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We the Living

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About this listen

 We the Living portrays the impact of the Russian Revolution on three people who demand the right to live their own lives. At its center is a girl whose passionate love is her fortress against the cruelty and oppression of a totalitarian state. Rand said of this book: "It is as near to an autobiography as I will ever write."©1936 Ayn Rand (P)1991 Blackstone Audio, Inc. Classics Russia Soviet Union Socialism
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The work is a masterpiece in its own right - I think the proper order to read Rands works should be to start with We The Living and end on Atlas Shrugged.

We The Living

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A well performed reading of “We The Living” a debut novel which pales in comparison with Rand’s later reiterations of the same themes.

Schematic early work from this writer

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You don’t have to buy into Rand’s philosophy to enjoy this book. An engaging story and interesting portrait of the decay of Bolshevism in the 1920s. Excellent narration – although I can imagine that some may not take to the voice (so listen to the audio sample).

Petrograd smelt of carbolic acid

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Nothing can demonstrate the grandeur of life so much as it's struggle against servitude. We the living tells the story of Kira, a shining light that refuses to be put out by the suffocating invasions of every aspects of one's life perpetrated by communism. More so than in Rand's other novels, we the living managed to tell this story in a complex, human, and subtle way. Long and overly repetitive lip service to her philosophy is substituted by a gripping narrative punctuated by terse insights into the Soviet union. Put down 1984, whose villains are too obviously evil, and pick up We The Living, which will show you how evil never presents itself as such.

Rand's best novel

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This is my third venture into this novel. I've read, watched and now listened. The story of Kira during this part of history seems even more familiar by the current worlds attitude to societies. Collectives over individuals, they cry. Social justice and progressive policies are whats needed, they demand. These concepts are not new. This novel is an echo from the past. A history that could easily repeat itself.

Disturbingly familiar...

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