Honest question: Is there any literary merit to Atlas Shrugged as a book, its message aside? [View all]

[Tommy_Carcetti]

I'll confess I've never read it, was never assigned to read it, and frankly haven't had much of an interest in spending much time reading it when there are other things I could be reading.

I have read basic plot summaries so I have a general idea what goes on the book, but that itself hasn't sold my interest either.

I'm just curious because every once in a while I'll hear people here and there rave about it, or see someone reading it, and I have to wonder if one places aside Rand's actual message, if there's some sort of literary merit to the form of the book itself, or is it all just a giant slog?

The thing is, there are examples of works of art that are odious in terms of their content, but have been notable in their presentation if one could manage to objectively set aside the unavoidable prejudices that come with the work.

For example, "Birth of a Nation" cast a favorable, sympathetic and heroic light upon the Ku Klux Klan. That being said, it was considered some groundbreaking filmmaking techniques not seen before in Hollywood.

And Leni Risfensthal's works--most notably "Triumph of the Will--are widely considered to have incorporated some of the most innovative works of cinematography that would have been lauded if not for the fact that the subject matter of her films were Hitler, Nazi imagery and evidence of some of the most disturbing acts of cult of personality in human history.

So--as someone not intimately familiar with Atlas Shrugged or any of Rand's works--is there anything that can gleaned of it strictly for its artistic merit, message aside, or is it all a flaming bag of poo both inside and out? From what I've read about it, I know it features a 70 page soliloquy from John Galt, which has me firmly leaning in the flaming bag of poo department.