I’m a fussy reader. I start lots of books and quickly drop them (Kindle samples, you rock!). So it’s a great feeling to be suddenly immersed in what is shaping up to be a great read. My current example is Patrick Rothfuss’s The Name of the Wind. I’m presently on chapter 21, which my Kindle dutifully tells me is only 21% in, which is great, because that means there is 79% to go!

The storytelling style in the opening of this book is so unusual. Maybe only a writer would comment on this first, but the tale starts off with a camera-eye viewpoint in an invisible narrator’s voice, and all the while essential information is implied but deliberately withheld–which should be annoying, but it’s not. Later on we get deeper third-person viewpoints, and then fully realized first person viewpoints, and it all works wonderfully well, helped along by frequent humorous and ironic one-liners.

Another thing you probably won’t hear most reviewers mention is that many of the characters, minor and major both, are so often very kindly and thoughtful and even loving to one another. Yes, there are fearsome antagonists and terrible things happen, but people–even strangers–are still allowed to care about each other.

Oh yes, and the story is building up nicely as well.

I read slowly so it’s going to be awhile before I report back, but so far, thumbs up!

Posted on: Thursday, January 20th, 2011 at 1:23 pm
Categories: Reading.