The Name of The Wind - For the Record

Yesterday afternoon on my way back to the office following lunch I called my brother Trevor to discuss a book I’d recently finished. ‘The Name of The Wind’ by Patrick Rothfuss falls into the fantasy genre, a category I don’t often read. In fact at the time he suggested I read it, I asked if he read sci-fi exclusively or if he dabbled in other genres. Trevor reads more than anyone I know except maybe for my wife Linda and politely suggested, “Well, ‘The Name of The Wind’ is actually considered fantasy. And yes I read other genres.” He went on to tell me he thought the book was as good if not better than ‘The Lord of The Rings’ series. Then changed his mind adding, “yes I actually think it is better than ‘The Lord of The Rings’.”

The book is a massive 722 pages and took me nearly 2 weeks to finish. For me the first half felt slow and didn’t really get moving till somewhere between page 300 and 350. I mentioned this to Trevor adding that the category was largely new to me and admitted I didn’t think I caught all the nuances. I’d give it 4 - 4 1/2 stars because it really did end strongly, while he gave it a solid 5.

Later in the conversation Trevor mentioned he’d read the days posting on my blog and wondered if I actually saw the people I write about. He added that he loved my post but wondered aloud along with Graham how I could possibly notice the sorts of things I write about. My mother has asked the same thing - several times.

So just to clear things up I’ll share with you what I’ve told them. I’m very observant. I never forget a face. Ever. People I see at the mall on the weekend I can remember from the movie theatre from a month ago. Stuff like that. Because of my profession I’ve honed my wicked observation skills and probably notice more than most. The people I blog about are actual people I’ve met or at least seen.

That said, Linda claims I add so much to a story they become unrecognizable then often adds, “Either that or we really see things differently.” I like to imagine it’s the latter.