This is such a pain...
I wrote this witty monologue of a LJ entry and... what happens??? my laptop freezes at the moment of posting and goes "poof". Ok so it didn't really go "poof". It froze up and crashed ... this is the 2nd time I've had to restart after a freeze within 24hrs.
So, the witticism is sadly lacking in this entry, as will the actual update content.
Instead I shall blog about... The Name of the Wind by Pat Rothfuss.
Review:
The rave reviews about this book led to some trepidation. You know, the feeling where you are about to read it with all this expectation and the fear that it falls short? I had that, the writing style Pat uses is a difficult one to keep in balance. Narratives within narratives, can some times become a whole jumble of he said she said. Framed properly it provides between-the-line character depiction and fleshes out a story while pacing the delivery of story and climax. I tried to pace myself, I intended to read this since I started my little virtual bookshelf, but only purchased when the paperback came out. I'm a paperback collector, if only to keep my actual shelves tidy.
I also knew I usually don't get a lot of time to read as this last week has been extremely busy. I have a tendency to binge read - usually in one sitting starting around 10pm through to morning. This time I tried to pace myself. I read the Prologue at the point of purchase while waiting in queue. Then I read the first chapter while on the bus on the way home. After which point real life needs interferred, i.e. meals & sleep. So I placed the book on the backburner of my reading shelves and waited until this weekend. So please note, I am sadly lacking in sleep again (had the naive belief I'd catch up on sleep this weekend).
So, starting in earnest I tried to be as detached as possible to take in the writing style. Stories within stories within stories tend to miander around and miss the plot path and timings. This book instead is slowly revealed or blooms with each chapter. Romanticised review I know, but it's the truth. Unless you want me to compare it to onions, onions have layers, this has layers. It doesn't really make you cry but the stoic? character of Kvothe grips your heart - in a good way. In the various tellings, the stories slowly draw you into a believe world where the characters on the page comes to life in the most unexpected of ways.
I don't know if I'm over-doing it but I think this might be a complicated read for some initial fantasy readers but the style and the wit in dialogues and scenarios are worth the effort. Re-reads can only make the stories fuller and more vivid.
It has the makings of a great epic and I'm sure Pat will be able to write those. I'm sure the expectations are immense and hope that he is able to cope with it. All my best wishes to him in the next decades, I believe the Fantasy readership around the world will be keeping an eye on you and your progress.