Anthem

If you have read Anthem, read it again. If you haven't, read it now.

I will read this again but I will skip the long unnecessary speech at the end of the book. The story speaks for itself without hammering home the intended message. Other than that speech, it reads like a contemporary short story.

Warning- It does take some time to get used to the way the main character does not refer to himself as I, but as a long word/number distinction. Humans were not meant to live as drones.

Twenty five years ago, Ayn Rand may have seem dated and irrelevant to most. I had never heard of her anyway. My son suggested that I read this book after he read it in high school last year.

Anthem is a look at socialism through a fiction medium. Her books are brilliant and way ahead of their time. If you have read them before read them again with new eyes.

More than anything else, it helps me to know what books a reviewer loves most when deciding on whether or not to spend my time or money on a particular book. Below I have listed some of my 5 or 4½ star books from many different genres:

Anne of Green Gables, The Book Thief, Bossypants, Catch Me if You Can, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, A Christmas Carol, The Clan of the Cave Bear series, The Color Purple, The Davinci Code, A Dog’s Purpose, Emma, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series, A Girl Named Zippy, Glass Castle, Gone with the Wind, The Green Mile, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, The Harry Potter Series, The Help, Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy 1-3, The Hunger Games, To Kill a Mockingbird, Let’s Pretend this Never Happened, Little Women, Mind Hunter, Nineteen Minutes, The Outlander series, Peace like a River, A Prayer for Owen Meany, Pride and Prejudice, Saving Sammy, The Secret life of Bees, Shawshank Redemption, My Sister’s Keeper, Stand by Me, The Stand, The Time Traveler’s Wife, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn...

This was so well narrated - gripping even - that my young children understood the underlying concept of the dangers of "We" and wanted to hear more.

I'm not a follower of Ayn Rand's philosophy, however this small and poignant book has remained with me since I first read it 21 years ago as a sophomore in high school. I've read Atlas Shrugged. I've read The Fountainhead. Much of her work seems plodding and bogged down in tome-like parables of miserable people trying to elevate themselves by finding ways to do miserable things to other miserable people. This is not the case in Anthem. In fact I often wish she'd just left her exploration here.

Like many others, I've felt that for much of the past decade, America has lived under a shroud of darkness and ruled by the politics of fear. The dissenting opinion, so vital to our survival as a species has been stamped out by the boot of like minded individuals who seek to serve the lowest common denominator of our thinking society and elevate mediocrity to the norm. In doing so, the creative spirit has been replaced in our schools with the need to pass tests that serve not to expand knowledge, but to ensure that the knowledge of the many is passed on. All avenues for creative exploration are cut first in an attempt to balance budgets. No Arts. No Humanities. No athletic competition. What will allow our children and our future to have pride in individual accomplishment? Human beings need the opportunity to develop self esteem not through the daily ablutions of sycophantic parents, but through individual achievement.

This is intended to be a review, not a rant. This book is as important and powerful today as it ever was, perhaps more important.

The narration is top notch. If the goal of theatrical elocution is to take the words that are written and speak them as the true words of a living breathing person, Paul Meier succeeds with mastery and aplomb. He inhabits the words as they inhabit his soul, making us feel the narrators spirit and transformation throughout his journey. Bravo Mr. Meier. Bravo!

We read this book years ago, when we found out that the Rush rock opera 2112 was based on this book and loved it.
Listening now many years later, more than 25. We still love it. We won't even go into how politically apt it is now with the election season on us.
I, yes I said it, I, recommend this book to all.

I loved Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead. This one was a real yawner for me, however. I'm sure in its time it was relevant and new. It is a bit dated these days.

Yes

Disliked the rise in the tune of his sentences as they progressed.

No

Anthem is a classic story. I have previously read the book but I must say that the narrator made all the difference in the world. You "felt" every emotion that the main character felt.

I would highly recommend this story and this narrator.

This is a great book. This should be mandatory reading for all Americans. The writing is colorful and passionate, the narrator brought this book to life.Chapter 11 was very dramatic and you could feel the characters pain. It was one of the best audio books I have listened to. Highly recommended.

This is one of the very few books I prefer on audio. Some passages literally took my breath away. Fantastic story, perfect narration.

Bureaucrat or bungling idiot? "We" or "I"? I was rooting for our hero in his quest for happiness...foiled at many turns. Only an idiot would miss the individualist theme of this book.

Absolutely. The voice acting and music are top notch, and really add to the power of this work.