Ideal Hardcover – July 7, 2015

“Ideal” by Ayn Rand Book ReviewBy Thomas M. Miovas, Jr.07/26/2015“Ideal” is a novel about a young, idealistic, and beautiful actress -- Kay Gonda -- who is troubled by the state of the world as she attempts to present the ideal in life on the silver screen – that life can be auspicious, grand; well worth living. She has achieved a great success and has millions of adoring fans; but on the night rumors are spread that she has murdered a millionaire, the last man she was seen with, she decides to visit several fans who have written her unusually perceptive fan letters stating that they know of her ideal and would defend that ideal to the end of their lives. As she goes to meet them, the reader is permitted to read the letters they had written her. Along with very accurate and telling character sketches, one gets to see how they will take the fact that she is asking for protection from the authorities on the night of the accusation. Will they defend and protect the ideals they have identified, even if only vaguely; or will they betray it in the presence of she who fully embodies that ideal? This is the issue raised by “Ideal;” and the reactions of her fans is poignant and revealing of who they really are, each in turn, as they consider the issues in her presence.Is “Ideal” a tragedy or a triumph?You'd have to read the novel to understand the answer to that question.

This is a most interesting volume. Any Rand began by writing a novel, then decided that the story would be best presented as a play. Both are presented here. It is a most interesting study that should be studied by anyone interested in writing development. It is most welcome that this lost novel/play has been discovered and published. I highly recommend it!

Worry and skepticism usually accompany the publication of long buried manuscripts by famous authors. For example, Harper Lee’s Go Set a Watchman is currently being pounded by waves of disappointment from her many fans. That might also happen to Ideal, written in 1934 and quickly superseded by a stage version of the same story, the script for which is included in the book. Readers may expect (and desire) an early statement of Rand’s hyperindividualistic beliefs. If so, they are going to be disappointed. This is a Hollywood novel, securely connected to time and place.Rand’s great accomplishment here is putting together the two sides of the Hollywood novel in one coherent piece of fiction. In the first chapter readers receive a glimpse of a film studio and its most important personages. In the rest of the novel Rand turns her attention to the consumers of what the studios produce. In particular, she focuses on those who imagine a personal connection with the actors they see on the movie screen. Although Kay is the main character of the novel, the narrator stays out of her mind. Even when she’s in a scene, readers learn about her only through her words and actions. Although she brings up serious issues about personal identity and the movie business, Rand wants to avoid overwhelming her audience. The novel is short, employs a straightforward writing style, and avoids any sort of ideological argument. Whatever aficionados of her later work may think, fans of the Hollywood novel are likely to enjoy what Rand has offered them here.

Okay, this is Ayn Rand's earliest novel, unpublished until recently, and the play she re-wrote with the same general theme.While not as great as her later works, particularly Atlas Shrugged, this already shows the power in her writing. Her writing of a perfect man and the woman who idealizes that perfection. Her later character of Dominique Francon could be Kay Gonda in an earlier version. The description of Johnnie Dawes' garret could be John Galt's garret.All in all, glad that I had the opportunity to experience Ayn Rand's writing again. For anyone who loves the writing of Rand, it is worth reading. The difference in the novel and the play shows her versatility, too.Who is John Galt?

This book was not at all what I anticipated -- more of a sampler than a novel. The introduction was just too long and too detailed for a novice reader of Ayn Rand. Suffice it to say, she wrote a book, did not like it as a book, and rewrote it as a play. The introduction went into copious rambling detail on how the two literary forms differ. Then this volume first presents the book as "AR" wrote it, then the script for the play. In hind sight, I like the concept a lot. In practice, the book was a series of very well written vignettes, that I was sorry ended so soon. The script was so full of detailed stage direction it was distracting to try to read. What my mind's eye was seeing did not always jive with how scenes and people were described. My conclusion was AR wanted a very specific product that a third writing may have produced a fabulously written novel. As it was, I am very intrigued with her writing style and do want to read a book she was actually satisfied that she had finished. PS as for the violence and sexual content, it was only in one scene, and more inferred than vividly described -- in the book it was more obvious than in the play.

Ayn Rand was a prominent philosopher who used fiction to transmit her ideas. This is one of her lesser works, but a well-written tome well worth your time and effort to read. There are places where those who have read The Fountainhead and / or Atlas Shrugged will be able to anticipate the direction of the novel, but that is not harmful or detrimental to Ideal in any way.