A social-climber, he does what is expected of him, even giving up on his dream of becoming a painter just to fulfil his mother’s dream (or request) of him being an architect. In a stark dichotomy to Roark’s individualistic personality, Keating is a conformist. Roark was partly inspired by famed American architect Frank Lloyd Wright (a classic example of his work is the Guggenheim Museum in New York City). But even his amazing talent was not enough to appease the naysayers. Rather than showcasing his brilliance outright, his most vocal weapon was his talent he let his works do the talking on his behalf. Roark is the antithesis of this “ideal” picture of a rebel. The common notion of a rebel is that he is very vocal of his ideas and beliefs.

The Fountainhead is the story of a rebel. “Have you felt it too? Have you seen how your best friends love everything about you- except the things that count? And your most important is nothing to them nothing, not even a sound they can recognize.” ~ Ayn Rand, The Fountainhead

What follows is a what can be described as the proverbial battle of good and evil in the world of architecture and artistry. Cameron used to be a popular architect but his firm started freefalling into obscurity. Unperturbed by his expulsion, he proceeded to New York City, working for Henry Cameron. He was undaunted by the norms and conventions that has haunted the profession he took on. His unwavering resolve not to conform to the Stanton Institute of Technology’s preference for historical convention vis-à-vis building design, he got expelled from the architecture department. Roark, to say the least, is the personification of eccentricity. It was in late 2016 that I was finally able to dip into the depths of Ayn Rand’s masterpieces through The Fountainhead. It was this curiosity that made me purchase two of her works – Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead. Through completing must read challenges, I have learned more of her works, but still I had no iota on her philosophies and what drove her to be the woman that she was. However, I barely had any inkling on who she was or her significance.

Architecture, The Arts, IndividualityĮven before I took my reading seriously, I have already heard a lot about Ayn Rand.

Brilliantly written and daringly original, here is a novel about a hero – and about those who tried to destroy him. This is the story of an intransigent young architect, of his violent battle against the world’s standards and conventions and his explosive love affair with a beautiful woman who loved him passionately yet struggled to defeat him.

The fountainhead original book