The Paris Review, Jordan Castro: “The Abysmal Scum!”: On Not Reading Ayn Rand

A few months ago, as a result of the strange, hazy possession that occurs while sitting in front of the laptop screen, I “found myself”—a phrase I’ve disliked ever since I read a tweet by Elisa Gabbert pointing out its imprecision (although in this case it’s appropriate)—staring at Ayn Rand’s marginalia in C. S. Lewis’s The Abolition of Man.

Personal essays remain my favorite form of literature for what they reveal about us and others and life and everything else. This one is short and fun.