Book Review; The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
Read: 15/05 - 21/05Format: AudiobookSpoiler free: NoMy rating: ★★★★½
I thoroughly loved reading this book, my physical copy was a gift and is in Spanish (which I’m not good enough at yet), so I listened to it first on Audible, to get a taste for the story.
Listening to it as an audiobook worked really well since the majority of the narrative is in 1st person. Quickly, I became addicted Kvothe’s tale, wanting to find out more about his early life with the Ruh followed by the tragic years spent in Tarbean and how this framed his character. Without this level of detail, it is easy to misunderstand a character making it both a foundational and extremely well-written part of the book. The recital of this part was fairly fast-paced, keeping the reader on their feet, while still being packed with anecdotal stories that I don't doubt hold a weight in the bigger picture of the trilogy.
The whole narrative is framed by an older, darker Kvothe, the inn keeper, reciting his tale to Chronicler. This framing narrative is extremely well written with its use of evocative language to set the scene and plays an important role in the structure of the novel. I feel I would've appreciated the story much less if it hadn't been for the soft reminders of this reality, bringing the reader back to the present day. Encouraging them to reflect every few chapters on the intention of telling the story in this way. Rothfuss did a great job with the frequency that he took the reader back to the Waystone Inn, without braking the momentum of the story. It was also very interesting that the whole story was told over a single day, highlighted by Kvothe’s insistence that he required 3 days to tell his tale.
In my opinion Rothfuss has struck the perfect balance building Kvothe’s character. I’ve read some reviews (although I’ve been warned against reading Goodreads reviews hahaha) talking about how Kvothe is an unlikable protagonist with an unrealistic perfect personality, but I disagree wholeheartedly. Part of the benefit of going back to Kvothe’s childhood in the story is to show character building. From this it is clear that the majority of his attributes come from nurture rather than nature. Although having such a high IQ is rare, it is definitely not unrealistic. Instead, I would say this richly-filled, powerful life that the older Kvothe has clearly lead seems very unlikely to be obtained without these desirable attributes.
His parents were clearly some of the more bohemian, well-regarded members of the Ruh, people who lived freely and truthfully, but also had a fair amount of power. This idyllic upbringing, is quickly shattered as his parents were too free spoken to be in such great positions of power. Rothfuss reinforces this aspect of the society though the tragic reality of their massacre. His parents were knowledgable of too many dark truths for the corrupt regime to allow, hence posing too great of a threat to their power, teaching Kvothe the hard and important truth that knowledge yields power and danger.
This tragedy simultaneously paved the way for the rougher side of Kvothe’s character to develop as a method of survival during his dark, dangerous days in Tarbean. The hard outer shell that is formed is at the expense of his likeability. For this reason and more, it’s fairly obvious Kvothe is far from a perfect man.
I really liked the slight references to the emotional turmoil of the older Kvothe’s inner mind, as a consequence of his life events. This aspect of his. character could’ve easily been overlooked but instead adds depth to the story. Rothfuss uses this as one of the overarching themes being explored throughout the trilogy highlighted well in the final chapter of the novel through Bast and Chroniclers midnight discussion. Another overarching theme, which I am eager to find out more about, is the inner engineering of the Amyr, political power during the Aturan Empire and the relation of these with the Chandrian. This is slowly being revealed to us with young Kvothe, a curious, free-spirited intellectual. It is also clear that this is a dangerous position to be in when mixing into areas of power. Certain secrets seem to be being kept strictly hidden. The University mimics, on a small scale, what happens politically in society. With Ambrose and certain masters representing corrupt figureheads.
I did feel like the book had a little too much focus on world building and not enough action. Luckily I listened to this as an audiobook which meant I didn’t really notice the slower pace until I was already deeply engaged. Don't get me wrong, the world building was amazing and very important, however there were aspects, like Kvothe's relationship with Denna, that I felt dragged on a little too long with a lack of depth or justification. They seem to spend a lot of time seeking one another out, which didn’t make much sense considering both of their financial and social situations and general emotional unavailability. It would be more satisfying if Kvothe gave a bit more reasoning and analysis to backup his emotions regarding Denna.
Denna is outlined as a complex character and I would’ve liked to have more information on this, rather than statement-like descriptions alluding to her complexity. However, this may be attributed to the fact that Kvothe is telling the story in 1st person chronologically and he makes it clear that he doesn’t fully understand Denna himself and hence refrains from talking too much about her in case it isn’t accurate. Additionally, I would’ve enjoyed a little more about the ins and outs of university, enabling further exploration into each masters’ power and various personalities.
n.b. I haven’t trusted Lorren since he struck out Kvothes book request regarding information on the Amyr. It makes me think he is one of the many who want to keep things hidden. This was furthered by his banning of Kvothe from the Archives for far too long as well as him voting to have Kvothe expelled afterwards. He later expresses to Kvothe that he is too passionate and reckless for readmission into the Archives and needs to change that if he wants to regain access. This to me is a parallel of social conditioning… either way this is just a hunch, we shall see.
On the surface, The Name of the Wind is one of those books that I can curl up under the covers and read with a cup of hot chocolate ready to be transported to another world, which I cherish greatly. However, it doesn’t stop there, rich with significance and an awareness of social corruption, makes it one of my favourite books. I’m really looking forward to picking up The Wise Mans Fear!
