The Slow Regard of Silent Things by Patrick Rothfuss

There are a lot of angry reviews in various places, saying this book is boring, saying that the author should be working on the main trilogy and not messing around with odd novellas, saying it isn’t worth the time, nothing happens, etc.

They could not be more completely wrong.

This is not a book about doing; this is a book about knowing, about being aware of all the small things in your life and how important they are. When Auri takes the time to deeply contemplate exactly where an object should be placed and which direction it should be facing and how it should be touched, she is understanding that object, and through it, herself. In essence, how it should fit into the world, just as we all must fit into the world. Every single decision that Auri makes is based on thoughtfulness and awareness – of herself, of her surroundings, of her world. The language is beautiful and evocative, and Patrick Rothfuss captures perfectly the manner in which physical objects carry emotions for us, as well as the importance of doing things correctly, and with love.

Most importantly for me, though, is that he doesn’t tell, he shows. This frees me as the reader to fill in the gaps, to read between the lines, to find the meaning, to apply it all to myself in my own little world. I think it’s a brilliant book, and I feel sure it will end up in my digital to-read-again-and-again pile.

In the afterward of the book, Rothfuss admits that this book isn’t for everyone, but he put it out there anyway because he knows there are people like me out there who would find it a treasure, and I’m so so glad he did.

For those people complaining about his writing timeline, I’ll paraphrase Neil Gaiman’s commentary about people who say the same thing to George R. R. Martin – Patrick Rothfuss is not your b****. Look up Gaiman’s blog post – it gives a very cogent explanation about why things aren’t all about you.