read this book back in 04 highschool, took me long enough to write a review. Cool concept

When I was assigned to read this book for school, I wasn't sure what to expect since I'd heard mixed reviews for 'The Fountainhead', which is also by Ayn Rand. However, the first line of 'Anthem' immediately gripped my attention and pulled me in .

"It is a sin to write this," it said, and obviously I wanted to know why.

Though the book itself is pretty short, I found myself becoming close to the protagonist of the story. His journey in discovering freewill and individuality was inspirational to me, and I wanted him to succeed in his plans at the end of the novel. The world created by Rand was also a great part of the story, for it really allows a person to appreciate not only their own uniqueness, but that of everyone else. How boring a world we would live in if everyone thought exactly the same.

Overall, I viewed 'Anthem' to be a story of hope, love, and self discovery that was extremely well written.

Though I do not agree completely on Ayn Rand's point of vue, the story itself is captivating and very, very interesting! I simply couldn't put the book down. All and all, this is a very good read.

As one of her earliest works, Rand has not quite honed her skill as a writer in Anthem. Her philosophy, however, is still as mind-blowing and thought provoking as in her more recognized works, The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged. I recomment reading these two first. It is better to first become hooked to Rand and understand her philosophy before venturing into this book.
This is a shorter work which makes it fairly easy to read as it has fewer long speeches as her other works. Her characters are still easy to relate to and fall in love with (or hate).