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Comment by rm_-rf_slash | Hacker News Reader

I hate to say it, but The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand.

The book itself is largely dull, overwritten, and characters are afflicted with "Ayn Rand Syndrome" - where the protagonists are always perfect and the world around them is fundamentally flawed and can only be fixed with free market capitalism. It's like "Joss Whedon Syndrome" without the smarm.

BUT, I did glean an appreciation for following a path of one's own creation, committing to your goals even as the world sets out to discourage you and undermine your work at every twist and turn. It was quite inspiring and invigorating to read this book in my late teenage years.

But then again, I have recently found the same theme to be more accurately and entertainingly portrayed in a Japanese anime: Gurren Lagann

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Everyone else can down-vote me because this really doesn't contribute to the conversation but I have to say it: Gurren Lagann is a better inspirational substitute for The Fountainhead?! The geek in me understands completely and I think that is SO awesome!

Fundamentally, both stories were about working very hard to carve one's own path at all costs lest the world twist you into conforming to its desires.

Except Trigger went on to make a fascinating story about clothing and the power it has had for all of history (Kill La Kill), while Ayn Rand made an even more unreadable whinefest where every person in government is solely on a spectrum between incompetent and evil, and the only solution is to give up, take your ball, and go home. (Atlas Shrugged - somewhat undermining the point of The Fountainhead in the first place).

I found Kill La Kill to be an amazing little story. Campy and farcical but also really profound in a certain way. Total deconstruction of a whole genre of fiction as well as a fascinating social commentary on one of the defining aspects of human society (clothing/fashion/social status).

Another anime that really surprised me with its depth and sophistication was Puella Magi Madoka Magica. KyuBey still gives me nightmares just thinking about it.

I'll upvote you. Gurren Lagann is my favorite piece of media, and it's one that left a deep impact in me. And it's a pretty awesome story to boot.

One the surface it may seem like a dumb giang robot action-fest. But it has profound messages about fear, determination and legacy.

In my early 20s I embraced Objectivism through this and Atlas Shrugged (bad writing aside), and in my 30s I abandoned it.

Particularly, the process of abandoning it forced me into a clearer view of my personal value system. That in turn has made me a better person: it is hard to have integrity if one doesn't understand what they believe.

The Fountainhead is just bad writing. You hit it on the head when you said "the protagonists are always perfect and the world around them is fundamentally flawed".

Its difficult to take a book seriously with such caricatured and poorly written characters. I've seen better writing in comic books.

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