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John Ketchum's avatar

That's quite an insight about gratitude traps. I may have been a victim of two of them. I had to ask two people to stop giving me gifts on no special occasion because they were making me feel indebted to them, and I couldn't continue to reciprocate.

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John C. A. Manley's avatar

I'm very impressed with Rand's ability to come up with so many characters and tie them altogether with a compelling plot. This sure sounds like a fun one. And I can appreciate the theme of generosity being a trap.

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Angelica Walker-Werth's avatar

She's great both at characterization and at using character interactions to simultaneously advance the plot and enhance the reader's understanding of the characters involved!

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John C. A. Manley's avatar

Yes, I agree. For example, I loved the scene in Atlas Shrugged when Eddie refuses to tell James where Dagney is and told James to send him to prison. That was the moment when Eddie became free, while James sunk into being a completely insane slave to the state.

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