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lexquiv's review
I don’t know how to rate this book. I enjoyed reading it but it is strange, strange, strange.
_cecilie_'s review
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
Well, at least the title is beautiful? No, don’t worry, of course my review will be longer than that, as if I could ever be content with writing as little as that. Also, I do have some actual point to make or rather questions to ask.
‘The Slow Regard of Silent Things’, again, what a nice title and in all honesty I love slowly regarding, I love silent things and I do love slowly regarding things that are silent, so I feel that I should be into whatever is going on here. Except when the author tells me in the introduction that I’m probably not the target audience and should not read this unless I qualify for points 1, 2 and 3. Hm, not the best selling method and also, do I smell some non-valid excuses? This is to say, it does not bode well for a book whose author feels he has to dissuade his readers before they even started it. And this foreboding is immediately confirmed when I find myself, as a connoisseur and lover of the ‘unhinged women alone in strange godforsaken places’ motif, left bewildered and annoyed the next hundred-and-something pages at the ‘manic-pixie-dream-girl-ness’ of it all.
Rothfuss was right, this is not for me, not because this is about a young woman doing mundane but slightly spooky stuff, I love that shit, that was the best part of it. No, it was mostly Auri’s characterization than made me pause and frankly rubbed me the wrong way… I may not know everything there is to know about her or Rothfuss’ other female characters but I would have preferred to read this from her perspective instead of the author’s voice that is both omniscient and obviously male. I really didn’t need to hear how slender and thin and white and naked and graceful and quirky and lovable she was every two seconds. Especially the bodily descriptions felt odd to me because I’m fairly sure that no woman would actually describe herself in that way in these types of situations. They weren’t overtly sexual but objectifying enough that they made me uncomfortable, especially because Auri is so childlike in both body and mind. Yes, being a lovable weirdo is fine but she’s written like a childish imbecile half of the time. Her absolute obsession with the deified main character of the other books (‘HIM’, ugh, uncomfy) didn’t help either. I don’t know, all in all it was okay but strange (in a bad way).
‘The Slow Regard of Silent Things’, again, what a nice title and in all honesty I love slowly regarding, I love silent things and I do love slowly regarding things that are silent, so I feel that I should be into whatever is going on here. Except when the author tells me in the introduction that I’m probably not the target audience and should not read this unless I qualify for points 1, 2 and 3. Hm, not the best selling method and also, do I smell some non-valid excuses? This is to say, it does not bode well for a book whose author feels he has to dissuade his readers before they even started it. And this foreboding is immediately confirmed when I find myself, as a connoisseur and lover of the ‘unhinged women alone in strange godforsaken places’ motif, left bewildered and annoyed the next hundred-and-something pages at the ‘manic-pixie-dream-girl-ness’ of it all.
Rothfuss was right, this is not for me, not because this is about a young woman doing mundane but slightly spooky stuff, I love that shit, that was the best part of it. No, it was mostly Auri’s characterization than made me pause and frankly rubbed me the wrong way… I may not know everything there is to know about her or Rothfuss’ other female characters but I would have preferred to read this from her perspective instead of the author’s voice that is both omniscient and obviously male. I really didn’t need to hear how slender and thin and white and naked and graceful and quirky and lovable she was every two seconds. Especially the bodily descriptions felt odd to me because I’m fairly sure that no woman would actually describe herself in that way in these types of situations. They weren’t overtly sexual but objectifying enough that they made me uncomfortable, especially because Auri is so childlike in both body and mind. Yes, being a lovable weirdo is fine but she’s written like a childish imbecile half of the time. Her absolute obsession with the deified main character of the other books (‘HIM’, ugh, uncomfy) didn’t help either. I don’t know, all in all it was okay but strange (in a bad way).
yohanab's review
2.0
I was excited when I picked up this book. But I cannot say that I liked it. It is very nice to see some wired impersonations and metaphorically talking to random objects by both Auri and Kvothe in WMF and NTW. But a whole book of it with no character interactions and only a girl running here and there?. But I can see people liking this, and even some part of me admired it.
nbpamies's review against another edition
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
devonforest's review
4.0
I don’t know how to describe this book except different. I enjoyed it, plus it was a quick read, but I’m not quite sure I can figure out how to put my thoughts into words…
aceinit's review
3.0
On one hand, ye gods, this novella is beautifully written. Beautifully. Masterfully. Mesmerisingly. A lot of other fancy and flighty and wistful and often alliterative words that Auri is much better at finding and arranging than I am.
On the other hand, the bulk of the story is nothing more than Auri finding and rearranging things, assigning them quirks and personality traits, and then rearranging them again to ensure everything is in its proper place. And then doing it again. And again.
And though Auri and her journeys are written with the kind of superb eloquence and characterization most writers would sacrifice body parts for, the truth of the matter is that, after the first 90 minutes or so of listening to the audio version, it started to sound like the universe’s most well-written account of OCD.
Though it is obvious that Auri holds all of her treasures dear to her heart and considers it her duty to ensure their happiness, watching her go back and forth, back and forth, doing her daily chores (which are admittedly much more interesting than “I got up, I took a shower, I brushed my teeth, I got in my car, I went to work, I played solitaire, I worked on the word processor, etc etc until the entire day is recounted), what we are getting here is a 100+ page chronicle of Auri’s daily routine that grows repetitive and frustrating as the pages keep turning. After a while, even her own reminders that she must not force her will on things, and that something is willful or stubborn or happy or restless have a ring of “been there done that... at least twice already now.”
So, in truth, I’m at a bit of a loss for how to rate it. Rothfuss is a master with words, yes, but a masterfully-written step-by-step recount of someone’s day is still a step-by-step recount of someone’s day, and what the story has in characterization and imagination, it loses due to the repetitive feel of its content.
On the other hand, the bulk of the story is nothing more than Auri finding and rearranging things, assigning them quirks and personality traits, and then rearranging them again to ensure everything is in its proper place. And then doing it again. And again.
And though Auri and her journeys are written with the kind of superb eloquence and characterization most writers would sacrifice body parts for, the truth of the matter is that, after the first 90 minutes or so of listening to the audio version, it started to sound like the universe’s most well-written account of OCD.
Though it is obvious that Auri holds all of her treasures dear to her heart and considers it her duty to ensure their happiness, watching her go back and forth, back and forth, doing her daily chores (which are admittedly much more interesting than “I got up, I took a shower, I brushed my teeth, I got in my car, I went to work, I played solitaire, I worked on the word processor, etc etc until the entire day is recounted), what we are getting here is a 100+ page chronicle of Auri’s daily routine that grows repetitive and frustrating as the pages keep turning. After a while, even her own reminders that she must not force her will on things, and that something is willful or stubborn or happy or restless have a ring of “been there done that... at least twice already now.”
So, in truth, I’m at a bit of a loss for how to rate it. Rothfuss is a master with words, yes, but a masterfully-written step-by-step recount of someone’s day is still a step-by-step recount of someone’s day, and what the story has in characterization and imagination, it loses due to the repetitive feel of its content.
guykat's review
2.0
At its best, it inspires curiosity about the world in which it exist and is wonderfully imaginative, but at most times "The Slow Regard of Silent Things" is an odd, uninteresting exercise in creative writing, that simply could not interest me as a reader and a Rothfuss fan.