The Book Of Ayn

''The Book of Ayn'' is a novel by Australian writer Lexi Freiman. It was published by Catapult in November 2023.

Plot

The novel's main character, Anna, is a 39-year-old novelist who is cancelled after she writes a satirical novel about the opioid epidemic in the United States. She finds solace in the individualist egoism of Ayn Rand. In an attempt to emulate Rand, who worked for several years as a screenwriter, Anna moves to Los Angeles and attempts to write a television sitcom featuring an animal character named "Ayn Ram". After falling behind on her TV writing and becoming addicted to Adderall, Anna abandons Rand's ideas. She goes to a Greek commune, where she attempts to experience ego death.

Reception

In a review for ''The New Yorker'', Katy Waldman compares ''The Book of Ayn'' to the earlier novel ''Two Girls, Fat and Thin'' by Mary Gaitskill, which focuses on a woman who follows a Rand-like character. Waldman says that both novels "mock their characters, but they also argue that egoism can be nourishing and even generative". In ''The Washington Post'', Maddie Crum praises Freiman's skill for writing comedy. In the ''Los Angeles Times'', Ryan Chapman calls the book "one of the funniest and unruliest novels in ages". The novel was also reviewed in ''Kirkus Reviews'', ''The New Republic'', ''The New York Times'', and ''The Wall Street Journal''.

References

External links

Excerpt
published in '' Joyland''

Interview with Freiman
about the novel, by Christopher Bollen in ''Interview'' magazine

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2023 Australian novels
Australian satirical novels