A review by jentang
Stoner by John Williams

5.0

out of simple curiosity, i had looked up this book online before reading, and found it described as both anti-gatsby, and an academic novel. i was mildly confused about what either of these meant, but now, after reading, i can wholly see where these appraisals and classifications were derived from. this is my first exploration of a campus novel, and it has certainly gripped me. i appreciate this book not for any of the typical reasons, i.e. entrapping writing or poignant plot. realism writing, to me at least, is hardly grabbing on its own, and the plot of stoner is honestly quite despondent and still. i even found the story to be predictable in many instances, although here i believe this foreseeability to be not a fault in writing, but a side effect of the novel's connection with humanity. instead, i appreciate it for its emphasis on the nitty gritty of its characters, which give readers who have assigned nothing to them nothing back. stoner himself was a clearly complex intellectual, but at his core, i found him to be pathetic and weak. as miserable as his life was, he played a great part in making it that way by doing nothing but stepping back and reflecting, by moving forward and accepting. and yet, he is a man modeled after many actual men i know, and i cannot say i would not have performed some of his exact actions had i been in his shoes. i do have a bit of an issue with the physical relations between him and edith, but i suppose that once again, their copulations unfortunately reflect those of many real couples, and besides, i cannot discriminate against this book alone for uncomfortable depictions that are so commonplace in literature everywhere. and of course, i feel a sense of obligation to move past this, as there are so many other characters to explore (grace - a life wasted because the lives who created hers wasted their own; edith - a woman missing and desperately seeking to gain the desires and abilities every woman seems expected to naturally have of being a wife and mother; katherine - her departure was eye-opening for me of how relationships with dynamics like hers often erase the individuality of the younger counterpart; lomax - i feel that somewhere along the way of finding himself he settled upon an approach of self defense and preservation that forever damned him to experiencing more or less the same isolation in adulthood that he faced growing up). if it wasn't already clear, i was not depleted by this story upon finishing it, but rather filled with observations and feeling, which is what makes this book a solid 5 stars for me. i do have to say, if stoner had been an actual stoner, i think his life would've had a more pleasant edge to it.