Take a photo of a barcode or cover
A review by my_corner_of_the_library
The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Oh how I enjoyed this book...Is it perfect? No. Will it be one of my all time favorites? Not now, but, depending on the sequel, maybe.
If I could sum up my feelings on this book in one word it would be: comforting. That probably seems like a very weird word for this book, but I'll explain. While I have a love for books, reading, and stories, I often run into a problem where I am eager to get to the end of a book. Not because I'm not enjoying a book, but because the excitement of something new is greater than my illusionment and investment in my current read. However, I didn't experience that with this book, for the first time in a long time.
I found myself not caring at the slow pace of the book or how it meandered (for the most part), I didn't care how long it was. I was simply enjoying my time in the world and spending time with Kvothe, which is something I have experienced in such a long time. It made me not care about the flaws. It made me not care about where the story was going, and instead I was cradled in the arms of this story and gently carried along.
While I can understand where people come from in calling Kvothe a Gary Sue, I personally just don't agree. Kvothe was humble in so many ways while telling this story and frequently screwed up, sometimes severely (Personally I think getting whipped counts as consequences for his actions, but that's just me). The biggest difference I see between him and other characters I've seen is that he doesn't dwell on these mistakes, and instead moves on or finds creative ways to solve them.
Is he overly gifted at soo many things? Yeah, he was. But I think...that's the point? In the "present day" Kvothe is described as not only being a complete legend to the point of myth, but he isn't very old. In his mid to late 20's if I remember correctly. I don't see how he could become that by his age if he wasn't a highly gifted and intelligent kid. I don't see him as inflating himself, I just see someone telling it honestly without apology for their own skill.
Let's talk about a couple things I didn't like that kept this from being a 5 star read for me.
**WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD!!***
The University
I really enjoyed the setting of the university, but I was really REALLY hoping that once we got there we would get to experience classes and the university with Kvothe, and instead we focused on everything that happened outside and around the university. We spent so much time watching Kvothe get and lose money, and chasing Denna that we hardly saw any of the schooling or magic he was learning. As much as I enjoyed spending time with Kvothe, I would have given anything if we could have given some of those pages to his actual lessons, which sounded SO fascinating.
Kvothe's Money Management
Ok, this is more of a gripe than an actual critique, but it has to be said. Kvothe is SO bad at managing his money. He had this debt that he was constantly worried about being able to pay back AND YET every time he would come into a significant amount of money he would go off and spend it on ANYTHING else. That first time he was super comfortable in his money after earning his talent pipes he could have gotten a modest room and job and then go pay off his debts. Instead, he finds a room at the most expensive place in town and spends the money on anything else and doesn't pay back his debts. So many times he would get money and I would THINK he was going to settle this thing he is constantly thinking about and instead he went to the bar and bought drinks until he was broke.
The Dracuss
This is probably the only subplot that I really didn't care for. Not that there was ultimately anything wrong with it, but it felt completely pointless. I understand that Kvothe had to go to Trebon to check out the wedding and see if it really was the work of the Chandrian. I get that, I really do, and I really enjoyed that. BUT THEN, we went on this weird side quest with Denna and it ended up having no bearing on the rest of the story at all. It felt like the only part of this book that wasn't completely thought through and may have just been thrown in to fill pages. I feel like this whole side quest with the dracuss and Denna could have been cut from the book completely with no consequence.
Denna
Plain and simple I didn't like Denna. I know she's sticking around for a long time, but I don't like her. I get the feeling that there's something fishy about her. Too much of what Rothfuss wrote was too intentional for Denna to so conveniently show up at the worst moments and in the thick of things over and over again.
If I could sum up my feelings on this book in one word it would be: comforting. That probably seems like a very weird word for this book, but I'll explain. While I have a love for books, reading, and stories, I often run into a problem where I am eager to get to the end of a book. Not because I'm not enjoying a book, but because the excitement of something new is greater than my illusionment and investment in my current read. However, I didn't experience that with this book, for the first time in a long time.
I found myself not caring at the slow pace of the book or how it meandered (for the most part), I didn't care how long it was. I was simply enjoying my time in the world and spending time with Kvothe, which is something I have experienced in such a long time. It made me not care about the flaws. It made me not care about where the story was going, and instead I was cradled in the arms of this story and gently carried along.
While I can understand where people come from in calling Kvothe a Gary Sue, I personally just don't agree. Kvothe was humble in so many ways while telling this story and frequently screwed up, sometimes severely (Personally I think getting whipped counts as consequences for his actions, but that's just me). The biggest difference I see between him and other characters I've seen is that he doesn't dwell on these mistakes, and instead moves on or finds creative ways to solve them.
Is he overly gifted at soo many things? Yeah, he was. But I think...that's the point? In the "present day" Kvothe is described as not only being a complete legend to the point of myth, but he isn't very old. In his mid to late 20's if I remember correctly. I don't see how he could become that by his age if he wasn't a highly gifted and intelligent kid. I don't see him as inflating himself, I just see someone telling it honestly without apology for their own skill.
Let's talk about a couple things I didn't like that kept this from being a 5 star read for me.
**WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD!!***
The University
I really enjoyed the setting of the university, but I was really REALLY hoping that once we got there we would get to experience classes and the university with Kvothe, and instead we focused on everything that happened outside and around the university. We spent so much time watching Kvothe get and lose money, and chasing Denna that we hardly saw any of the schooling or magic he was learning. As much as I enjoyed spending time with Kvothe, I would have given anything if we could have given some of those pages to his actual lessons, which sounded SO fascinating.
Kvothe's Money Management
Ok, this is more of a gripe than an actual critique, but it has to be said. Kvothe is SO bad at managing his money. He had this debt that he was constantly worried about being able to pay back AND YET every time he would come into a significant amount of money he would go off and spend it on ANYTHING else. That first time he was super comfortable in his money after earning his talent pipes he could have gotten a modest room and job and then go pay off his debts. Instead, he finds a room at the most expensive place in town and spends the money on anything else and doesn't pay back his debts. So many times he would get money and I would THINK he was going to settle this thing he is constantly thinking about and instead he went to the bar and bought drinks until he was broke.
The Dracuss
This is probably the only subplot that I really didn't care for. Not that there was ultimately anything wrong with it, but it felt completely pointless. I understand that Kvothe had to go to Trebon to check out the wedding and see if it really was the work of the Chandrian. I get that, I really do, and I really enjoyed that. BUT THEN, we went on this weird side quest with Denna and it ended up having no bearing on the rest of the story at all. It felt like the only part of this book that wasn't completely thought through and may have just been thrown in to fill pages. I feel like this whole side quest with the dracuss and Denna could have been cut from the book completely with no consequence.
Denna
Plain and simple I didn't like Denna. I know she's sticking around for a long time, but I don't like her. I get the feeling that there's something fishy about her. Too much of what Rothfuss wrote was too intentional for Denna to so conveniently show up at the worst moments and in the thick of things over and over again.