The Name of the Wind & Why You Should Read It

I approach this subject delicately as it is something I am fairly fond of.

The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss is my favorite book of all time. I have given it to 6 people and recommended it to countless others. Only 1 person has read it, and for the life of me I cannot figure out why.

                                          

Outside of my make believe world where I am only a writer, I'm actually a salesman . If there's one thing I've learned it's to undersell and over deliver. Let the features tell and the benefits will sell. Bearing this in mind, I'm going to tell you what I personally loved about NoTW and do my best not to oversell it.

 

1.) The NoTW is filled with secrets. I get the feeling with a lot of novels today we always know something the main character doesn't. In NoTW what Kvothe knows is what you know. Something about the story got me attached early on and I became driven by an insatiable desire (Much like Kvothe) to know the secrets of his world.

2.) The magic and romance of the story is subtle. I'm huge on subtle and a firm believer that a little yeast leavens the whole loaf.

• The Magic in the Name of the Wind is complex but the story does not revolve around it so much as it does propel it. What I mean is this isn't a dungeons and dragons type deal with blazing fireballs and powers beyond mortal comprehension. 
• I find so many novels and movies today end up being based around a love story because that's what sells. This ends up detracting from the story and muddying the waters. The romance in Name of the Wind is a prevalent force in driving the story, but it is not the story. 

 

3.)  The characters. If nothing else NoTW is a character driven story, and it works because the characters are fresh. Characters are important to me as you saw in great-characters. In NoTW I never once had a problem remembering who someone was and I felt attached to the characters.

4.) Perhaps the greatest thing about the name of the wind is the way it relates to our everyday lives and the subtle things that shape us. The story has so many keen insights on music, friendship and love that I couldn't help but be swept away.

There's a million other reasons that I can't really articulate. Even the reasons I've listed don't quite do the story justice. I can't force you to read it, but I've done my best. As authors the most important thing we do is write and the second most important is read. You should read everything: good things, bad things and different things even if its not your cup of tea. The bottom line - if its published the author did something right and you should learn from it.

-B