5 ms·
Atlas shrugged and catch 22 are the only two books that I have been unable to finish. In atlas shrugged, Rand takes the most incredibly boring, one-dimensional
by roymurdock 11y ago
Atlas shrugged and catch 22 are the only two books that I have been unable to finish.
In atlas shrugged, Rand takes the most incredibly boring, one-dimensional, unbelievable, cliched, cement-mixed characters and starts beating you over the head with them right out of the gate. I saw her singular point 10 pages into the book, and could not bear the pain of the next 300 of the manifesto.
While I can see how the "trader of justice" ideal that is mentioned in the article might appeal to some, it's simply not applicable to real life economic/social governance. Humans aren't spawned directly from market processes, they have parents and friends and communities and their relationships extend beyond the reach of the free market mechanisms.
- dschiptsov 11y agoHave it ever occurred to you, that the problem might be not with these works of art?)
- andrepd 11y agoFor what's worth, I also haven't been able to finish Atlas Shrugged for those very same reasons.
- Johnny_Brahms 11y agoWhat? Her persondescriptions are less than one-dimensional. The entrepreneurs are all the most perfect and beautiful people there are. They have no fault and they don't even have to struggle. The only people that can identify with any of the main characters are people that completely lack any kind of self distance.
- forgetsusername 11y agoThe worst part of Atlas Shrugged, for me, was the cringe-worthy romantic scenes. Other than those, I thought it was an okay read. It's interesting in a historical social context.
- tamana 11y agoThe Fountainhead has similar romance, so you know it's not an accidental writing flub.
- JoeAltmaier 11y agoOther works of art I have not finished: Lord of the Rings. Dune. Foundation. All for much the same reason.
- tptacek 11y agoYou couldn't finish Catch-22? Catch-22 is great!
- sethev 11y agoIt's a bit shocking to see Catch-22 mentioned in the same sentence as Atlas Shrugged. One of them is among the most engaging and humorous books ever written that manages to tackle real issues and the other is Atlas Shrugged.