Miscellaneous is the tagline to store random posts that don’t really belong elsewhere. They may involve tags, awards, challenges, and other book blogging nonsense.

What’s Miscellaneous Today?
Nostalgic Book Review Tag —
Anthem by Ayn Rand

The Nostalgic Book Review Tag was created by CW @ Read, Think, Ponder with the premise of reviewing a book you’ve read three or more years ago. Fun or not, it’s a trip down memory lane!

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Part 1: The Summary

First, tell us a little bit about this book, and approximately when you read it. Write a summary (brief, long, anything you like!) of the book you are reviewing.

I’m going to haphazardly review Anthem by Ayn Rand. It was one of two books I chose to write about for my English independent studies essay back in high school. (The other book being Atwood’s Oryx and Crake.) My argument looked at collective [societal] influences as a limitation to individuality…or some shit like that. Because let’s be real: utopian/dystopian essays seemed to be the easiest to word vomit about; especially true when that’s where your primary reading interests began.

Plot:

I remember there being a light bulb and the protagonist being fascinated by it? I don’t remember the dudes specific state-assigned role but I remember his escapades into the darkness to learn and question. It was a lot of back-hand “subtle defiance” throughout the book with a romance founded on stolen glances since they didn’t “know” what those feelings were.

… I forget what else happens.

Characters:

Honestly, this is difficult to remember because they had the most holistic-yet-philosophical names and there were tagged by numerical identification.

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Part 2: My Thoughts

Share your thoughts on your chosen book. Reflect and talk about what you thought of the book back then.

I remember I liked it due to its short-length. I think that was it. I wasn’t enamored by reading academically when I was younger (although there are exceptions)–not when you had to write a full blown essay out of it.

I [think] a part of me went with Rand’s book because I learned about her in Philosophy class. So her schools of thought wasn’t something completely out of left field (not that I remember what she stood for now…). But if I read it now, I would definitely be more hypercritical toward the themes it attacks. As one does.

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Part 3: The Epilogue

Here’s the fun part: now you can look up a summary of the book – find all those names that you couldn’t remember, those plot points that seemed pretty important – and all those things you might have forgotten. Don’t go back and edit the summary from the first part!

Synopsis courtesy of Goodreads:

In Anthem, Rand examines a frightening future in which individuals have no name, no independence, and no values. Equality 7-2521 lives in the dark ages of the future where all decisions are made by committee, all people live in collectives, and all traces of individualism have been wiped out. Despite such a restrictive environment, the spark of individual thought and freedom still burns in him–a passion which he has been taught to call sinful. In a purely egalitarian world, Equality 7-2521 dares to stand apart from the herd–to think and choose for himself, to discover electricity, and to love the woman of his choice. Now he has been marked for death for committing the ultimate sin. In a world where the great “we” reign supreme, he has rediscovered the lost and holy word–“I.”

It’s the little details that I don’t specifically remember. I think the reason why recalled the light bulb (and not electricity specifically) was the cover [above]. It’s the copy that I bought for myself. But seriously, Google tells me character names are: Equality 7-2521,  Union 5-3992, International 4-8818, and Liberty 5-3000. WHO THE HECK WOULD REMEMBER THOSE?

In the end, Anthem isn’t a title that I would put on my favourites shelf despite the story having nostalgic value as being one I slaved over for weeks trying to dissect into academic writing. Utterly tedious.

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Get Tagged:

Aentee @ Read At Midnight
Amy @ Book Enthral
Analee @ Book Snacks
Anette @ Anette Reads
Ashley @ What’s She Reading?
Ashley @ Socially Awkward Bookworm
Cristina @ My Tiny Obsessions
Deanna @ A Novel Glimpse
Erika @ Erika in Bookventureland
Giselle @ Hardwork Boulevard
Jasmine @ Jasmine Pearl Reads
JM Cabral @ Revelations of a Book Freak
Kira @ Fieitty Reads
Lara @ Katniss Potter Book Lover
Lia @ Book Land
Liam @ Liam’s Library
Marie – Drizzle and Hurricane Books
Nick @ The Paper Dragon
Nicolette Elzie @ Nicolette Elzie
Nya @ Nya Reads
Rachana @ Addicted To Young Adult Fiction
RJ @ Heir of Ravenclaw
Shelbie @ Lu-Lu’s Rants and Reads
Trisha-Ann @ The Book-gasm Blog
Wesaun @ Oreo and Books

…and you if you would like to do it!

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Afterthoughts:

Memory is a liar.

Cheers,
Joey

connect: afterthoughtAn // twitter  |  anotherafterthought // goodreads