The Narrow Road Between DesiresReview posted November 10, 2026.
Recorded Books, 2023. 4 hours, 15 minutes.
Review written May 17, 2026, from a library eaudiobook.
Starred Review
How did Patrick Rothfuss publish a novella without me noticing? (Oh. That was the year I was on the Morris committee and mainly reading debut Young Adult books. But still.) And how dare he write a novella? He really really needs to give all his time to writing the third book of his trilogy, The Kingkiller Chronicle!
This book was set in the universe of that trilogy, about a side character, Bast. There's an author's note at the front that you probably shouldn't read this book if you haven't read the other, but I think I'd disagree - I find I've completely forgotten what part Bast plays in the other books, and I enjoyed this one just fine. [And I definitely have to reread the other two books if I ever hear that the third book is finally to be published.]
Bast is an otherworldly character, known to the village as a lazy young man who works at the inn. But the children of the village know him as someone they can get a favor from or who will help them solve a problem - for a price.
This story sees Bast solve multiple problems and receive multiple forms of payment - and it all intricately comes together by the end. The payments for some favors enable him to solve a bigger problem - and it's good fun spiced with magic. How much is magic and how much is cleverness? That's not entirely clear.
In fact, the plot was intricate enough that I feel like I missed some things here and there - which I think is entirely my fault for listening while I'm doing other things. I'm tempted to purchase a copy - to go with his other books in my collection - and read it.
This novella was expanded from an earlier short story, which Patrick Rothfuss talks about in an Author's Note. But my favorite part is when he tells a story about his kids. He was telling his younger son "The Three Little Pigs," and afterward, his son asked for a story about the "Big, Good Wolf." And Patrick Rothfuss turned that into a reflection that he firmly believes that stories don't need Bad Guys. I hadn't realized that he writes all his books with this premise, but I'm delighted to learn it. Yes, bad things happen and there's a bad person in this novella - but they're an off-page character.
Side note: I used to rant about this when I discovered that they tried to put bad guys into the Winnie-the-Pooh Saturday morning cartoons. They try to turn Heffalumps and Woozles into bad guys! In the books there are no bad guys! But all the Saturday morning cartoons had them - even Winnie-the-Pooh, for crying out loud! You don't need them, and I love learning that Patrick Rothfuss has long been writing books with this premise.
So, this is a short adventure back into Patrick Rothfuss's detailed fantasy world and his magical, evocative writing. I give you permission to start here, but you will want more. And his biggest weakness is that he's slow to produce it. [Please stop writing novellas and write the third book! Please!]