Reviews with content warning for Cancer - Stoner

Stoner is a novel about William Stoner Missouri farmer, who goes to school for agricultural studies, but finds himself falling in love with literature and teaching. Stoner goes through life experiencing two World Wars, a wife who hates him, rivalries at the school, and having an affair with a student.

My feelings for this are complicated as it has elegant proses that novel compelling to read that stirred strong emotions but left me sad at the end. Though, a sad isn’t a bad feeling, and it is set in one of my favorite time periods at a college. It is slow moving as we see William Stoner’s life play out as Williams focuses more on building his characters rather than making this a crazy plot driven story. He immerses you in Stoner’s mind and learn who he is as a person and what he cares about. It wakes you up to reality of life and how its not some epic adventure and shit happens. You won’t get along with everyone. William Stoner is a frustrating character with his passive nature as he barely fights for the things that are taken from him. It is one of the traits that his daughter, Grace, inherited from him. For father and daughter, they develop this mentality that it doesn’t matter when things go wrong, or their own happiness is taken from them. Stoner’s first mistake was marrying Edith Bostwick, who clearly had some issues that she needed to cope with. I got the impression she didn’t trust men starting with her father and took out her anger on Stoner. He had insisted they get married, preventing her from escaping to Europe with her aunt as he promises they’ll go one day, but life happens. His presence seems to smother her as she snaps at him for trying to help her preferring he not be around. Stoner isn’t a villain, just oblivious to who Edith is and how she feels as he rushed into marriage. Edith isn’t a great mother, and when she decides she wants to "Mother" Grace, she realizes the girl has bonded with Willy and decides she needs to keep Grace away from him. She turns Grace into her little doll and trying to force a life on her daughter that she doesn’t want. At the college, Stoner finds this place his sanctuary, but that is taken from him too by Hollis Lomax and Charles Walker. I couldn’t stand Hollis Lomax, the professor that takes Stoner’s mentor’s place, and Charles Walker, a student with a bad attitude. Both characters are arrogant and selfish using their disabilities to get away with shit. Both are crippled and I have a theory both had experienced mockery from others, and just became enraged at the world making them feel entitled, because the world owes them something. I felt sorry for both at first until they show their true colors. Stoner does stand up for himself a little when it comes to Lomax, but I wish he had fought harder to protect Grace, either way I think he would have lost. His relationship with Katherine Driscoll is sweet and tender, despite its immoral implications. There are probably more people like Stoner, who are passive spectators in life and aren’t brave enough to fight to hold on to what they love. I wanted a happier ending for Stoner, but life doesn’t always end happy. Your choices make a difference in if you have a reason to be content or unsatisfied with your life.

Content Warnings

apthompson's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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babelfish's review against another edition

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emotional sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

Damn.... it's not the perfect book...but it's bloody good one.

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serendipitysbooks's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Stoner follows the life of William Stoner, a farmer’s son who goes to college, switches his agricultural course to English, has a middling academic career, marries, becomes a father, and, like all of us eventually, dies. This was such a melancholic read. The writing was beautiful in a quiet, understated way, but overall I found it a very depressing read, one that often made me angry. Stoner was (mostly) so detached and passive. His felt like a sad waste of a life, one with so little joy and happiness. I really wished I had the power to send him and his wife and daughter to therapy - individual, couples and family therapy. That and possibly some medication could have gone a long way. At the very least I wanted to give him a good slap, to tell him to stand up to his wife, that staying in the family unit would not help his daughter if he didn’t protect her, and that sometimes it is okay to put yourself first. I did appreciate the book for highlighting a fairly unremarkable life of a relatively ordinary man. The academic rivalries and politicking within his department amused me, possibly because I’m married to an academic. If the aim of this novel was to be a salutary lesson in how not to live, a warning to make the most of the life we have because all too quickly it will be over, then I’d call it a success. I’m glad to have read it, even though I frequently found the (in)actions of Stoner frustrating, which didn’t always make for an enjoyable reading experience.

Content Warnings

sadiaa's review against another edition

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4.75

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lief_'s review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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samarakroeger's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

the marital r*pe scenes caught me off guard but I guess it was unfortunately par for the course in those days.

William Stoner is an incredibly awkward and passive-aggressive protagonist. The book is sad, slow, and deeply melancholic as it follows his tiny little life at the University of Missouri during the Greatest Generation. I found him frustrating, but in a way that makes a compelling book.

Content Warnings

wormgirl's review against another edition

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emotional reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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