10 Star Rating

Finished this beautifully written book this morning, December 2020, while the streets are wet from rain and grey clouds envelop the sky. Very similar atmospheric descriptions throughout this book, by Ayn Rand, of Leningrad, Russia.

On the back cover of We the Living is a quote from Ayn Rand about this story:

“We the Living is not a story about Soviet Russia in 1925. It is a story about dictatorship, any dictatorship, anywhere, at any time, whether it be Soviet Russia, Nazi Germany, or —which this novel might do its share to prevent —a socialist America.”

In the Afterward, written by Leonard Peikoff, he states:

“As a youngster, Ayn Rand continually imagined ideas for plays and novels to write when she grew up. Not a single one of her stories pertained to Russia, which she hated. It was something of a paradox to her, therefore, that she set her first novel in Soviet Russia.”

“Part of the explanation is that, having finally escaped to the United States, she had to get Russia out of her system —by telling the world what was actually happening there. Her husband, Frank O’Connor, and his brother Nick urged her to write the novel. Both were horrified by her experiences in Russia, and they convinced her that Americans had no idea of the truth. A young Russian had said to her at a party in 1926, just before she left for America: ‘When you get there, tell them that Russia is a huge cemetery and that we are doing all dying.’ We the Living told them.”

I could not have picked a more appropriate book to read at this time, in America.

Excellent read! I recommend it to all!

It reads like a Russian novel. Kira the beautiful young woman, Leo the dark handsome lover and Andrei the Communist disciple and lover of Kira. Kira and Leo are on the outer of the post revolution Russia with chequered family pasts and a belief in individual freedom. They struggle against a system that has no interest in people like them. There are inevitable deaths. Slowly the communist honeymoon ends and the return to a system that runs unofficially through the black market, black mail, corruption and greed.

Хайр байхгүй бол зорилго гэдэг хий хоосон мэт зүйл бололтой.

First published in 1936, the novel ‘We the Living’ by Ayn Rand is, as stated in the preface, ‘the closest she would ever come to writing an autobiography’. The novel follows three years in the life of a young girl, her family, and acquaintances, all of which must face the varied hardships of a post-revolutionary Russia.
Now Ayn Rand (born Alisa Zinov’yevna Rosenbaum) was born, raised and educated in Russia. She came from a bourgeois family and in Saint Petersburg (later referred to on separate occasions as Petrograd and then Leningrad); her father was a successful businessman and even owned his own property. All the family’s comfort changed however under Vladimir Lenin’s rule and the Russian Revolution; first the business was lost, then the property was lost, and the family had to flea to the Crimea. On returning to Saint Petersburg, now called Petrograd, despite many distresses, Rand was able to enroll at the Petrograd State University. During her course of study she was introduced to many philosophical, historical and classical writings and upon graduating advanced to studying screen arts. Rand first arrived in America in 1925 and was given opportunity to visit a movie theatre and from hence decided to stay in America, she became a citizen in 1931.
‘We The Living’ is one of Rand’s early works. The protagonist Kira, like Rand, grows up in Russia, is from a bourgeois family, loses all life’s luxuries and is forced to live under much hardship. Kira however, possesses quite an independent spirit. She refuses to allow herself to become overly entangled in the ideals of her family or Soviet society, life is harsh, cruel, and uncertain.
Kira is finally able to enter the Technological Institute to pursue her dreams of becoming an engineer, but this privilege is also taken away due to her family’s former bourgeois status, work prospects are also difficult. Two men eventually enter Kira’s life, the first; Andrei is a Communist and part of the secret police. The second, Leo was met by chance encounter on her way home late one night, and she immediately falls in love with him.
The relationship of these three individuals forms the basis of this novel’s plot.

In my opinion, whether Kira achieves or fails in life is up to the reader’s interpretation of this plot which to me goes beyond the likes of a headstrong young woman, to that of an individual who, despite the thoughts and opinions of society, and regardless of existing physical conditions and consequences of actions, chose instead, individuality.
Kira’s experiences remind us that sometimes we may have to succumb to society’s whims but we must not allow them to engulf us.

I appreciated this line towards the novel’s end, “Life had been if only because she had known it could be…”

Despite other’s perspectives of us, our dreams, our morals, values, actions, decisions, passions; we must not allow our ambitions to be engulfed in their flames. We are rational beings, and this, our lives, must encompass our own individuality…

The book says that it's the tale of an individual Vs. the system. But I failed entirely in spotting any sort of struggle against the system.For me it was more a story of a quite stupid girl managing her two lovers (who happen to be on the two extreme ends of the social spectrum) while scraping a living under the totalitarian rule. It is all the more irritating because she chooses to be with the guy who's an absolute moron and blows up every chance of getting a better life than the guy who genuinely loves her and strives so damn hard to make her happy and give her a better life. There is absolutely no sign of rebel in the lead character (She starts off well...joining a course that most people deem unfit for a girl, but never bothers to complete it as she falls in Love with the aforementioned moron). It's more of a love triangle (and a poor one at that) than a revolutionary novel. Even the end is as disappointing as the story. On the whole a pathetic read.

I really don't know that there is much I can say about this novel that hasn't already been said. We The Living is the most tragic of Ayn Rand's novels and possibly the most under appreciated.

While it is clearly an early effort for her - her use of English is occasionally off and her style is not consistent throughout the novel - the story line is the most (I hate to use this word, but I can't think of a better way to put it) realistic of all her novels. There are no amazing machines or amazing feats in We The Living, the most amazing thing that anyone does is survive under the early Communist rule.

However, the survivors are the villains of the book. Rand never allows her heroes to exist under tyranny. Kira and Andrei struggle against it in their own individual ways, one choosing death over a life of lost ideals and the other dying in an attempt to escape.

Holding on to the idea of the individual must have been impossible in early Communist Russia. Rand should know - she escaped Russia in 1926. We The Living is probably one of the most accurate pieces of literature we have to depict what life was like under the initial Communist regimes. The 'great idea' that fueled the Revolution of 1917 turned in to what can only be called a 'great mess' that lasted for nearly 80 years and has still not completely resolved itself.

If you are interested in life in the 1920's, We the Living is a must read book. The people of Russia had a very different experience with this decade compared to those of Europe and the US. While for much of the decade the big cities of the Western world were the Land of Plenty, the general Russian population was suffering hardships that made the poorest mid-western farmer seem to be living the life of a King.

We the Living is a testament to man's ability to survive. It is a testament to Rand and held the seeds to her philosophy. It is an encouragement to all of us to strive to be the best we can be - even when the world is against us. It is also a warning to reason before revolt and to express as opposed to repress. You can take away an mans home, you can take away his possessions, you can take away his family, you can take his life, but his mind and soul are his and his alone unless he chooses to give them to you. It is a reminder to all of us, that every individual has that choice to make every day.

"Το "Εμείς οι ζωντανοί" δεν είναι ένα μυθιστόρημα για τη Σοβιετική Ρωσία. Είναι ένα μυθιστόρημα για τον άνθρωπο ενάντια στο κράτος. Κεντρικό θέμα του είναι η ιερότητα της ανθρώπινης ζωής - χρησιμοποιώ τη λέξη ιερότητα όχι με τη μυστικιστική της έννοια, αλλά με την έννοια της υπέρτατης αξίας".

Σε αυτό το πλαίσιο, υπάρχει το ερωτικό τρίγωνο των Kira, Leo και Andrei.
Η Kira, η τραγική πρωταγωνίστρια της ιστορίας, ερωτεύεται τον Leo, γιο ενός κυβερνητικά ταπεινωμένου ναύαρχου ο οποίος αντιτάχθηκε στην επανάσταση.

Επειδή βλέπει τον εαυτό του ως πολύ ανώτερο πνευματικά για να βυθιστεί στα επίπεδα κουπόνια
των πεινασμένων και απεγνωσμένων Κομμουνιστών, αρνείται την κομματική πίστη στο σφυροδρέπανο της ελεύθερης καταναγκαστικής θυσίας και παγώνει κάθε προσπάθεια των επαναστατών να τον εντάξουν στην κομματική τους μάστιγα.
Η Κίρα τον θεωρεί τον ιδανικό άνθρωπο. Τον αγαπάει βαθιά, αληθινά, αβίαστα και αφόρητα. Προσπάθησαν να φύγουν από τη χώρα μαζί, αλλά πιάστηκαν στους συντροφικούς σπιούνους που εμπορεύονταν συναλλαγές με την παρέα των δουλέμπορων λαθρομεταναστών, και στέλνονται πίσω, πριν φτάσουν πραγματικά οπουδήποτε.

Ο Andrei είναι ένας σοβαρός κομμουνιστής - μέλος της GPU-
Η Kira τον συναντά στο τεχνικό ινστιτούτο αρχιτεκτονικής και στατικής μηχανικής, που φοιτά αρχικά, μέχρι τις πρώτες συντροφικές εκαθαρρίσεις των πάλαι ποτέ αστικών απογόνων, αυτών που τώρα πρέπει να εκδιωχθούν απο παντού στο όνομα της σοβιετικής πολιτικής και της δικτατορίας του προλεταριάτου.
Με βάση τα όνειρα της, ποθούσε να χτίσει κάποτε ουρανοξύστες απο μέταλλο και γυαλί και γέφυρες απο χάλυβα, τεράστιες και οικουμενικές.
Ισχυρά οχυρά κτίσματα που θα προστάτευαν την ανθρώπινη ανάγκη για αξιοπρέπεια και κτητική ιδιοτέλεια βολικής και διακριτικά ηδονικής, συναισθηματικής απόλαυσης και σαρκικής λαγνείας. Μόρφωση. Έρωτας. Ελευθερία.
Όλα αυτά εκπορευόμενα απο ένα ελεύθερο πνεύμα και μια ψυχή απολυτρωμένη απο χρώματα και προκηρύξεις πληρωμένης αυτοθυσίας.
Σπονδές στον βωμό του μπολσεβικικού ελέγχου που δεν μαρτυράει πόσο θα διαρκέσει, η Kira είναι αδιάφορη στην πολιτική και αγνοεί τους περιορισμούς τόσο του παλαιού καθεστώτος όσο και της νέας κομματικής ιδεολογίας. Είναι νεαρή, ελκυστική χωρίς πολλή προσπάθεια καλλωπισμού, και φοβισμένη.
Σε αντίθεση με πολλές γυναίκες που αισθάνονταν για τους άλλους και φαινομενικά ήθελαν να τους ευχαριστήσουν όλους, η Kira έχει μια ισχυρή αίσθηση ορίων και επιδιώκει να ευχαριστήσει μόνο τον εαυτό της.
Προσπαθεί μάταια να πείσει τον Andrei - που την αγαπάει σαν την αναπνοή του- πως οι λοβοτομημένες ιδέες του περί ανθρώπου και εξάρτησης του απο την αφοσίωση στο κράτος είναι τοξική, ψυχικά πεθαμένη.
Μόνο πολύ αργότερα και όπως πάντα πολύ αργά ...τον πείθει.

Ενάντια σε ένα ζωντανό τραγικό και γκροτέσκο πανόραμα πολιτικής επανάστασης και προσωπικής εξέγερσης, η Ayn Rand δείχνει τι σημαίνει στην πράξη η θεωρία του σοσιαλισμού, του καπιταλισμού, του ολοκληρωτισμού, του φασισμού και του κομμουνισμού. Ελάχιστες οι διαφορές τους, πληθώρα απο αμοιότητες μεταξύ τους. Σε κάθε κατηγορητήριο της κομμουνιστικής προλεταριακής κοινωνίας που βρίθει επο δυνάστες σε κάθε πόστο .
Πόσο πολύ θυμίζει το κλασικό του Όργουελ,
"Animal Farm". Εκείνοι που πιστεύουν ειλικρινά στα ιδανικά και αργοπεθαίνουν στο όνομα της ισοτιμίας
και της αγωνιστικής πάλης υπέρ των αβοήθητων
ψυχών / μαζών, απο θεούς και δαίμονες,
ιερούς ή κολασμένους, σοφούς ή παρανοϊκούς,
ηγέτες ή παρασιτικούς ηγεμόνες πνευματικής μισαλλοδοξίας, αξιωματούχους ή εμμονικούς πατρικίους, φιλοσόφους ή εγκληματίες της ανθρωπότητας, και διάφορες άλλες κατατάξεις στην κλίμακα της υπαρξιακής γραφειοκρατείας, καταλήγουν να αξιοποιηθούν από τους κυνικούς χειριστές της εξουσίας.

Η μαρξιστική ερμηνεία της θρησκείας εφαρμόζεται στη δική του ιδεολογία - ένα οπιούχο για να πείσει τους εκμεταλλευόμενους να ανεχθούν αυτό που διαφορετικά δεν θα ανέχονταν, η Ραντ φαίνεται να λέει ότι είναι καλύτερο να αγκαλιάσουμε την εγωιστική απληστία του καπιταλισμού από την υποκριτική προσποίηση του κομμουνισμού, και μέσα απο αυτά τα καθεστώτα όπου το σύστημα λειτουργεί πάντα προς όφελος τους.
Ένα μεγάλο σώμα από λιγότερους αξιωματούχους και απλούς καθημερινούς ανθρώπους, έχοντας ήδη κυνικά παραιτηθεί από τα υποτιθέμενα ιδανικά του συστήματος, έχουν καταλάβει πώς να χειρίζονται τα πράγματα προς όφελός τους, ενώ ταυτόχρονα αποφεύγουν ευσεβώς τις επιδιώξεις για την λαοκρατική θυσία και ούτω καθεξής, μαθαίνουν να επιβάλλουν επίσημη γνώμη, έγκριτη και κρατική και κραταιά.
Αυτοί οι άνθρωποι, που ισχυρίζονται ότι έχουν την ισχυρότερη πίστη - σε αυτήν την περίπτωση, στην ιερή αξία του λαού - σίγουρα δεν παραιτούνται από το συμφέρον τους υπέρ της αυτοθυσίας.

Αυτή είναι η υπόθεση της ιστορίας. Τι κάνει ο κομμουνισμός στην ψυχή σας; Τι θα κάνει σε οποιαδήποτε χώρα και στους ανθρώπους της.
Συνθλίβει το πνεύμα τους. Καταστρέφει το άτομο με τις ελπίδες του, κάθε όνειρο και επιθυμία.
Μα ναι, φασισμός είναι, έντονα κόκκινος,
με πέτρινες σκιές βράχων βουλιαγμένων στους βάλτους απο αίμα, ατσάλι, λάσπη και εμβατήρια.
Απο τα κόκαλα των νεκρών στα έλη της Πετρούπολης, θαυμάστε τη χώρα που χτίστηκε απο νεκρούς.
Τέλεια. Τώρα έχετε μόνο τρεις επιλογές όταν ζείτε σε έναν κόσμο που συντρίβει το Εγώ σας.
Όταν δεν μένει τίποτα.
1) Αυτοκτονία - τελικά έσπασες, δεν σε κατηγορώ.
2. Φραγή εγκεφαλικής λειτουργείας σε νεκρώσιμη κατάσταση. . Το μόνο πράγμα που έχετε, αυτό που
δεν μπορούν να πάρουν είναι το μυαλό σας.
Έτσι, πνίγετε σε ωκεάνια βάθη και υπερβατικούς ορίζοντες, κάνετε οτιδήποτε για να ξεχάσετε αυτό που δεν θα έχετε ποτέ. Δεν συμβιβάζεστε, δεν λυγίζετε,
αλλά σπάτε. Κομμάτια.
Όποιος κι αν ήσουν χάθηκε, εξαφανίστηκε μεταμορφώθηκε σε ένα άδειο κέλυφος υπαρξιακού χάους.
Είναι σαν μια άλλη μορφή αυτοκτονίας.

3)Φεύγετε, προσπαθήστε να δραπετεύσετε. Δεν συμβιβάζονται αυτά, εκείνα και τα άλλα.
Ούτε αυτό που πιστεύετε, λυγίζετε ή σπάτε.
Δεν χάνετε την ελπίδα όμως ούτε παραδίδετε τη ζωή που γνωρίζετε, είναι εκεί έξω,λίγο μακριά, μα δεν πειράζει, είναι για εσάς. Τρέχετε μέχρι να μην μπορείτε να τρέξετε πια και να ξεφύγετε ή να πεθάνετε προσπαθώντας. Είτε έτσι είτε αλλιώς παραμένετε ανεξέλεγκτοι.


Κανένα από αυτά τα πράγματα δεν επιτρέπεται σε μια συλλογική κοινωνία. Κάθε ιδέα, σκέψη, ανάγκη, οτιδήποτε σε κάνει άτομο, αποκλείεται από εσένα.
Κάθε αναπνοή που παίρνεις δεν είναι δική σου.
Ανήκει στους συντρόφους σου τους αδελφούς και τις αδελφές σου. Δεν υπάρχει «εγώ» στον σοσιαλισμό, τον κομμουνισμό, τον ολοκληρωτισμό, ανεξάρτητα από την ετικέτα που του δίνετε.
Υπάρχει μόνο εμείς.

Βασικά όμως είναι μια ιστορία αγάπης.
Δύο εντελώς διαφορετικοί άντρες με διαφορετικές ζωές και φαινομενικά δύο πολύ διαφορετικές φιλοσοφίες για τη ζωή.
Το μόνο που έχουν κοινό είναι η «ψυχή» τους
(όχι μια πνευματική ψυχή »). Αυτοί οι δύο άντρες, ψυχογραφούν τη ζωή που χάνεται, ο τρόπος με τον οποίο η πράξη τους γίνεται συνήθεια , αντιδρούν και αγωνίζονται, μα βλέπουν τη ζωή τελείως διαφορετικά και ίσως είναι αυτό που τους προσελκύει στην ίδια ματαιότητα.
Όταν η χώρα τους, τα πολιτικά μέτρα,
τα αντισυστημικά συστήματα αφαιρούν
τα πάντα, ό,τι ήταν δικό τους ,τους χρησιμοποιεί ως παράδειγμα της χειρότερης ανθρωπότητας,
αφαιρεί την ελευθερία τους, την ατομική βούληση να είστε, αλλά ποιοι να είστε, πείτε τι σκέφτεστε, αλλά ψιθυριστά και κρυφά, συμμορφωθείτε στις υποδείξεις του Σοβιέτ αλλά στην ΕΣΣΔ κάνετε ό, τι θέλετε, ζήστε όπως θέλετε να ζήσετε ... τι κάνετε, γιατί αδιαφορείτε, γιατί παγώνετε τις σκέψεις πριν γίνουν λόγια, γιατί σκύβετε το κεφάλι, γιατί είναι μακριά και μακάρια η Σιβηρία, γιατί αρρωσταίνετε, γιατί, μα γιατί πεθαίνετε, πριν το εγκρίνει το Κόμμα ;

Είναι ειλικρινά λυπηρό το γεγονός ότι παρόλο που ο κολεκτιβισμός είχε αποτύχει καθ 'όλη τη διάρκεια της ιστορίας, ωστόσο εξακολουθούμε να βλέπουμε χώρες να επαινούν τέτοια στέρηση της ζωής, όπως παρέχεται απο τη μια κοινωνία στην άλλη. Ρωσία ή Βενεζουέλα ποια διαφορά να βρω.
Μεγάλη πλούσιες χώρες, έγιναν κάποτε τίποτα, καιροσκοπικοί οραγανισμοί, κάτι λιγότερο από μια αυταρχική αναρχία.
Κανείς δεν είχει σχεδόν καμία πιθανότητα να γίνει αυτόνομο, παραγωγικό άτομο, εκτός εάν υποκλιθεί
στις κυβερνητικές αρχές.
Τα πάντα, από τα κοινά αγαθά έως τις μερίδες τροφίμων, γίνονταν πιο σπάνια με την πάροδο του χρόνου. Και αν εναντιωθείς στο σύστημα, υπάρχει η εκτέλεση καθηκόντων απο την εθνική φρουρά.


Σε άλλα νέα, και αφού έβγαλα τα εσώψυχα μου, και μπράβο σας αν φτάσατε να διαβάσετε το παραλήρημα μου ως εδώ, ( σας αγαπώ)
σκούπισα κάποια λίγα δάκρυα, και είπα
υποτίθεται ότι είναι αυτοβιογραφικό αυτό το υπέροχο βιβλίο, στην πραγματικότητα είναι μια ιστορία αγάπης ως επί το πλείστον και η παλαιότερη εκδοχή της φιλοσοφίας της εφαρμόστηκε στη μυθοπλασία, βασισμένη πολύ χαλαρά στις εμπειρίες της Ayn προτού απομακρυνθεί από την αντισημιτική κολεκτιβιστική Ρωσία, καταπιεσμένη κατά τη διάρκεια του τσάρου και περισσότερο μετά την κομμουνιστική επανάσταση.



Καλή ανάγνωση
Πολλούς ασπασμούς.

I know a lot of people do not like Rand or stay away from her books because they seem too hard or too philosophical. We the Living is really just an amazing novel - you can hate Rand and like this novel. Although it did manage to make me even more terrified of our upcoming presidential election and want to evangelize on Gary Johnson's behalf even more. I really wish this more widely read and hope you give it a shot.

I was really surprised by this novel. I agree with many of Ayn Rand's ideas and liked Atlas Shrugged, but Atlas felt more like reading a 1,000 page philosophical treatise pretending it was a novel than reading an actual novel. We the Living was much more story and character driven instead of just being a vehicle for sharing her ideas.

The characters in the novel came alive for me, as did the setting of Soviet Russia just after the revolution. This is the book I wanted Doctor Zhivago to be. I became so invested in the characters and in finding out what would happen next that it really consumed my thoughts for several days even after I finished it.

At the same time, it is still a novel about ideas and will make you think. It's about the individual vs. the state, but it's also about how different people handle living under a totalitarian regime. Some give up. Some embrace the tyranny. Some try to find ways to compromise.

I'm glad I read this with my book club because I loved being able to discuss it, especially because there was one issue I was struggling with as I read. Because I had read Atlas first, I kept reading this expecting to see Rand's ideal person and way to live that is such a huge part of her later books. This is not Atlas. None of these people showcase the ideal way to live. It's okay that none of them do what I would have done and that I didn't like most of the characters and that I HATED Leo - the non-communist love interest of the main character - and liked Andrei - the communist. I was really struggling with that as I read because I was projecting Rand's future methods on to this book. I highly recommend reading this first if you haven't read anything by her before.

I left with an understanding of the torture that is living under Communism and a new appreciation for my life in America. The most important book I read in 2021.

Më lini të qaj!

Kira, Leo, Andreji: tre personazhe, mbi të cilët zhvillohet libri “Ne të gjallët”. Jo s’janë Tre Shokët,as armiq për vdekje. I konsideroj si personazhe të jashtëzakonshëm, në kohëra të jashtëzakonshme. Sfondi historik është Revolucioni Rus. Kira, me familjen e saj ‘borgjeze’ kthehen në Petrograd. Ajo do nisë shkollën, duke fituar kështu dhe bukën e gojës. Fryma,bindjet që ka ‘kundër’ komunizmit & kolektivizmit ndihen që në fillim të librit. Në universitet takon rastësisht, Andrejin,komunist,luftëtar i Ushtrisë së Kuqe,bëhen miq,ndajnë mendimet,idetë që shpesh i kishin njësoj.Rastësisht njihet dhe me Leon,antirevolucionist,me të shkuar fatkeqe.Të rënit në dashuri me Leon,ishte e pashmangshme,me shikim të parë.Tentativa për t’u larguar u dështon,vendosin të jetojnë sëbashku.Bashkëjetesa s’mund të ishte vendimi më i mirë për dy njerëz që s’janë pjesë e partisë.Vështirësia shtohet kur Leo sëmuret keq. A është destinuar Leoja, arsyeja që Kira jeton, njeriu i vetëm që ka, të vdesë?

Këta personazhe të jashtëzakonshëm,janë të prirur të bëjnë zgjedhje të jashtëzakonshme. Një prej tyre ndërmerr Kira,të therrshëm,kur pranon dashurinë e sinqertë dhe të pastër të një komunisti; Andrejit.Në rolin e të dyfishtë si shpëtimtare e Leos & si dashnore,ajo përcjell një klithmë drithëruese, të njeriut që bën gjithçka për atë që do; mirëpo kjo s’do të thotë se libri ka këtë Δ dashurie kryeqendrën e tij.Do ja dalë Kira të mbajë të fshehtë këto dy lidhje të saj,nga njëra-tjetra? Këto dashuri janë një mur i fortë në ato kohëra të vështira,ku ajo ishte zhytur dhe s’mund të tërhiqej.

Aspekti historik,fatkeqësisht dihet.Fundi i personazheve do të jetë padyshim i jashtëzakonshëm. Ç’më ka bërë më shumë përshtypje s’është mënyra çnjerëzore e trajtimit të atyre kundra,por e komunistëve të zellshëm që vepruan në kurriz të popullit,duke parë përfitimin vetjak mbi atë kolektiv. E keqja u vjen nga vetja. Mes tyre kishte njerëz të ndershëm,që s’mbijetuan dot. Një libër që më mësoi të dua më shumë jetën. Rand ka shkruar për disa shpirtra që vuajnë, tradhëtojnë,luftojnë,deri në fund, edhe nëse fundi është t’i dorëzohesh jetës.Një libër mrekulli,i thellë; s’do ta harroj kurrë,sa të jem gjallë!

Ayn Rand has shown in her book such things of the Soviet Russia or I should say here, of dictatorship that are hard to imagine. Even after finishing this book it's characters stayed in my head and kept me thinking about them and the situations they lived in. The differences between the bourgeois (people of middle class) and the proletarians (people of working or lower class) grew wider after the first world war in Russia. And thus began the proletariat dictatorship. As Ms. Rand says this story is about dictatorship may it be of Soviet Russia or Nazi Germany or any other.
This story not only shows us but it makes one feel all kinds of emotions. The things we do for love.
It is the situations that make you stronger than you think you are. And thus you can fight with anyone, you can go anywhere, you can do anything, for it is your fight for your loved one. Even after all that you've done when it is you against the entire citizens, you tend to break.
Beautiful book.

Ayn Rand’ı ilk kez Azra Kohen’in Pi kitabından öğrenmiştim. Hayatın Kaynağı eseriyle tanıştım. Objektivizm felsefesinin, diğer ideolojilerden nasıl farklı ve insan doğasına uygun olduğunu fark ettim.
Yaşamak İstiyorum ise Ayn Rand’ın otobiyografik öğeler içeren, yine bir sistem eleştirisi olan kitabı. Sosyalist rejimlerin, Rus İhtilali dönemini merkeze alan bir kurguyla ne kadar yanlış olduğu mesajı veriyor. Sadece sosyalist değil tüm kolektivist düşünceyi barındıran, bireyi değil toplumun çıkarlarını gözeten ideolojilerin çürük yanları...
Ancak şunu söylemeliyim ki ilk kitabı olduğu için mi, edebiyatçı değil ideolojisini aktarmaya çalıştığı için mi bilmiyorum çok fazla uzatılmış hissettim. Biraz içim şişti desem yalan olmaz. Daha az ve öz bir anlatımla, karakterlerin daha belirleyici özellikleri olsaydı daha çok severdim. Şuanda okuduğuma memnunum, ancak Hayatın Kaynağı kat kat daha iyi bir eser.
Youtube kanalım: https://www.youtube.com/user/ayseum