BOOK REVIEW: The Slow Regard of Silent Things - Patrick Rothfuss (2014)
Updated review from June 2024
Since I’m currently interested in revisiting some of my favorite media in an effort to rekindle some of the magic of old, I picked up The Slow Regard of Silent Things by Patrick Rothfuss. This short story has been amongst my favorites since its release, though I had only read it perhaps twice, so it was an ideal place to start getting back into reading, especially since it’s such a short novella.
In brief, this tale followings a character familiar to those who have read The Kingkiller Chronicle (The Name of the Wind and The Wise Man’s Fear) named Auri, who lives in the abandoned places (the Underthing) beneath the university, which is attended by the series’ main character, Kvothe. Auri knows that he will visit her soon (this takes place during The Wise Man’s Fear) and wants to prepare a gift for him, as he always brings one for her. So she sets about her week, taking care that everything in the Underthing is in its right place, and facing different sorts of struggles along the way in her effort to be ready for her visitor.
So, I still really love this book.
Perhaps it’s related to the fact that I turn more hippy/herbalist the older I get, and as such, I am in love with the world around me and all of its wonders, but whatever the case may be, I find that it’s easy to connect to this strange, sweet, troubled, broken, beautiful character who doesn’t seem to be wired like everyone else, which is both a strength and a weakness to her, depending on the circumstances.
There’s something magical about following Auri about her week, with different days being best suited for different things. There’s something so relevant to the real world when you read that on the third day, Auri wept, and then the story immediately moves on. Some days, you do just need a day to weep and feel your feelings, to get them out to make space for something else. Then as well, the fourth day is a “tapering day” or “burning day,” which she knows is not a good day for doing, but for keeping grounded. Isn’t it a familiar feeling, to many of us, to be unable to sit still and do nothing some days, even though we know it’s not in our best interest?
I feel like people in this modern age could learn a lot from the slow regard of silent things (and The Slow Regard of Silent Things), as the world gets more and more scarily busy and fast-paced. Just taking time to listen to the world around you or to be in nature (like the Finns), or that sort of thing… just slowing down and paying attention to the world around us is a beautiful thing, and that’s where the book most connects with me, especially in the moments when I’m out laying stones in my garden or rearranging the mementos in my office. There’s a beauty to letting things find their own place in the world.
This review was originally written in 2014 and posted on Goodreads
I have a mostly love with a little hate relationship with Patrick Rothfuss' main Kingkiller Chronicle, so I was quite excited to see what sort of novella this was going to turn out to be.
It's a pretty fast read. I got through it in only an hour or two. It's a nice thing to pick up. It would have been a good sunny summer day book.
To the point though, I really liked it. Auri was always one of my favorite characters in the story. She has a certain mystique that I love and relate to. To learn more about her and her world was really wonderful. And it was a different sort of book. Rothfuss seemed to have been quite self-conscious about it, but I think he was taking for granted how much people appreciate reading something a little bit different from time-to-time. The pacing, while slow, was nice, and the story was charming.
You might be able to convince me that there was something wrong with it if you discussed it with me, but from my own opinion right after reading it, I adored it. It was sweet, simple, and intriguing. It had magic in it. Not literally, but there is a magical quality to it. And I love that.
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