(At 40%) The theme seems to be the superiority of reason over faith, but the characters representing religion are caricatures. At one point, a priest tells the main character, "Remember the whole idea of faith, Trent: Let go of reason and give in to God's higher plan." And then, "Think of Jesus. You need to learn how to sacrifice your own desires in order to do something that will help others." As I grew up in a Catholic family and went to Catholic schools for twelve years, I know that the church is not this crude or transparent. They are much more subtle and vague, and actually pretend that faith and reason can co-exist. Perhaps by growing up in a staunchly atheist home (her father is Objectivist Leonard Piekoff), Ms. Piekoff doesn't realize that all of her religious characters don't ring true. But so far, it is a big stumbling block for me as a reader.
(At 70%) At almost three-quarters of the way through, I'm seeing that Living Proof borrows quite a bit from Atlas Shrugged. Since Atlas Shrugged is one of my favorite books, this might seem a good thing. However, Living Proof doesn't have characters or a plot to match Ayn Rand's classic, so when scenes are borrowed, it detracts from the book. One example is when Arianna and Sam overcome a major obstacle before government forces can stop them. Arianna expresses that it seems silly that they feared the government forces and that they never really had to worry about them, which is how Atlas Shrugged ended with Dagney saying the same thing to John Galt. I still experience a sense of awe in remembering that final scene from Atlas Shrugged, while I don't feel anything when Arianna says the same sentiment in Living Proof.
Another problem I've noticed in Living Proof is that Ms. Piekoff breaks Ayn Rand's first rule of plot: make things as difficult as possible for the characters. This was certainly true in Atlas Shrugged, when my heart ached for the characters at times. In Living Proof, the bad guys could have been more effective adversaries. Instead Ms. Piekoff uses Arianna's progressing multiple sclerosis as a plot devise, which is not as effective as other characters acting against her.
(100%) Well, I finished it and nothing from the resolution/climax changed my views on the book. The ending was somewhat melodramatic in my view. And the unrequited love angle between two people with a father-daughter relationship came out of nowhere and was somewhat weird.
Overall, Living Proof is a good first effort, but I'm surprised it was published. But it was and has quite a few reviews on amazon.com, so that shows you what I know. On a personal note, I feel kind of bad giving this book a poor review because any book by an Objectivist has to live up to the incredibly high standard set by Ayn Rand. On the other hand, any fan of Ayn Rand should hold themselves to a high standard and keep working hard to attain it.
