1069 endless pages covered in microscopic letters. At first, I never thought I'd even come close to reaching the end, but I finally finished the book and I am so glad I did. I guess it was due to the fact that the book was so long that it took Ayn Rand a while to develop the plot and get her readers to understand what she was writing about. Once I caught on to the plot and had an idea of what I was reading, I immediately felt drawn into the book, especially all of its characters. Rand truly has a great way of describing how the characters actually feel in certain situations, which really draws you to them.
Through out the first couple hundred pages of the book, you are left with many sketchy situations and unanswered questions; which is what compelled me to keep on reading. I loved how slowly, Rand would throw out clues that would help you to start developing explanations for why a certain situation happened the way it did, or even why a character acted that way towards another. The whole concept of the phrase "Who is John Galt" followed by the clues that lead you to know that for a fact, there is a John Galt capable of doing all that the rumors stated worked great through out the whole book. When Galt finally appears towards the end of the novel I was so excited. You finally get to see all that he really is and the way he carries his principles and morals in such depth.
What I loved the most from this book is how many different aspects were incorporated into the book. For example, you have this strong independent woman, Daggny Taggart, running a railroad all by herself, with her brother and his corrupt group of friends who constantly stand against everything she stands for. You have a knowledge of the Taggarts and D'Anconia's childhood due to the flashbacks that Rand provides, giving you background information of the first characters presented in the book. Rand also incorporates different love affairs and conflicts that always end up taking unexpected turns. Finally, you have the valley and Galts group of friends, that show a completely different view of living than that which is going on in the world as Dagny and the rest of humanity know it. Rands ability to have all of these different topics keeps the readers drawn since so many different things constantly occur throughout her book.
The end of the book was kind of expected. It was obvious that once Galt was captured, every one from the valley would go out of their way to get him back to safety. Regardless, I enjoyed reading this part and the way they were able to talk to the guards and outsmart them. Whenever a guard would stand in their way, they would know exactly what to say to get them to let themselves pass, and if they didn't, the guards would face their own punishments. I was not surprised that while Dagny talked to the guard, the guard was afraid of her and was struggling on what decision to make, but I was surprised that Dagny ended up shooting him. I could have sworn that she was bluffing, that did not seem like her character at all, but I guess I could understand her actions since she was so desperate to save John Galt.
The only thing that I would have liked Rand to incorporate towards the end of the story is what ends up happening with the group of looters in Washington and what becomes of the lives of Galt and Dagny. Towards the end, all that is mentioned is that the light in New York City are officially off, so the have accomplished their jobs, but we never end up seeing what the looters do when they realize that Galt has escaped and abandoned them. Then, back at the valley, Galt is with Dagny and mentions that it is safe to go back to the real world. I didn't really understand what he meant by that already or how long they have been away from the real world. All that is really explained towards the end of the novel is how Eddie Willers is doing everything he can to keep Taggart Transcontinental alive. I think that the only reason why he does this is because it is the only think he has left of Dagny, and he knows that she would have wanted someone to take her place and try to keep the railroad alive, but with the current state of the world, that is no longer possible.
Regardless of the unanswered questions towards the end, I thought that this was one of the best books that I have ever read. Ayn Rand is a great writer and I hope that later on I will be able to read her other novels.
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