The Slow Regard of Silent Things

Relevant to my last post about The Name of the Wind, I attempted to read another Patrick Rothfuss book but was stymied. When I was living in Costa Rica, a Tica friend and I had the brilliant idea of buying the same book — mine in Spanish and hers in English — and reading a chapter a week and then meeting to discuss it.

We picked The Slow Regard of Silent Things, a novella in the same universe, and it was a HUGE mistake. Because it’s fantasy with a lot of words used with fantastically reimagined definitions, neither one of us could make heads or tails of it in our second language. We abandoned the effort after a few chapters.

I enjoyed this book. It is a modern fairy tale, with all the symbolic overtones. Sort of like an Ursula Le Guin. It is a slow and thoughtful read, not a ripper… but haunting enough to stay with you for awhile, and come back to visit from time to time.

This one was different, but I enjoyed it. Don’t try to read it as a stand-alone.

** spoiler alert ** Having finished the Kingkiller Chronicle story so far, I was anxious to dive deeper into that world, so I picked up TSROST. Before I opened it, I happened to see Mr. Rothfuss on a random YouTube video speaking about the novella and how it is NOT a normal book, it is NOT going to give you any secret or new info about the Kingkiller story at large, and it is NOT going to be key to the plot at all. He warned that you should only read it if you want to get to know Auri a little better.
I did. So I opened the book. Then I read Mr. Rothfuss’ foreword. It also warned that I may not wish to read the book, and again tried to explain what kind of book this is. After so much warning, it was abundantly clear to me that this is not going to be your typical book. I decided I’d better put any expectations out of my mind and read it for what it is – whatever it may be.
I am so glad I did. It was a beautifully written epic poem that captured me and spoke to me. People complain that there was no plot at all, but I beg to differ. One bit of tension that irked me for most of the novel was the fact that [SPOILERS AHEAD] Auri kept placing the brazen gear with the missing tooth facing up all broken and shameful and exposed, which obviously woudn’t do. Sometimes Auri can be a silly thing, though. This seriously bugged me to the point where I had to stop reading because my strong instinct was to go back and place the gear right-side up with the missing tooth at the bottom, it’s secrets secured like it’s base, and it’s proud teeth rising up with hope.
The next few chapters were painful to read as everything in Auri’s world turned upside-down, and though I didn’t KNOW why, I had a strong hunch it was because of Auri’s mistake. Like watching Kvothe make and use a mommet of Devi – a terrible blunder – and then watching him pay for it dearly. It was the same for poor Auri, and I was so relieved when she figured it out and turned the gear right-side up, allowing her world to turn itself right-side up as well. Auri sees things for what they are, which is how naming is described in NOTW. We have such an insight here into what it is to see beyond a thing and into its essence, like Iax/Jax and the empty box that is longing to be filled. With such a beatifully written glance behind the things and into their essence, to see things as they really are, how can people complain about this? It’s not about what happens. It’s about Auri, and who she is, and how she sees the world, and how namers see the world, and what naming is, and how they are able to see the true thing that lies beneath its visage. This is what NOTW and WMF are all about, so if you loved those books, you should appreciate this one. If you didn’t GET this novella, there may be MUCH you are missing in the series proper.

This is part of a great series, read THE NAME OF WIND first. Hope he doesn’t take years to complete the next book..

I rally liked the premise of it, and have since read all of the sequels!

Reading this book should only be done when it is an Auri day for that is the proper way. If you are intrigued by the character Auri in the Kingkiller Chronicle, then you might appreciate this work. However, if you are unfamiliar with the Kingkiller Chronicle, you must read that before attempting to comprehend this book for Auri knows better than most how much it is worth doing things the proper way. This book primarily offers insight into the mind of our favorite broken girl and her solitary life in the Underthing. There is very little to support the main Kingkiller story line… unless. Is it possible that Auri’s brokenness is not wholly what it seems? That is something to ponder as we wash our face. We wash our hands and feet. We wait to see what the final Kingkiller Chronicle book knows.

I love this book because it really added to Auri as a character and provided expositional world building

I love rothfuss’ characters and I love that this book was written. I read it but I may have zoned out every now and again because it just didn’t seem enough was going on to entertain my mind but I did love the parts I read fully.

This vignette tells the story of one of the characters from the book series. It reminds me very much of narrative poetry just with more of a story to it. You’ll want to read at least one of the books first before reading this.