What do you think of the main character Kvothe?

[Catherine]

I think The Name of the Wind has some beautifully and skillfully written prose. It begins with suspense, atmosphere, and mystery, but am I the only one who thinks the main character Kvothe soon becomes too perfect? He's a fantastic actor, musician, and a Mensa-level genius. I got bored with him. Too much? Thoughts?

[Abigail]

It's why I didn't pick up the next book, ultimately. It was beautifully written, but Kvothe started to become a manly version of the YA heroines I would read about in my teens. I never really connected with him.

That said, sometimes you just want an epic fantasy with a powerful main character who knows what he's doing. It just wasn't my cup of tea.

[Tanya (Novel Paperbacks)]

I can see what you mean. But I liked the fact he was still an emotional person. He obviously did stuff wrong and made mistakes and did things he isn't proud of because he is in hiding so the fact that he is so intelligent and talented makes me wonder what he did. I think he is more intriguing because of it.

[Cat]

Kvothe is an idiot but I love him. Remember, this book is written from first person perspective, so obviously he's going to think he's awesome/be presented in the best light. Kvothe still has a tendency to do stupid things, which is why I think, he's not as perfect as presented. He's definitely got some flaws - they're just not obvious, but they definitely trip him up. His arrogance, his tendency to make assumptions, his lack of emotional intelligence at times, his temper, his curiousity (curiousity killed the cat is a saying I feel he should have taken more heed of), his tendency to isolate and try and solve problems on his own, his impulsiveness.... definitely not perfect.

[Allison]

Yeah, the entertainer/genius thing didn't bother me so much. I know it did for a lot of people, who also found him fairly obnoxious in his arrogance and Denna whiny/fickle, but the childhood around music was a sufficient tie in for me. I also get the impression we're learning these things about him because at some point they really come back to haunt him--after all, not only is there no magic in him now, there's also no sign of music. How can that be? What goes so wrong that it burns everything he's good at out of him? That's why I intend to keep reading!

But again, I think he's a pretty divisive character, so I definitely can appreciate how he's not for everyone.

[Bill]

So many great SF books I could be reading but I am reading this book instead. I don't often read fantasy. Actually I like the book, but its just taking too long to get anywhere. Its his stupidity that I find boring. If he didn't keep tripping himself up he could get on with more interesting things, like exploring the archives.

I did get all 3 books as a Christmas present for my son. I am tempted to read the last 100 pages from his paperback instead of continuing with my ebook, but I will resist the temptation, so he finds a pristine book under the tree. Some day I will have to borrow the other 2 books from him to read.

[Saul the Heir of Isauldur]

I mentioned in my own review of the book that I thought of Kvothe as a mixture between Newton, Mozart and Houdini: just proficient in the things he does. I do understand that his faults are all relatively minor in comparison to his strengths, but as a child prodigy, it would make sense that his weaknesses are such.

He's proud, short-tempered, and he keeps claiming that he doesn't know how to talk to women. I personally didn't mind his "perfect-ness" all that much, since he's a fun enough character in a cool world with interesting things, stories and places. But I agree, he does get kind of perfect eventually.

[Silvana]

Catherine wrote: "I think The Name of the Wind has some beautifully and skillfully written prose. It begins with suspense, atmosphere, and mystery, but am I the only one who thinks the main character Kvothe soon bec..."

You might be annoyed even more after reading the second book, Kvothe even got more superpowers in that haha

I don't care for him either, character flaws and all. I found the secondary or tertiary characters in the books are more interesting. My biggest reason of continuing the series is just the narrative by Rothfuss, not Kvothe.

[Erin]

Catherine wrote: "I think The Name of the Wind has some beautifully and skillfully written prose. It begins with suspense, atmosphere, and mystery, but am I the only one who thinks the main character Kvothe soon bec..."

I can see that, and that does seem to be the most common criticism of the book and not without reason. However, since this part of the story is told by Kvothe, it seemed he might idealize his youth, even with the bad he went through, as what he was and who he could have been before whatever happened to lead him to a place where he has all but abandoned all those aspects of himself and is just waiting to die. That is what drew me into the character, the beauty of the writing and the tragedy of the present and wondering what brought Kvothe there and whether he will make it out of that dark place, that Silence.

[J.J.]

I love how he started at a young age full of talent in just about anything he put his mind to it. He also has a personal vendetta against those who killed his parents and the rest of the Rue. I mean what person doesn't like a good story about avenge, some pay back and on his way to avenging those who did his people wrong. He's also learning all ways of knowledge and fighting skills to and anything that would help him to defeat the Seven. He also has some great friends who are loyal to him. Oh and he's looking for that one girl to love him just as he loves her but afraid to tell her his feelings for fear of scaring her off, not wanting to be like the other men in her life that have disappointed her. The thing I like about Kvothe the most is his resilience. I hope book 3 comes out soon. Patience drive me nuts sometimes lol.

[Gary]

I view Kvothe as acting like a bard telling a tall tale in a tavern. The reader sees the edges of the truth and I think that the true story will be revealed in the third novel Doors of Stone. It may be awhile until we get that tale though.

[Saul the Heir of Isauldur]

@Gary Never thought of that, actually. We might have to consider that Kvothe is an unreliable narrstor, even though he claims that he's telling Chronicler the truth. That would, at least, explain his god-like ability to do everything and his uncanny good luck whenever he needs it most. You know, it'd be a pretty cool twist if it turns out that he's been lying all this time and the Chandrian are just a manifestation of his mind to explain something much more banal, like a bandit raid or a fire or a murder from within the troupe.

[J.J.]

What I think might happen in book 3 is him finishing his story to Chronicler till it catches up to the present time of him being an owner of an Inn. The story will probably take off from there, in my opinion seems pretty obvious. It would be interesting if it did have a twist and it was all a lie or a manifestation. But in both books there hasn't been any surprises to tell us otherwise beside him always ending up in the same cities/towns as Denna and Mr. Ash.

So Doors of Stone, would it be at the Mayor's wife's palace, Lockless? And I assume the box of the Mayor's wife is vital to the story as well. I don't have the books, I have the audiobooks and don't know how to spell the names of certain characters, so cut me some slack. ; )

[Saul the Heir of Isauldur]

I always assumed it was the doors of death (I think it's referenced like that once in the books), or the door with the metal plates inside the Archives. Maybe the reason it's locked is because the knowledge inside is too much (kind of like the weird rooms in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix).

[Catherine]

Thanks everyone for your thoughtful insights and discussion. Your perspectives have helped me rethink my original opinion of Kvothe to some degree. I might even reread some of it.