The Slow Regard of Silent Things

2016 Longlist

Deep below the University, there is a dark place. Few people know of it: a broken web of ancient passageways and abandoned rooms. A young woman lives there, tucked among the sprawling tunnels of the Underthing, snug in the heart of this forgotten place.
Her name is Auri, and she is full of mysteries.
At once joyous and haunting, this story offers a chance to see the world through Auri’s eyes. And it gives the reader a chance to learn things that only Auri knows…
In this book, Patrick Rothfuss brings us into the world of one of The Kingkiller Chronicle’s most enigmatic characters. Full of secrets and mysteries, The Slow Regard of Silent Things is the story of a broken girl trying to live in a broken world.

(from publisher)

About the Author

Patrick Rothfuss had the good fortune to be born in Wisconsin in 1973, where the long winters and lack of cable television encouraged a love of reading and writing. After abandoning his chosen field of chemical engineering, Pat became an itinerant student, wandering through clinical psychology, philosophy, medieval history, theater, and sociology. Nine years later, Pat was forced by university policy to finally complete his undergraduate degree in English. When not reading and writing, he teaches fencing and dabbles with alchemy in his basement.

Librarian’s Comments

This is a strange story about Auri, a sweet but conflicted young woman. The author plunges us into a glaucus universe, dark and secret, ‘the under-world’ a subterranean labyrinth under the abandoned city. No dialogue, a sustained and detailed rhythm of street noises, inanimate objects which have a soul, mirrors, perfumes… Auri saunters in these confined spaces of forsaken comfort, waiting for the return of Kvothe, in order to leave the city. A captivating and imaginative novel.