Click here to purchaseAnthem by Ayn Rand

Anthem is a great introduction to the philosophy of Ayn Rand. A dystopian novella, it is much less intimidating than The Fountainhead or Atlas Shrugged. I guess it's considered science fiction as well, so I also counted it for Carl's Sci-Fi Experience.

It was extremely fascinating reading this book after having read We by Yevgeny Zamyatin and The Giver by Lois Lowry last year, both of which were in my 2007 Top 10. Anthem definitely borrows from We, and The Giver most definitely borrows from Anthem. In Rand's book, the main character even refers to himself as 'We' because in his society individuality is highly suppressed, and the goal is for it to be eliminated. Everything must be done for the brothers in the collective and nothing for the individual.

While I agree with Rand's philosophy to a point, I believe she takes it just a bit too far. I very much enjoyed this book, but at the end it just felt too preachy to be rated the same as We and The Giver, which both received 4.5 stars.

1938, 105 pp
Rating: 4