Lucas Gardner
ljgardner@lc.edu

I’d give this book a five-star rating, this was the first book since middle school that I’ve read or listened too. I thought The Name of the Wind was incredible. I read and listened to it over the course of three weeks, which I was sick for most of. It was suggested by my uncle, an avid reader of the fantasy genre, but enough about that. Let’s talk about The Name of the Wind. Here is your official warning for spoilers ahead!  

The book starts out with an old man telling a story about Kavothe, the main character of the book, while Kavothe poses as an innkeeper by the name of Kote.

Nobody knows what happened to Kavoth, though some even believe he never existed. A character by the name of Chronicler, who has traveled quite a distance to find Kavothe, asks Kavothe if he can document his story. Kavothe, reluctant to agree, eventually grants his request.

Upon agreeing, Chronicler begins to document Kavothe’s story. Kavothe begins his story by telling Chronicler about his childhood and what happened to his family. However, if you wish to find out more, you will have to read the book for yourself because I’ve said too much already! Anyway, let’s talk about the writing style of Patrick Rothfuss, shall we?  

I loved the writing, and that’s what was very interesting to me. Rothfuss often treads the thin line between prose and poetry, and fortunately, it’s excellent poetry. The story itself is very compelling. A first-person narrative, which is my favorite style of writing because it allows you to read the story being told as if the reader is the one telling their own story. Our hero, Kavothe, has a lot of attitude and is a total genius. To balance out his power, we have his poverty, bad luck, his tendency to dig himself into a hole, all of which he talks about as he is telling his story to Chronicler.

Of course, not to mention his strong enemies. Enemies, you ask? There was no mention of this in my previous statements! Well, I suppose you will just have to read the book to find out!