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matijao's review against another edition
5.0
Made me feel things I have never felt with any other novel so far. Felt so surrral at times. Left me emotionally drained.
10/10
10/10
peggyd's review against another edition
dark
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? It's complicated
5.0
One of the most satisfying--yet heartbreaking--reading experiences I've had in a long time. A classic, beloved novel that had been sitting on my shelves for ages. I finally read it and though it demolished me, I'm so glad I took it off the shelf.
The New York Times calls Stoner "a perfect novel" and I thought, no way it lives up to that. What is "the perfect novel" anyhow? Well, this must be pretty close. It follows the life of William Stoner, from his early days on a poor farm with his parents, to his choice to take up literature, complete a PhD and teach, we follow his life and choices, his disappointments, confusion, and loss. It's ultimately a simple life--nothing truly remarkable or exceptional--but it is so well-told that you can't help but root for Stoner until the end. It is easy to get submerged into Stoner's world, so much so that when I would come up for air I would be surprised that I wasn't, in fact, in early 2oth-century Missouri. The details are so well-observed I knew this world, these people instantly, and though it's a slim novel--a true "little life"--it felt complete, fully told.
But it's not happy. Yes, Stoner has his moments of happiness and fulfillment (the description of he and his young daughter in his study bursting into a fit of giggles over nothing is such a beautiful moment...it's aching what happens to that relationship) but they serve to highlight how often he has to deal with loneliness, estrangement, hostility at home and work, disappointed dreams, etc. There is dignity in his quiet acceptance, the way he doggedly forges on in a world that seems utterly hopeless. The portrait of academia, in particular, was chilling. He finally discovers his passion for teaching only to get sidelined by a chair who hates him simply for standing up for what he believes in. Just gut-wrenching stuff.
And don't get me started on his wife, Edith. At times, she's a straight-up villain, crafting ways to crush her husband's dreams (the way she carefully and strategically keeps him from working on a second book is almost awe-inspiring) and keep him estranged from their daughter. Other times, it's hard to condemn her as she's so pitiable as to be not worth the effort. She was so sheltered and protected and coddled throughout her life that she can't imagine having to give of herself at all and it turns her into something sour and broken. A character I will think about for a long, long time.
Stoner had his chances--he does find love, fleetingly--but his inability to articulate what he wants in time to fight for it, and his acceptance of life as a disappointing thing means he cannot ultimately succeed. Interestingly, in this edition's introduction, there is an excerpt from an interview with author John Williams who asserts that Stoner is a "real hero." He realizes that "a lot of people...think that Stoner had such a sad and bad life. I think he had a very good life. He had a better life than most people do, certainly." I keep coming back to this assertion because it is true to some extent. In another world, Stoner stays on at his parents' farm and works himself to the bone until he dies. He never discovers his love of literature, his passion for teaching. And yet we have a book where he sees a bigger world that can include his happiness and he can't get there. The world won't allow it. To me, that is unbelievably sad. Maybe it is heroic that he did soldier on in the face of all that.
All of this is portrayed in such a tightly woven, straightforward, unembellished way, that it's easy to see why this is a classic, why it's called luminous, riveting, and perfect.
The New York Times calls Stoner "a perfect novel" and I thought, no way it lives up to that. What is "the perfect novel" anyhow? Well, this must be pretty close. It follows the life of William Stoner, from his early days on a poor farm with his parents, to his choice to take up literature, complete a PhD and teach, we follow his life and choices, his disappointments, confusion, and loss. It's ultimately a simple life--nothing truly remarkable or exceptional--but it is so well-told that you can't help but root for Stoner until the end. It is easy to get submerged into Stoner's world, so much so that when I would come up for air I would be surprised that I wasn't, in fact, in early 2oth-century Missouri. The details are so well-observed I knew this world, these people instantly, and though it's a slim novel--a true "little life"--it felt complete, fully told.
But it's not happy. Yes, Stoner has his moments of happiness and fulfillment (the description of he and his young daughter in his study bursting into a fit of giggles over nothing is such a beautiful moment...it's aching what happens to that relationship) but they serve to highlight how often he has to deal with loneliness, estrangement, hostility at home and work, disappointed dreams, etc. There is dignity in his quiet acceptance, the way he doggedly forges on in a world that seems utterly hopeless. The portrait of academia, in particular, was chilling. He finally discovers his passion for teaching only to get sidelined by a chair who hates him simply for standing up for what he believes in. Just gut-wrenching stuff.
And don't get me started on his wife, Edith. At times, she's a straight-up villain, crafting ways to crush her husband's dreams (the way she carefully and strategically keeps him from working on a second book is almost awe-inspiring) and keep him estranged from their daughter. Other times, it's hard to condemn her as she's so pitiable as to be not worth the effort. She was so sheltered and protected and coddled throughout her life that she can't imagine having to give of herself at all and it turns her into something sour and broken. A character I will think about for a long, long time.
Stoner had his chances--he does find love, fleetingly--but his inability to articulate what he wants in time to fight for it, and his acceptance of life as a disappointing thing means he cannot ultimately succeed. Interestingly, in this edition's introduction, there is an excerpt from an interview with author John Williams who asserts that Stoner is a "real hero." He realizes that "a lot of people...think that Stoner had such a sad and bad life. I think he had a very good life. He had a better life than most people do, certainly." I keep coming back to this assertion because it is true to some extent. In another world, Stoner stays on at his parents' farm and works himself to the bone until he dies. He never discovers his love of literature, his passion for teaching. And yet we have a book where he sees a bigger world that can include his happiness and he can't get there. The world won't allow it. To me, that is unbelievably sad. Maybe it is heroic that he did soldier on in the face of all that.
All of this is portrayed in such a tightly woven, straightforward, unembellished way, that it's easy to see why this is a classic, why it's called luminous, riveting, and perfect.
dalhausen's review against another edition
5.0
I was not impressed or very interested in Stoner for the first 60 or so pages, and left this book barely read for two years before returning to it this week. It might have made a weak impression at first, but I cried off and on for 45 minutes after finishing the book. Stoner and the characters around him are, for the most part, people who do not know themselves intimately, whether by ignorance or blunt refusal, and who cannot communicate themselves clearly to others. His only intimates are parents who were stilted in their self-expression, a wife who is seemingly incapable of expressing her feelings for propriety's sake (while showing overt distress, unhappiness, and resentment), a child who eventually refuses to communicate herself to either of them, and a single friend who politely refuses to acknowledge the eccentricities of his marriage.
It is not surprising that Stoner is often confused and unable to claim emotional space, nor that he finds such a solace in literature, or that he proceeds stubbornly but safely through each of his life's disappointments without grand gestures. I was nearly halfway through the book before I realized that I actually cared for Stoner and that I was desperately hoping anything in his life would improve. As he continued to try to do what he thought was best in each situation and withdrew further into an inevitable solitude, that from which he was born and could not escape, I felt aggrieved for this person and the pure hope that he retained for connection.
This is probably what people mean when they call something a "sleeper hit." It's the uncomic equivalent of the Cohen brothers' A Serious Man. It was a complete surprise to me when I ended by feeling so much for this unexpectedly profound, sad, and simplistic novel.
"He had wanted friendship and the closeness of friendship that might hold him in the race of mankind... He had wanted the singleness and the still connective passion of marriage; he had had that, too, and did not know what to do with it, and it had died. He had wanted love; and he had had love, and had relinquished it, had let it go into the chaos of potentiality."
It is not surprising that Stoner is often confused and unable to claim emotional space, nor that he finds such a solace in literature, or that he proceeds stubbornly but safely through each of his life's disappointments without grand gestures. I was nearly halfway through the book before I realized that I actually cared for Stoner and that I was desperately hoping anything in his life would improve. As he continued to try to do what he thought was best in each situation and withdrew further into an inevitable solitude, that from which he was born and could not escape, I felt aggrieved for this person and the pure hope that he retained for connection.
This is probably what people mean when they call something a "sleeper hit." It's the uncomic equivalent of the Cohen brothers' A Serious Man. It was a complete surprise to me when I ended by feeling so much for this unexpectedly profound, sad, and simplistic novel.
"He had wanted friendship and the closeness of friendship that might hold him in the race of mankind... He had wanted the singleness and the still connective passion of marriage; he had had that, too, and did not know what to do with it, and it had died. He had wanted love; and he had had love, and had relinquished it, had let it go into the chaos of potentiality."
spoetnik's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Stoner is a remarkably realistic biography of a normal, average American man described in the most realistic language one can imagine. At first glance nothing special really happens in the novel and nothing truly sublime and profound is expounded by the author. This is however exactly the beauty and power of the work: a gripping, devastating story about your average Joe and how he faces the obstacles fate throws at the average man on a regular basis.
With a 'bleak' and stoic outlook on life inherited by his farmer parents, Stoner experiences hardship upon hardship yet keeps on working at his University until the day he dies. Themes of hard work, love and honouring ones principles mixed with an in-the-face realistic style of writing and an arguably perfect literary structure make this work a masterclass of writing and only after finishing it I realized how much it gripped and fascinated me.
In my opinion, the true heroes of the world are people like Stoner, that show perspicacity in the face of devastating adversity, hold the weight of their principles above the weight of personal advancement and remain faithful to their passion.
With a 'bleak' and stoic outlook on life inherited by his farmer parents, Stoner experiences hardship upon hardship yet keeps on working at his University until the day he dies. Themes of hard work, love and honouring ones principles mixed with an in-the-face realistic style of writing and an arguably perfect literary structure make this work a masterclass of writing and only after finishing it I realized how much it gripped and fascinated me.
In my opinion, the true heroes of the world are people like Stoner, that show perspicacity in the face of devastating adversity, hold the weight of their principles above the weight of personal advancement and remain faithful to their passion.
landonlunceford's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
This is one of the best novels I’ve ever read. All it does is follow the mundane life of an English professor, but you are so encapsulated with it. The death scene at the end might be one of the best things I’ve ever read.
jiji17's review against another edition
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
It has been a long time since I've read a book this good. Stoner is compelling in a way that leaves the reader wondering why they are so gripped by the story of one man's totally conventional and ostensibly depressing life. Yet it is indisputably gripping, as well as unforgettably poignant, in its short length successfully touching the reader in a way that not many books do.
Williams' writing is as quietly clever but unobtrusive as the character of Stoner himself. He paints a vivid image of the University of Missouri, which Stoner's life orbits unquestioningly around, sketching all of Stoner's simple joys and personal tragedies in a way that evokes the deepest feeling from the reader and yet also simultaneously reminds them of the ultimate triviality of everything that has been described.
Throughout the novel Williams seems to prompt the reader to question Stoner as a character. Should we really empathise with him, or has he earned the hardship in his life - from being a bad husband, an inadequate father, an inflexible teacher? Yet through the portrait that Williams creates, we see that Stoner is a merely a man, a man with faults, but also with principles, empathy, and passion. A man just like many before him and many after him. This is where the true beauty in the novel lies - in its aching melancholy that admits the inconsequence of most of the struggles and triumphs of our lives and yet embraces them anyway.
I believe that in a very different way to Camus, Williams asks us to embrace the absurdity of life, to continue the endless struggle of human existence, and to reflect on the meaninglessness and yet unbearable significance of each of our lives.
Williams' writing is as quietly clever but unobtrusive as the character of Stoner himself. He paints a vivid image of the University of Missouri, which Stoner's life orbits unquestioningly around, sketching all of Stoner's simple joys and personal tragedies in a way that evokes the deepest feeling from the reader and yet also simultaneously reminds them of the ultimate triviality of everything that has been described.
Throughout the novel Williams seems to prompt the reader to question Stoner as a character. Should we really empathise with him, or has he earned the hardship in his life - from being a bad husband, an inadequate father, an inflexible teacher? Yet through the portrait that Williams creates, we see that Stoner is a merely a man, a man with faults, but also with principles, empathy, and passion. A man just like many before him and many after him. This is where the true beauty in the novel lies - in its aching melancholy that admits the inconsequence of most of the struggles and triumphs of our lives and yet embraces them anyway.
I believe that in a very different way to Camus, Williams asks us to embrace the absurdity of life, to continue the endless struggle of human existence, and to reflect on the meaninglessness and yet unbearable significance of each of our lives.
fallona's review against another edition
4.0
One of the bleakest novels I have ever read, and yet somehow I genuinely enjoyed it. It's moving in its desolation.
offboss's review against another edition
5.0
One of those books that became instantly important to me. The best thing I have read in at least a year. I don't know if it's a "perfect novel" as the blurb claims, but it is incredibly beautiful and sincere.
allisonchoi's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
5.0