The Name of the Wind

I recently finished the book The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss. This is a tough book to put into a genre or category because while strictly it’s a fantasy novel, at the same time it’s so much more. It doesn’t read like a traditional fantasy novel. There’s a social system rivaled by few other than Tolkien and Rothfuss has this amazing ability to blend things from this world with things from the world in his own imagination so well that you can’t see the seam.

The story is told on two layers. The first layer is that of the third person narrator. It is the story of an innkeeper in a small village. Strange things are happening in the surrounding areas and the superstitious townspeople are growing worried. They’re harkening back to traditions and fairytales and nursery songs in order to fight against things they cannot understand.

The second layer is told in the first person. It is the story of the innkeeper told to a man known as the “Chronicler.” He tells The Chronicler that his story will take three nights to tell. The Name of the Wind is night one.

There are only two complaints (or perhaps warnings) I have about this book. The first is that the first three chapters or so are a little on the confusing side. This is the part of the story told in the third person at the beginning. I sat there thinking “What’s going on?” most of the time. However the person I borrowed the book from warned me that she had the same problem, so I was prepared for it, though, and that helped. In some ways this confusing is good, because it means that Rothfuss throws you right into the story, with little time to get acclimated to the new surroundings. In any other genre this is the way you’re told to write, so it really shouldn’t be any different in this case. And don’t worry, the confusion doesn’t last long.

The second warning is that this is the first book in a trilogy, but it’s the only one that’s out yet, and it sounds as though it will be some time before the second book is out. So if you’re the kind of person that doesn’t want to wait… you probably won’t want to start this trilogy, as good as it is.

The Sleeping Beauty Proposal

Bad blogger here.

I have an actual excuse for last week, my first graduate paper (an eight source annotated bibliography on Jacob’s Room and the Comedy of Manners).

This week my excuse is I’m on spring break, and by “I’m on spring break” I mean, I’m working. Oh how I miss being on the student side of academia.

However, I do have a recommendation for a good book. The Sleeping Beauty Proposal by Susan Strohmeyer.

Genie thinks that her hunky, English, writer boyfriend has finally proposed to her on national television… until he says that she said “yes” when she hasn’t actually talked to him. But her best friend has a “great” idea. No one (other than the two of them – and the not-fiancé of course) knows that they’re not engaged, so why not run with it? Wallow in the gifts. Bask in the bridal glow for a while.

And that’s all great, until a guy come along that Genie might actually like to be with. But of course, she’s off limits and that a line that a guy like him would never cross (or would he?).

The story is well told with great, crazy characters and a fun narratorial voice. Those that like Sophie Kindsella or Meg Cabot will like this great example of good chick lit.

Reading List

Liz asked what the 24 books on my reading list for the year are. Here it is.

Classics:

1. North and South – Elizabeth Gaskell

2. The Complete Sherlock Holmes, Vol. 1 – Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

3. Persuasion – Jane Austen

4. A Tale of Two Cities – Charles Dickens

5. Frankenstein – Mary Shelley

6. TBA

Devotional-Type Books

1. Surprised by Joy – C.S. Lewis

2. The Four Loves – C.S. Lewis (Completed)

3. Messiah – Jerry Thomas

4. Walk with God in Psalms – Don’t remember

5. Wild at Heart – John Eldredge

6. TBA

Books on Writing

1. Novel Ideas –Various

2. Art of War – James Scott Bell

3. From the Inside…out – Susan May Warren and Rachel Hauck

4. On Writing Romance – Leigh Michaels

5. Write Away – Elizabeth George

6. The Writing Diet – Julia Cameron

Other Books

1. Alpha Beta – John Man

2. Gutenberg – John Man

3. The Welsh Girl – Peter Ho Davies

4. What the Dog Saw – Malcolm Gladwell

5. Atonement – Ian McEwan

6. The Man Who Made Lists – Joshua Kendall

The Boys are Back

Normally I don’t review movies, but this past weekend I watched a really good movie that I hadn’t really heard of before. I heard about it for the first time poking around iTunes a few weeks ago, and I wrote the name down, and this weekend when my little brother was gone with school my mom and I rented it.

The Boys are Back is a movie about Joe, a man who rather suddenly finds himself a single father. Up until when his wife is diagnosed with advanced stage cancer he has travelled a lot for work and he’s never spent a ton of time with his six year old son, Artie. Now he finds himself raising a boy he doesn’t really know, who’s mourning the death of his mother. On top of this his other son, Harry, a fourteen year old boy he knows almost less, comes to live with him, adding to the chaos.

It’s a beautiful movie about fathers and sons and loss and recovery. Clive Owen stars in a film that is a far cry from his usual action flick, but he shines as the hurting and confused Joe. Nicholas McAnulty, in his debut role, as Artie is an adorable portrayal of the little boy in mourning. George MacKay is up to the task of playing the complex role of Harry, a teenager whose life has been thrown up in the air and he doesn’t know where to turn.

This film was inspired by the true story of Simon Carr, a writer and columnist for The Independent. Read about his story here.