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A review by river_cooke
The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
adventurous
challenging
funny
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Absolutely loved this book. It took a minute to set up its framing device, which at first felt abrupt but quickly came to feel natural as anything, but once we're following the first person narration we are off to the races.
It's everything I want from a story: long enough for the prose and the characters to breathe. Not obsessed with cutting its structure to the barebones and only telling me the essentials. This book luxuriates in its word count, and I wouldn't cut a paragraph, even if, on balance, there is a lot of stuff that can seem tangential if you have the mindset to see stories that way. I love how willing this story is to embrace a little bit of "and then this happened and then this happened" especially with how fun the events are to read about.
We follow Kvothe, who is just a delightful character to read, particularly as an unreliable narrator (less that the account is false, but the presentation; on many occasions, he is faced by problems that are the product of his earlier imprudence or hastiness, and the way the narration engages with this failure to learn lessons is genuinely hilarious). This balances out any allegations of him being unrealistically powerful from the jump; at base, he is a theatre kid who at times gets it in over his head. He is genuinely smart and powerful but often makes blunders that on reflection seem obvious. In truth, the fact that it's a first person narrative and this isn't explicitly litigated makes it very fun to observe, whereas a third person narrative might make this irritating. I can't be irritated by this guy. He's so fun.
The framing device isn't redundant, as it allows for the charming style of an authentic-feeling life story that twists and turns and delays and meanders (which I loved so much) but it also sets up its own tension of how this character got to be an innkeeper, and whether they could go back.
And this is only the surface, there's so many great moments that make this book feel rich with life. The scene where Kvothe plays the lute in front of the eolian is transcendent. The scene where Kvothe does a "malicious compliance" apology for writing a defamatory song is inspired. The prose makes every page of this a joy to indulge in, and I'm glad I did.
It's everything I want from a story: long enough for the prose and the characters to breathe. Not obsessed with cutting its structure to the barebones and only telling me the essentials. This book luxuriates in its word count, and I wouldn't cut a paragraph, even if, on balance, there is a lot of stuff that can seem tangential if you have the mindset to see stories that way. I love how willing this story is to embrace a little bit of "and then this happened and then this happened" especially with how fun the events are to read about.
We follow Kvothe, who is just a delightful character to read, particularly as an unreliable narrator (less that the account is false, but the presentation; on many occasions, he is faced by problems that are the product of his earlier imprudence or hastiness, and the way the narration engages with this failure to learn lessons is genuinely hilarious). This balances out any allegations of him being unrealistically powerful from the jump; at base, he is a theatre kid who at times gets it in over his head. He is genuinely smart and powerful but often makes blunders that on reflection seem obvious. In truth, the fact that it's a first person narrative and this isn't explicitly litigated makes it very fun to observe, whereas a third person narrative might make this irritating. I can't be irritated by this guy. He's so fun.
The framing device isn't redundant, as it allows for the charming style of an authentic-feeling life story that twists and turns and delays and meanders (which I loved so much) but it also sets up its own tension of how this character got to be an innkeeper, and whether they could go back.
And this is only the surface, there's so many great moments that make this book feel rich with life. The scene where Kvothe plays the lute in front of the eolian is transcendent. The scene where Kvothe does a "malicious compliance" apology for writing a defamatory song is inspired. The prose makes every page of this a joy to indulge in, and I'm glad I did.