I’m a fan of Patrick Rothfuss’ Kingkiller Chronicle series, so I was excited to hear about THE SLOW REGARD OF SILENT THINGS, which focuses on one particular character from the series: Auri. I should explain that while this novel is not a continuation of that series but rather the world the characters inhabit, and though it can be considered a stand-alone title, you should read the two books in the series --- THE NAME OF THE WIND and THE WISE MAN’S FEAR --- before this one. Not only will it make this current effort a much richer and more interesting read, it also will make more sense in terms of fully understanding the world.

"THE SLOW REGARD OF SILENT THINGS is a perfect little story, so much like Auri herself. While the author might note that the book isn’t for everyone, it’s for those who have read and enjoyed his works and want a glimpse into the silent world Auri inhabits."

Auri, the waif of a girl who lives in the mysterious underground tunnels called Underthing, wakes up to a finding day. This is a good day because she needs a finding day to help her prepare for a friend’s visit and, more importantly, prepare his gifts of which there must be three. She takes her glowing friend, Foxen, and makes her way out of the safety of her home she has named Mantle, into the tangle of Underthing in search of the perfect gifts. Auri spends her days making sure everything in her world is in its proper place and happy, which means that all the things she might find on this day will not be right as gifts but will have other purposes. There is a way to the world, which she understands more than most, and she knows she must do what she can to put the world to rights.

Every day, Auri roams through Underthing doing just this --- putting things in their proper place. She feels distinct connections to all the inanimate objects that she finds, rescues in a way, and puts in proper places in the world she inhabits. She listens, and she fixes. Her connection to what we see as the real world is tenuous, but what is reality to her isn’t reality to others. Once you come to understand that, her world makes much more sense. She lives in a place she molded to fit her needs. There are no people --- only the ghosts of their having once been there. Auri views everything as a gift; each day is something to treasure, even if it needs to be coaxed into its full potential. Her work of rearranging and reworking is a reminder of how she views the world and her place in it.

In the author’s endnote, Rothfuss says that this isn’t a book for many people, as it’s strange and unique. Auri is the only character you meet. There is no dialogue --- only an internal running monologue of Auri’s silent discussions, musings and sometimes personal rebukes. He notes that Auri is a broken character, and in many ways it’s clear just how broken she is, but in other ways she is caring and beautiful. Her world is simple, and on the days when the world is too much for her, she retreats. She is human, full of love for all things in her world, and a little bit of all of us.

I do love that Rothfuss gives readers a closer look into Auri’s world. It’s sad, lonely and truly incredible. THE SLOW REGARD OF SILENT THINGS is a perfect little story, so much like Auri herself. While the author might note that the book isn’t for everyone, it’s for those who have read and enjoyed his works and want a glimpse into the silent world Auri inhabits. It’s a lovely tale.

THE NAME OF THE WIND and THE WISE MAN’S FEAR are epic in scope. While THE SLOW REGARD OF SILENT THINGS is a world of a much smaller scale, it’s epic in its own way and so worthy of a read.