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apthompson's review
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
Content Warnings
Moderate: Ableism, Death, War, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Alcoholism, Cancer, Infidelity, Mental illness, Death of parent, Grief, and Medical content
babelfish's review against another edition
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity
Moderate: Cancer and Gaslighting
Minor: Death and Emotional abuse
aniquegrace's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
slow-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? Yes
4.25
somehow nothing happened it’s one of my favorite books of the year, moving and pensive
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Child abuse, Death of parent, and Alcoholism
Minor: War
serendipitysbooks's review
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
Graphic: Cancer, Death, War, and Infidelity
stuckduck's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Child abuse, and Death
Minor: War
kydnmthws's review against another edition
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
”What did you expect?”
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Death of parent
Moderate: Rape
Minor: Alcohol and Alcoholism
reggiewoods's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
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? Yes
5.0
William Stoner is proof that you don’t have to be remarkable to have an impact on someone’s life. He’s an ordinary college professor whose career spans both World Wars. While his mundane ways may seem boring to his family and colleagues, Stoner’s pedestrian life makes him all the more relatable and sympathetic. An outsider may consider Stoner unfortunate, but Williams makes us feel his devastation with him. Stoner stands out as one of the more memorable characters in twentieth century literature, if for nothing other than his staunch refusal to compromise his principles. While the narrative lacks action, I didn’t feel that it ever got slow. Despite its heart-rending plot, Stoner simultaneously is a celebration of the everyman and the simple life.
Content Warnings
Minor: Medical content, Chronic illness, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, Grief, Rape, Emotional abuse, Death, and Gaslighting
wormgirl's review against another edition
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
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide
Minor: Death of parent, Alcohol, Addiction, Death, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, War, Toxic relationship, Alcoholism, Cancer, Classism, and Infidelity
kaetha's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Cancer
klor's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
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? Yes
5.0
I had to take a few minutes of silence after I finished this book. There's a quietness to it the whole way through and a loneliness, not a bombastic one. The plot doesn't really have a lot going on, we're just following this man's life and yet the writing was so good that I just had to keep going. I honestly got so attached to our protagonist and felt for him through the various unfortunate things in his life through his failed marriage, to not being able to connect with his parents after going to college, to the shitty bureaucracy in his job, his mentally ill wife emotionally distancing his daughter from him, to not being able to be with the woman who actually loved him it's not a grand thing or events but damn they hit hard a lot once they enter the picture. Half the time, readers can see it coming and you almost wish that he should stand up for himself but that's just not his character. The love he had for literature is the same love I have for the field I'm in. This story simultaneously made my heart clench and then break and then make peace with it. It's like ribs by lorde but like as an adult lol
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Grief, and Infidelity
Minor: Alcoholism, Cancer, Death, Death of parent, and Mental illness