Review: Patrick Rothfuss - The Name of the Wind

 I started reading this novel advised by a Spanish friend. This is also the reason why I am writing this review in English.

The Name of the Wind is a fantasy novel whose action is concentrated around its main character, Kvothe, moreover is the story of his life, how he became famous, how he stole princesses, how he was expelled from University at a younger age than most of the people where allowed in, or how he talked to Gods.

What’s interesting, beside all the magic which resides in the story is the fact, that the hero is the one who tells the story. Why? Because he wishes from people to know the truth, not all the flourished and polished versions, which do not sound credible, even as fairytales.

Kvothe’s life story beginning with the times when he was part of his family troupe, performing theatre plays, singing and playing instruments and traveling with them from town to town. From a very young age he proves to be a very smart child and a quick learner, so the moment when an arcanist joins their troupe for a while, he pick up a lot of things, acquiring precious knowledge in many fields of interest. This is the point when he considers going to University, a place to fulfill his studies but moreover, a place full of books; the rightful place for his thirst of knowledge.

Of course, life is not always beautiful and easy, so problems occur in such manner that Kvothe’s entire existence is changed. Who or rather what does this, are The Chandrian; they strike ruining the equilibrium of Kvothe’s life. What happens next, is a battle for survival, for regaining the place in society and to find out ways of tracking and destroying the Chandrian.

Following Kvothe through all his troubles and success, through all his adventures and through all the lands he travels is like traveling in a medieval time and experiencing a simple life, where simple things bring joy and happiness, where having food and clothes can mean at some point richness and in another context poverty, where meeting fantastic creatures can sound veritable and fairytale. This is what you get reading The Name of the Wind, simple things spiced with the right amount magic, incredible and supernatural, which makes it taste good and it does not sound hard to believe.

Patrick Rothfuss’ novel follows the recipe of many other famous epic fantasy novels, creating a complex world where magic is known and feared at the same time, where the access to it is not easy and where it brings more destruction than improvements. On the other hand, the author decided to go with a one man story, without creating secondary storylines, reducing the difficulty of comprehending the huge amount of events and characters, but without reducing the quality.

I sincerely recommend you this novel for it is a good lecture for relaxation and guiding your thought to self-discovery.

In the end I would like to thank again to my friend, Gregorio, for his warm and nice recommendation.

Enjoy the reading!