The Slow Regard of Silent Things

So I've enjoyed the Kingkiller Chronicles thus far. They are an epic, slow burn that twist and wind and at times get a little to wordy for me. They have a hero who is on a quest, and while that story doesn't get old, it is rarely renewed either.

Slow Regard of Silent Things is very different. This is the first time I've appreciated Rothfuss for his craft. I think it is much, much harder to write short fiction than novels with unlimited space. In this, a tangent with Auri, Rothfuss does not waste a single word. The amount of wordplay and poetic conventions woven into the prose were a delight to read. At times, when we are completely absorbed in Auri's world, the meter actually shifts into iambic pentameter for paragraphs. It's a clever book with clever tricks that serve the purpose of increasing our intimacy with this shy, shattered girl.

If I had to pin the book to a theme, it would be about recovering from trauma. Auri's past is not explicitly stated in this book or any other, but there are hints dropped all over about her failure at university and one startling sentence that seems to say Auri was raped or sexually abused in some way . The effects of that trauma are depicted without judgement, without explanation, but with this subtle, musical prose that lets us experience without entirely understanding. Mental illness from the inside is another favorite theme of mind, and while I hesitate to call Auri “ill,” she is unique and undeniably damaged. This book is a glimpse into how she repairs herself and the off kilter world around her.

Rothfuss writes in the afterword that he expected people not to like this book because there is no “story.” The narrative loosely follows Auri collecting gifts for Kvothe, but traditional narrative markers are absent. It's structure is the roller coaster that is Auri's mind rather than a hero's journey. It's less story than exploration, and it's a better book for that. I wouldn't try the book if you haven't read at least Name of the Wind, but if Auri captured your imagination, this slight deviation from the hero's quest is well worth your time.