I don't read books anymore because I am stupid. However, I have read plenty of books in the past, and I have opinions on them. Here are the books I have read and reviewed.
The Fountainhead - *yn R*nd
The Fountainhead is a despicable book spawned of the depraved mind of the demonic entity known as Ayn Rand. I hate this book and everything in it. I hate all the characters, I hate the plot, I hate the writing, I hate the dialogue, I hate the cover art, I even hate the damn paper its made out of. Nothing about this book is good, not even serviceable, its truly just pure trash. The Fountainhead tells the story of an aspiring young architect as he tries to make it big the world of architecture, or something like that. The main character is talented, but he, like every person in this book, decides to make the most brainless decisions for their lives. He chooses to work for a failing architecture firm, instead of the well off one his friend works at, and quits his job to work as a construction worker, then rapes his friend's boss, but she likes it? I guess this was Ayn Rand's idea of something profound but it just comes off at pretentious and insane. No character in this book makes a good decision at all. In fact, they usually make the opposite decision just because? The main character's friend is in a relationship with some girl and they are both in love. You'd think he would marry her right? WRONG, that would be a good decision. Instead he marries his boss, the same lady who is in some weird sexual relationship with the main character. No one in this book is a good person, or even makes any sense in their actions. The Fountainhead gives an idea at how the author Ayn Rand thinks, which is psychotic and sociopathic, with no regards to human life. If you see anyone praising this book, you have the moral duty to kill them immediately.
The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood
Another book I read in High School. If you are noticing a pattern here; no you don’t. Anyway, I read this book in a week and I very much enjoyed it. There is a lot Margaret Atwood is saying here about religion and women’s rights in America and especially in right wing politics. The Handmaid’s Tale takes place in the United States after a far right Christian violent take over. The country is ruled by a hyper patriarchal government where the main character is forced to be a “handmaiden”; a breeding slave for a high ranking government official. This book touches on a lot of different topics, especially misogyny, but also topics like genocide and nuclear war. I could notice the clear real world inspirations like the obvious American Puritan religious history, but also things like Nazi secret police, and the rise of conservative religious revival in the 1980’s due to Ronald Reagan (curse be upon his name). The society depicted is extremely dystopian and the life of the main character, Offred, lives her life under complete surveillance and control. There is a lot to take away from this book about issues that are significant to today’s world, and to the US in our time of increasing fascism.
Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
I read this book a long time ago in highschool so I quite don't remember the entire plot. That being said, Catch-22 is a great book that portrays the absurdity of war. It also introduced me to the concept of a catch 22, the paradoxical situation coined by the author. This book is a satirical dark comedy about pilots in ww2. My favorite part is the introduction of the catch-22, where one pilot requested mental evaluation for insanity to not fly, but the doctor claimed if he was afraid to fly it meant that he was sane, and if was actually insane, he also had to fly because you have to be insane to fly into war. However, Catch-22 doesn't shy away from portraying the horrors of war aswell. Characters die, commit attrocities, and become traumatized. The combination of the humor and satire with the brutal moments expertly portays the cruelty and absurdity of war. I much enjoyed this book and was glad I picked this at random for my class asignment so long ago.
