The Slow Regard of Silent Things | By Patrick Rothfuss | Book Review

Book Review

9 July

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Title- The Slow Regard of Silent Things

Author- Patrick Rothfuss

Publisher- DAW books, Inc

Genre- YA Fantasy

Links- Book Depository | Goodreads | Amazon

My Rating- ★★★★★

Synopsis
My Review
About the Author

Synopsis

This is a companion novella to the King Killer Chronicle following the mysterious Auri. Auri lives beneath the University, deep in the darkness of the Underthing.

Auri knows every inch of the tunnels and forgotten rooms and the mysteries that lie within them. Every day is not the same. Sometimes there is a darkness, sometimes it is a day of doing.

We follow Auri in her daily tasks over a week as she prepares for a visit from her friend. We see her meticulous preparations and rituals, and we are given a glimpse into her broken mind that is full of jumbled ideas, but also deep thoughtfulness and kindness.

Auri lives alone in her mind, her unspoken mental illness controls her, but she is free and sees the world like no one else.

“When Auri woke on the fourth day, things had changed.
She could tell that before stretching awake. Before she cracked her eyes into the seemless dark. Foxen was frightened and full of mountains. So today was a tapering day. A burning day.
She didn’t blame him. She knew what it could be like. Some days simply lay on you like stones. Some were as fickle as cats, sliding away when you needed comfort, then coming back late when you didn’t want them, jostling at you, stealing your breath.
No she didn’t blame Foxen. But for half a minute she wished it was a different sort of day, even though she knew nothing good could come from wanting at the world. Even though she knew it was a wicked thing to do.
Even so burning days were flickersome. Too frangible by half. They were not good days for doing. They were good days for staying put and keeping the ground steady underneath your feet.”

— Patrick Rothfuss

My Review

This book is both beautiful and sad. A must read for anyone who has a special place in their heart for Auri from The King Killer Chronicle. It is quite a strange book, but I really enjoyed it. It has a whimsical, magical eeriness about it.

The way Auri sees things and describes them makes everyday objects come alive. She makes it seem like everything had a soul and a place in the world, it’s really quite beautiful.

I like the way this book isn’t about a grand adventure of some heroic quest. It is about a ghost of a girl going about her everyday business, ignored by the world. She is someone who slipped though the cracks of society but still continues living, separate from the real world and other humans.

Patrick Rothfuss goes into great detail in her meticulous and obsessive routines and rituals. In one chapter she makes a candle, and it is described in such vivid detail with sensory descriptions that makes you feel like you are right there next to her. For a seemingly dull task, he turns it into a wonderful experience for the reader.

I think a lot of people will be able to relate to Auri, she has a special way of seeing wonder in the world and the secret life in objects and places that most of us ignore. Anyone with OCD will find common ground in this book. This book shows innocence and wonder contrasting with darkness and mental illness as we are allowed a glimpse inside Auri’s head.

As we walk through the Underthing, through the cold rooms and secret, dark places, we see the beauty inside Auri, her selfless nature, her respect for everything in the world, as well as her internal struggle and her lonely existence.

It is not a conventional story, there is no classic plot structure, only one character, and is not a sequel. This story is for those who want to share in Auri’s secret world as she goes about her daily adventures and prepares for a visit from a friend.

I would recommend reading this if you have already read The Name of the Wind and The Wise Man’s Fears. I think being familiar with Auri as a character might be helpful in understanding this book. It also has beautiful illustrations by the artist Nate Taylor.

“There was a door, but it was terribly bashful, so Auri politely pretended not to see it.”

— Patrick Rothfuss

About the Author- Patrick Rothfuss

Patrick Rothfuss was born in Madison, Wisconsin to awesome parents who encouraged him to read and create through reading to him, gentle boosts of self-esteem, and deprivation of cable television. During his formative years, he read extensively and wrote terrible short stories and poetry to teach himself what not to do.

Patrick matriculated at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, initially studying chemical engineering which led to a revelation that chemical engineering is boring. He then spent the next nine years jumping from major to major, taking semesters off, enjoying semesters at part-time, and generally rocking the college student experience before being kindly asked to graduate already. Surprisingly enough, he had enough credits to graduate with an English major, and he did so grudgingly.

Patrick then went to grad school. He’d rather not talk about it.

All this time Patrick was working on “The Book,” as he and his friends lovingly titled it. When he returned to Stevens Point he began teaching half-time while trying to sell The Book to publishers. In the process, he disguised a chapter of The Book as a short story and won the Writers of the Future competition in 2002. This put him into contact with all the right people, and after deciding to split The Book into three installments, DAW agreed to publish it. In March 2007, The Name of the Wind was published to great acclaim, winning the Quill Award and making the New York Times Bestseller list.

All this success was wonderful. Patrick eventually had to stop teaching in order to focus on writing, though he screwed that up by having an adorable baby with his adorable girlfriend. He started a charity fundraiser called Worldbuilders and published a not-for-children children’s book called The Adventures of the Princess and Mr. Whiffle in July of 2010 through Subterranean Press, which was adorable, and seriously isn’t for children.

After a great deal of work and a few cleared throats and raised eyebrows from his patient editor, Wise Man’s Fear came out in March 2011 to even more acclaim, making #1 on the New York Times Bestseller list. Life continues to rock for him, and he’s working hard on writing the final installment of the series.

Check out Patrick Rothfuss’s website

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“I cannot help but wonder how many of us walk through our lives, day after day, feeling slightly broken and alone, surrounded all the time by others who feel exactly the same way.
This story is for all the slightly broken people out there. I am one of you. You are not alone. You are all beautiful to me.”

— Patrick Rothfuss