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9k reviews for:

Stoner

John Williams

4.35 AVERAGE


What did you expect? he thought again.
A kind of joy came upon him, as if borne on a summer breeze. He dimly recalled that he had been thinking of failure—as if it mattered. It seemed to him now that such thoughts were mean, unworthy of what his life had been. Dim presences gathered at the edge of his consciousness; he could not see them, but he knew that they were there, gathering their forces toward a kind of palpability he could not see or hear. He was approaching them, he knew; but there was no need to hurry. He could ignore them if he wished; he had all the time there was. 
dark emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
emotional reflective sad medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
emotional reflective slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

It feels like everything has already been said about this book but it’s the next morning after finishing this and I still feel it like a hangover. I couldn’t sleep last night because I was just thinking about him. I had to write in my diary immediately after parts of this. It’s hard to think of a better paced book. The prose and dialogue are, as everyone says, straight forward, practical, and that made me love the characters so much more. Williams doesn’t spell out for you why you should empathize with them or even like them, you have to find that within yourself.
I miss you William Stoner!!!
dark emotional sad medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
reflective sad medium-paced
dark emotional inspiring reflective sad fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

Ugh beautiful and heartbreaking
emotional reflective tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes