The Name of the Wind

I was long overdue for a re-read of The Name of the Wind, which remains one of my favorite books. Even if the third book is never released, the first two will probably stay in my favorites list. They're so rich and dense, packed with magic and music and the mundanity of life. But the thing that really makes these books sing is Rothfuss' masterful use of language. The tenth anniversary of this book just came out, and if it takes another ten years to get every word perfect in the third book, I think it will be worth it. I have plenty of other books to read in the meantime.

And I can always re-read this one, looking for new clues and soaking in the incredible world Rothfuss built. On this re-read, I took particular note of the dialogue. Throughout the book, characters often fall into rhyming or metered language. It's subtle, and hidden well in the paragraphs, but once you know to look for it, this book brims over with poetry. It was a lot of fun to pick up on it this time through.

I also enjoyed just returning to this book and spending time with these characters. I don't know if I really picked up on anything new this time around. It's been so long since I read this book that it's hard to remember what I figured out last time I read it. But it's a special book that doesn't diminish at all when you revisit it. I'm looking forward to spending some time with The Wise Man's Fear, and then returning to this one in the form of the 10th anniversary edition, which has a bunch of illustrations.

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