Reviews - Stoner | The StoryGraph

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9.02k reviews for:

Stoner

John Williams

4.35 AVERAGE

the_joe's review against another edition

5.0

Sad, unremarkable and beautiful

ananya_v21's review against another edition

5.0

challenging emotional inspiring reflective relaxing sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

One of my top reads!

emily0510's review against another edition

3.25

reflective 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

fleingall's review against another edition

4.25

reflective

sairaf's review against another edition

5.0

Gold.

thecriticalreader's review against another edition

4.75

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: Complicated

The Run-Down: Stoner by John Williams is an accessible, devastating classic that everyone should consider reading at least once in their lifetime.

Review:

“He was himself, and he knew what he had been.”

It’s hard to pinpoint exactly what makes Stoner by John Williams so compelling. It’s a story about an ordinary man and his ordinary life, written with simple, straightforward prose. I think the answer lies in how relatable the character of William Stoner is in his prosaic disappointments and failures. We are all William Stoner at some point in our lives. We have all watched as the possibilities of our lives constrict, as decisions we feel compelled to make trap us in spirit if not actuality. And we can relate to the futile rebellion against that pernicious confluence of circumstance and self that conspire to keep us trapped. His painful relatability is partly why Stoner’s social horror works so well—the visceral moments of social discomfort in the novel are so excruciating to read that they move beyond “cringe” or “secondhand embarrassment” and into the territory of genuine dread and revulsion.

As the dread built up in the first part of the novel is realized in the second half, it takes the form of bittersweet tragedy. Remarkably, Stoner is neither hero nor villain; he is also not a cautionary tale. There is something equally admirable and pitiful in his quiet, gentle acceptance of the confines of his life. Mostly, however, there is the unsettling realization that there is a bit of William Stoner in all of us, and that while we cannot always transcend who we are or who we are destined to be, we can at least own the life we have lived and the choices we have made.