We the Living by Ayn Rand

"The Fountainhead" by Ayn Rand was one of my all time favorite books growing up, I read it in highschool and I haven't read it since, but I can't help but think it would still remain one of my favorites.  So I decided to read another book by Ayn Rand as she really was an amazingly brilliant author.

"We the Living" is based during the Russian Revolution, it's a story that follows three young Russians through there struggles.  I don't want to give to much away about the book so I won't get to much into the story.  But I will say that Ayn Rand really has a way of drawing you in and making you really care about the characters.  I loved Kira most of the time, though I really couldn't always understand her choices (I realized she had to do what she had to do sometimes, but I don't think I could ever have lived with her choices personally). I hated Leo and the way he lived his life and treated others.  Most of the time I felt pretty bad for Andrei but then sometimes I would feel not at all bad for him at the exact same time.   The story is not completely about the politics of the time (though they do come up from time to time), but it is really about the people that were trying to survive. I really did enjoy the book and would recommend it to any older teen or adult.  There is some sexual content so I wouldn't personally recommend it to younger teens. 

Having grown up in the USA I often forget how easy we have it compared to most parts of the world.  I read this book thinking this is from a long time ago and things are better now.  But it's good to remember that there are so many parts of the world where people and struggling and don't have the freedoms that we enjoy every day.  Praise the lord for the men and women that risk their lives every day to make the USA such a wonderful place to live.  Thank you to each and every one of you!