Don’t judge a book by its cover. Especially when that cover makes no sense to you and doesn’t appear to fit in the genre its assigned to. If you ignore this advice, you’re likely to overlook an amazing book like The Name of the Wind.
The story of Kvothe begins sometime after he has figuratively fallen off the face of the planet. The legends and stories of him are well-renown, but he is now a shell of the man he was. It’s this broken man whose tale Chronicler sets out to tell.
Kvothe’s autobiography – for he is telling the tale – begins with his earliest memories growing up in a travelling troupe. This quickly gives way to his orphaning, a scene more heart-wrenching than any other fantasy scene I’ve ever read outside children’s literature. After this, the book becomes a tale of Kvothe putting himself back together, but it’s so much more than that.
Patrick Rothfuss pulls the heartstrings that make a person care. His writing is fluid and he has a storytelling method that rivals “the greats” (in this genre, that would be J.R.R. Tolkien). I thought I’d read this book on some of a whim, but once it catches you (it did take a few chapters for me), it’ll have you hooked.
The cover had some appeal to me (it does imply a dark and soul-shaping tale), but it did little to prepare me for the amazing wonder that is The Name of the Wind. Even if fantasy is not “your thing,” get this book and realize how meaningful the power of a great story can be.