Reviews with content warning for Rape - Stoner

Reviews tagging 'Rape'

Stoner by John Williams

23 reviews

ana610615's review against another edition

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emotional 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? No

2.5

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jupitervivienne's review against another edition

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sad slow-paced

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

3.5

I’m really not sure where I stand with this book. At times I hated it and didn’t want to continue, other times I felt it was very emotional and moving. I think I would have felt more impacted if the story was about Edith. Her character was so perplexing and heartbreaking and I was so curious about her inner world. The part of the book that briefly switched to her perspective was incredibly engaging. Overall, it’s an interesting exploration of the period and the life of an average man, but I don’t think it was for me.

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lrosenzweig23's review against another edition

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dark informative reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

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jayisreading's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad slow-paced

4.5

I was pleasantly surprised by this novel and its quietly intense world. The novel follows the relatively mundane life of William Stoner, though Williams reveals how complicated things can get for his protagonist through a masterful demonstration of “show, don’t tell.” It was fascinating to see the ripple effects of Stoner’s choices in his personal life as well as professional, and how the two are not easily separable. Williams also presented a more accurate depiction of academia than I expected, particularly the intensity of departmental politics and the love/hate relationship that comes with being an academic.

The protagonist isn’t a likable character, in my opinion, though he isn’t the absolute worst either. If anything, Stoner is a very honest reflection of what it means to be human and contend with one’s imperfections (some more egregious than others). Relatedly, the other characters in this novel, particularly his wife, Edith, demonstrate similar levels of introspection on the complexities of being human.

Stoner is a bittersweet novel, leaning far more towards the bitter rather than sweet. It really helped set the novel up to capture an existential solitude that will potentially leave the reader thinking about their own life. I should note that this is by no means a perfect novel, and there were certainly moments when I raised my eyebrows (such as the early stages of the Stoners’ marriage), but overall, I found it to be a compelling read.

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strrygo's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

the decline is so gradual i almost forgot i was watching it happen until those small moments of irreversible change .. marking a loss of a past that could never be retrieved even while we r still even in it(wanted to climb into the book n get it back it for them,, especially for grace), felt like i saw his life divide into moments of befores and afters..the way it all ,falls away, just feels so completely insignificant in the end...but there is so much tranquility and reassurance in it all, love love love
intro to the book has a quote from Williams calling stoner a hero(whole intro conflicted with my experience of the book rly whsgdhwhw). i don't think i pity him despite wishing everyone involved had a chance at something Better, or more, but i think it's so interesting how his endurance and firmness to himself—which i think is felt most with how he never seems to outgrow himself, he's just always the stoner thinking of the university as a thing beyond himself, masters, his Love, the dirt—is considered heroic, love and a desire to live, do something meaningful, to work, described as heroism when they feel like they are the most natural part of human nature make this feel so much more depressing for me. his life was not particularly difficult but that doesn't mean it was not sad, despite it's normalcy or the fact that it repeats itself in every other 'stoner'. if stoner is a hero What is there but to sacrifice and endure

♡ rec from adri

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maresuju's review

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TLDR; Mediocre white man in the 1920s who feels entitled to other people

<CW: marital rape>

I understand that this is supposed to be a representation of the monotony/mediocrity that life can be, but I almost feel like this was the opposite. The MC is selfish, refused to make decisions or take any action, and only acts out of his own immediate interests. He essentially forces his wife to marry him despite her making it clear that she has no romantic interest in him, and he rapes her regularly (the author makes it very clear that she’s either asleep or wake up and is tense/unmoving). And then he wonders why his life is shitty, why his wife hates him and keeps her daughter from him.

Truly he is a mediocre (at best) man who feels like he’s entitled to a job, friends, a wife, a family, everything just because he’s there, but puts no effort into any of his relationships. I really tried to stick it out, and made it almost 70% of the way through, but I was just so annoyed and angered by the MC that I couldn’t find a single reason to care about what happens.

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