Reviews with content warning for Violence - The Name of the Wind

Kvothe is so Autistic, it's wonderful.

characters who I think are queer:
Bast
Simmons
Probably Kvothe
The Eolian owners, I thought they were hubbies at first

I want to give Kvothe a hug, this poor man has had such a hard time, his retirement plan didn't even work out the way he hoped.

as Patrick Rothfuss has said, the writing can be a tad juvenile at times but it does work since Kvothe is a child throughout this whole book, of course he'd freak out at being in close proximity with a girl.

I like Denna, I don't have much to say about her but I like her.

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amiegold's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

I haven't read a book that affected me this much in years. I picked this up as part of a 'buddy read' for the Currently Reading podcast, and I quickly fell in love. I adored the world, the characters and the way the story was told. We meet Kote, a somewhat failed innkeeper in his mid twenties who seemingly lives in the middle of nowhere with his student Baus. However, Kote is hiding who he really is: the legend, Kvothe. At the request of a chronicler, Kote tells the story of his childhood, and the many different lives he has led. This book has it all: deep interpersonal relationships, a complicated, relatable hero, enemies we all love to hate, magic, music and even dragons. I don't know how I have gone this long without reading this novel.

I actually cried during a musical performance in the middle of the story, just because it was written so beautifully. Though I couldn't wait to know what happened next, I chose not to listen to this book because I wanted to savor the beautiful writing. I loved The Name of the Wind and will definitely be buying a copy for my shelves.

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xjr's review against another edition

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adventurous funny mysterious reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

The writing is fantastic! Has a magical, medieval feel to it. Lots of witty quips and poetry-esque descriptions and thoughts. The song segments were fun too!

I really enjoyed the world building as well. The nods to how language works and interacts + the way rumors became stories with specs of truth was fascinating and imo accurate.

Be warned! This book is part of a series, of which this is the first book. One sequel is available and a side story about a minor character (idk if she becomes more prominent in the 2nd book)

This book focuses on Kvothe's past and why he is the innkeeper he is today. A majority takes place in a frame narrative about the adventure stories told about him. Mostly:

his childhood, his time Tarbean, and his time at university

. Sparsely filled with romance, which imo was the slowest and most repetitive part and could've shaved a dozen pages off of the book. In the latter half I noticed a lot of repetitions. While it makes sense in the story and narrative wise, it's not enjoyable to read to me.

It doesn't work as a standalone book either as it ends with

most mysteries open and a cliffhanger that foreshadows things to come in the second book I assume

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vonny3492's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

This book is one of those books written by a man that sort of just forgot to include women? There is even a line from one of the characters that's like "there's been such a lack of women in this story" and then the story promptly is like what no women? There's ONE woman! With I think complete lack of insight into the irony.

When they get to speak, especially the ONE woman, they aren't totally vapid and one dimensional, but mostly they are plot devices and manic pixie dream girls. You can tell the author is trying and even thinks he's doing a good job being pro-woman but he falls flat.

Frankly there are too many common phrases at the expense of sex workers...

He manages to somehow pull off being a very good writer who's obsessed with his own prose without being totally annoying, which is impressive.

I will say overall I liked the book and thought it was engaging. And I think the author does a good job of sprinkling in the mystery and some fun parallel language use.

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