We the Living

This is a philosophical book from the Russian-born novelist Ayn Rand, an author interested in the concept of ''enlightened self-interest''.

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.

Of this book, Ayn Rand said, ''it is as near to an autobiography as I will ever write. The plot is invented, the background is not. I was born in Russia, I was educated under the Soviets; I have seen the conditions of existence that I describe. The specific events of Kira's life were not mine; her ideas, her convictions, her values were and are.''

For those who found Ayn Rand's blockbuster Atlas Shrugged a powerful voice raised in defense of the individual, this book continues the theme of an individual's right to the pursuit of his or her own happiness. We the Livingis not a story of politics but of the men and women who have to struggle for existence behind the banners and slogans.