.

This book is a tragedy. So do not read it if you want a happily ever after. While the story is filled with misery, you are still filled with a profound longing for a better world. That quality is something Rand puts in all her works.

This book is not just about the evils of communism, it encompasses the entire spectrum of the 'individual vs. the state'. She shows what the state can do to a person, the state can grind a man down to nothing, it can leave an empty shell. And Rand shows what the state can't do to some people, the state can restrict a person, they can impose laws, they can cause tremendous suffering, but the state cannot always take away hope and desire even in the last few breathes one might take before they die.

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good story; too much philosophizing

This is my first Ayn Rand book; I can tell from the other reviews that I may like the others better. The edition I read provided some good notes on Ms. Rand, which helped me understand the book. I am glad that I read this book first, since it is apparently fairly autobiographical, and since it was her first book. I found the story interesting and assume that the portrayal of Russia at that period to be accurate. The only complaint I have is that I think that the story is interrupted too often with Ms. Rand's philosophizing.

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Great early Ayn novel. A frank look at a change to Socialism.

This book was unlike her later books. It's more of a look at actual history and the effects of an actual change in government. There were many here in the US who have wanted to duplicate Russia and change our government to Marxism. They came here soon after the fall of Russia, in the very early 1900s. They called themselves "Marxists" which didn't go over well. They then stole the term "Progressives" from the conservatives and are once again using that term. Today, they have finally come into power in our current congress (Pelosi) and the puppet masters pulling their strings such as George Soros & International Answer.

Another book that most haven't read is her first book. It rates a VERY high recommendation and is again much unlike her other books. "Anthem". I believe this was Ayn's 2nd book and the only one of this type she wrote.
I couldn't help but think that it inspired "1984" and "Planet of the Apes". It was a short, quick read that was entertaining and thought provoking. Like all her books, it doesn't compare two shades of gray, but black & white. I've long used this technique in analyzing questions relating to physics, geometry, math & life.

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Though "We" is Rand's first, it's clearly not her best.

I'm glad to know I'm not the only person who felt that this novel fell way short of Rand's usual brilliance; brilliance that is apparently only achieved in her later works. As this is her first novel, it's understandable to see so many rough edges and undeveloped theories. Even so, I couldn't reconcile several elements of the plot since they were in such contrast to the concepts she upholds in later novels.

Ayn Rand writes of characters set in Soviet Russia during the Communist revolution. Kira, the protagonist, stays neutral in her political beliefs so long as they don't interfere with her ambitions in life. While at first her goals were to move abroad and become an engineer, the only facet of her life of which the reader sees is her goal of being with the man she loves, Leo.

Leo is a character with no notable ambitions-- the reader is introduced to him as a counter-revolutionist who is instantly drawn to Kira, but his efforts of fighting for his beilefs aren't mentioned after the first 50 pages. By the end of the story, he is nothing more than an arrogant alcoholic. Like others in the novel, he manipulates the good intentions of others to further his own worthless pursuits.

Andrei, on the other hand, is Kira's other love interest. Andrei is inquisitive and loyal: as the Communist party to which he holds dearly falls into corruption and greed, he lives his life for Kira's love.

After understanding some background on the characters, I was puzzled to see the way in which Rand developed the plot. One theory to which Rand upholds so strongly is the belief that man should not live for another. In "We the Living," however, the characters do exactly that-- Andrei lives for Kira's love. Kira lives for the love of her playboy, Leo. As the book drew to a very depressing close, I wondered how on Earth Ayn Rand could revolve a story on the premise of that which she hates (the notion of living for another). Then I reflected on the outcome of the characters and realized that in a way, everyone got exactly what they deserved if one were to uphold Randian thinking.

The novel progresses like a train wreck, ultimately not knowing how any characters are going to escape from the dire situations in which they place themselves. The hardest thing to note is that none of them do escape from their hellish reality. The single exception is one character who deserves absolution the least (Leo). As for the rest of them, they spend years on hopes that never solidify; dreams of school, French perfume, going abroad, and artistic achievements become buried in the cold winter of Russia.

What alarmed me about both the characters and the way they're written is their level of compromise to achieve such dreams-- Kira becomes a sell-out to the Communist party for a job and a mistress to a man she doesn't love to save the man she does love. Instead of fighting as a counter-revolutionist, Leo becomes an illegal trader with the assistance of a top Communist government official. Those who do uphold unwaivering morality face the harshest outcomes (characters like Andrei and Kira's cousin Irena). The reason for my surprise is that Rand's most noble literary characters in her other stories, like Howard, Dangey, Francisco, John Galt, are rewarded for motives that are punished in "We the Living."

For readers who want to aquaint themselves with Ayn Rand's theories, I urge them not to read this book. The dislikeability of Kira and the other characters will distract the reader from themes that aren't conveyed in a convincing (or persuasive) manner. Themes of egoism, selfishness, and capitalism are cornerstones of Ayn Rand, but they just aren't set forth in a coherent manner within "We the Living." If I hadn't read "The Fountainhead" or "Atlas Shrugged" I would've read this book and have had the same disdain towads Rand that I know so many people have towards her works.

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