We the Living

We the Living is the 1936 debut novel of Russian-American novelist Ayn Rand. Set in post-revolution Russia, it is a heavily autobiographical tale focusing on Kira Argounova, the young daughter of a bourgeois family whose comfortable existence is thrown into turmoil when the revolution strips them of their wealth and forces them into a struggle for survival. Like many of Rand’s novels, its primary theme is anti-communism and the way communism suppresses achievement. It also explores themes of family and the endurance of the human spirit. Although it is not one of Rand’s best-known novels, it received overall positive reviews upon its release and was praised for its detailed depiction of Soviet politics, although reception varied widely based on the political sympathies of the reviewer. It was revised for a 1957 re-release after Rand became a successful author, and has been reissued six times, most recently in 2011, and has sold over three million copies. It was adapted into a short-lived play titled The Unconquered in 1940, and a 1942 Italian film adaptation soon followed.

We The Living takes place from 1922 to 1925 in post-revolution Russia. It begins as Kira Argounova is living a comfortable life as the younger daughter of a well-off family. A free-spirited and willful girl, she is resistant to being confined to a mold or told what to do. However, the family is soon sent into exile by the Bolsheviks, and return to their home in Petrograd to find that the family’s textile factory has been seized and nationalized. Their hopes of regaining their properties have been dashed by the rise of the Red Army, and they’re forced to seek other forms of livelihood. Their home has also been taken and converted to barracks for multiple families. They eventually find living quarters, and Kira’s father gets a license to operate a textile shop. However, this is a mere shadow of their past success, and life in Russia is difficult. There are long lines for basic goods, and the exhausted citizens struggle to make ends meet. Kira manages to get her Labor Book, a license that allows her to study and work. She goes to the Technological Institute, where she pursues her dream of becoming an engineer. This is where she meets Andrei Taganov, a fellow student and loyal party member who is an officer in the secret police. The two become friends despite their deeply differing political beliefs.

By chance, Kira runs into Leo Kovalensky, a handsome man with a spirit that reminds her of her own. She falls in love in a hurry and throws herself at Leo, inappropriately propositioning him and leading him to believe she’s a prostitute. However, he’s also strongly attracted to her and promises her that they’ll meet again. Kira and Leo find a strong bond in their mutual desperation to escape their current lives and their beliefs that put them at risk of being branded enemies of the state. They meet several more times, where they talk about how desperate they are to escape Russia, and they make a plan to escape the country together. However, their escape doesn’t go well and they’re caught. They’re only able to escape imprisonment with the help of an official who knew Leo’s father. Kira decides to move out of her parents’ apartment and into Leo’s, but their lives are upended when the state decides to expel any student from a bourgeois background. Kira also loses her job, and the constant hardships cause Leo and Kira’s relationship to deteriorate. Kira is determined to keep her beliefs alive and not be beaten down, but Leo begins to lose faith and sink into indifference and depression. He becomes sick from tuberculosis and is sent to a sanatorium, and Kira struggles to pay for his treatment after the state refuses to support him.

While Leo recovers, Kira finds that her relationship with Andrei is evolving. Despite their political differences, she finds that she can talk openly with him like she can with no one else. His affection and respect for her slowly evolves into love, and one day he confesses his love for her. She’s upset, but also desperate for help. She pretends to love him and becomes his mistress, and uses his money to fund Leo’s treatment. Leo is eventually cured and returns home, but he’s a very different man. He opens a food store, but this is secretly a front for the black market. Andrei, who is staunchly opposed to corruption, investigates the store and arrests Leo. This is when he discovers that Kira has been living with Leo. Devastated, he covertly allows for Leo’s release and then kills himself. Kira grieves for him and wonders if she played a role in his death. Leo has given up on any sense of morality, and leaves Kira, taking work as a gigolo. Having lost everyone, Kira makes a final attempt to escape Russia. She is almost in sight of the border when a guard shoots her, killing her.

Ayn Rand, born Alisa Zinov’yevna Rosenbaum, was a Russian-American novelist, philosopher, playwright, screenwriter, and political activist best known for her bestselling novels The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged. She is considered the founder of the philosophical system Objectivism. A controversial figure, she remains popular and widely debated to this day.