Like all of the Author Tracts dedicated to a philosophy that fits with sociopathy like a lock to a key this book is loathsome.
The plot pretty much works for Rand's self-insert character. Yes, it has the typical workings of an artist struggling with trying to be accepted for something original but boy is it mishandled. Some good advice for an architect with that goal is to take jobs that you can, try to get as much control over the design in those jobs and compromise where you can't, building up your reputation so that future projects will give you even more control over the designs, essentially meaning to "Hold fast when you can and compromise when you need to," which is more mature than Roark cares to be.
Roark also has a massive ego (indicative of his sociopathy since it is impervious to the views of others) that causes him to think that the only person that matters in the construction of a building is himself (finance your own buildings then you would be right to think that), causing him to have contracts made that ensure he himself has full control over the design, which he then abuses with something inappropriate like a nude statue of Dominique then claims that the public is offended because they can't see his genius.
The Big Bad is your typical Rand villain, who does his actions For the Evulz, an incredibly poor motivator and is the biggest part I hate about "A=A"; it's something that egomaniacs use so that they can believe that anyone who disagrees with them is either evil or stupid.
Loathsome Literature
Like all of the Author Tracts dedicated to a philosophy that fits with sociopathy like a lock to a key this book is loathsome.
The plot pretty much works for Rand's self-insert character. Yes, it has the typical workings of an artist struggling with trying to be accepted for something original but boy is it mishandled. Some good advice for an architect with that goal is to take jobs that you can, try to get as much control over the design in those jobs and compromise where you can't, building up your reputation so that future projects will give you even more control over the designs, essentially meaning to "Hold fast when you can and compromise when you need to," which is more mature than Roark cares to be.
Roark also has a massive ego (indicative of his sociopathy since it is impervious to the views of others) that causes him to think that the only person that matters in the construction of a building is himself (finance your own buildings then you would be right to think that), causing him to have contracts made that ensure he himself has full control over the design, which he then abuses with something inappropriate like a nude statue of Dominique then claims that the public is offended because they can't see his genius.
The Big Bad is your typical Rand villain, who does his actions For the Evulz, an incredibly poor motivator and is the biggest part I hate about "A=A"; it's something that egomaniacs use so that they can believe that anyone who disagrees with them is either evil or stupid.
The end had a massive Wall Banger where Roark throws a childish temper tantrum by blowing up a building because his plans for the building were changed instead of say taking them to court for contract violation. He then gets away scot-free for this in an infuriating case of Artistic License – Law since he is able to use a bunch of honeyed words to get the jury to side with him and ignore how he without a doubt did the crime.