Name: Stoner
Rating: 4.356368563685637 (369 reviews)
ISBN: 9789722055567

John Williams

John McGahern

Born the child of a poor farmer in Missouri, William Stoner is urged by his parents to study new agriculture techniques at the state university. Digging instead into the texts of Milton and Shakespeare, Stoner falls under the spell of the unexpected pleasures of English literature and decides to make it his life. Stoner is the story of that life.

Stoner

William Stoner is born at the end of the nineteenth century into a dirt-poor Missouri farming family. Sent to the state university to study agronomy, he instead falls in love with English literature and embraces a scholar’s life, so different from the hardscrabble existence he has known. And yet as the years pass, Stoner encounters a succession of disappointments: marriage into a “proper” family estranges him from his parents; his career is stymied; his wife and daughter turn coldly away from him; a transforming experience of new love ends under threat of scandal. Driven ever deeper within himself, Stoner rediscovers the stoic silence of his forebears and confronts an essential solitude.

John Williams’s luminous and deeply moving novel is a work of quiet perfection. William Stoner emerges from it not only as an archetypal American, but as an unlikely existential hero, standing, like a figure in a painting by Edward Hopper, in stark relief against an unforgiving world.
--back cover

Phil

A profoundly moving, emotional, and well-written book that is relentlessly sad. The takeaway message for me was "an ordinary life, faithfully lived, is enough." It also contained a theme about acceptance that resonated with me. Stoner clearly sees what cannot be changed and continued to act well anyway. He faces everyday disappointments with stoic dignity. Finally, the book raises these thought-provoking questions: How should a person live? What gives a life meaning? This is my favorite quote from the book: “Love is not an end, but a process through which one person attempts to know another.”

Bambang Hartono

I did not cry reading this but came very very close

Romance publicado em 1965, caído no esquecimento. Tal como o seu autor, John Williams – também ele um obscuro professor americano, de uma obscura universidade.
Passados quase 50 anos, o mesmo amor à literatura que movia a personagem principal levou a que uma escritora, Anna Gavalda, traduzisse o livro perdido. Outras edições se seguiram, em vários países da Europa. E em 2013, quando os leitores da livraria britânica Waterstones foram chamados a eleger o melhor livro do ano, escolheram uma relíquia. 
Julian Barnes, Ian McEwan, Bret Easton Ellis, entre muitos outros escritores, juntaram-se ao coro e resgataram a obra, repetindo por outras palavras a síntese do jornalista Bryan Appleyard: "É o melhor romance que ninguém leu". Porque é que um romance tão emocionalmente exigente renasce das cinzas e se torna num espontâneo sucesso comercial nas mais diferentes latitudes? A resposta está no livro. Na era da híper comunicação, Stoner devolve-nos o sentido de intimidade, deixa-nos a sós com aquele homem tristonho, de vida apagada. Fechamos a porta, partilhamos com ele a devoção à literatura, revemo-nos nos seus fracassos; sabendo que todo o desapontamento e solidão são relativos – se tivermos um livro a que nos agarrar.

Source: https://www.leyaonline.com/pt/ebooks/stoner-ebook/

One of the best books I have read. It is a story of his life, but more importantly, how literature is intertwined with every aspect of his life. It is written wonderfully and truly has you wanting more after each turn of a page.

Edwin Lang

John Williams in an interview considered William Stoner a hero. This is a story of a man who is doing what he wants to do (i.e. teach) and for which he has and retains a passion throughout: he loved his work. I liked the story very much. And while I agree with reviewers who thought the book ‘brilliant, beautiful, elegant, simple, straightforward, exciting, inspiriting, about life itself – whole and as it is, inexorably and achingly sad, heartbreaking and incredibly moving” I did find the story all these things and had not found Stoner a tragedy by any means: There was never a point at which I thought that I cannot read any more because it is just too awful. Stoner seemed to buoy us along. Oddly though William Stoner was not like, say the Virginian who was a man not ‘to be trifled with’. It seemed that everyone trifled with Stoner through the tale, not always successfully, and it was amazing to see the restraint John Williams had Stoner exercise throughout . Stoner was in every sense a good man. I think what Williams was trying to articulate when he said that he considered Stoner a hero was something along the lines of what Timothy Findley said in The Wars. Findley had a character speculate on the love that men can have for another, ‘the ones who seek beauty through perfection … they are the true athletes … they seek out poets and artists and the poets and artists seek them out: what distinguishes them as they seek, perhaps unknown to themselves, to be great men and how can they separate them from the years in which they lived, through their response to that living and their attempt to make a contribution to the future: their greatness is in their response to the moment. Maybe that is the essence of Stoner and what makes it so great a book: he was a man that simply lived in the moment. When Stoner is considering whether to enlist in the Great War, his mentor, Arthur Sloane, who had introduced Stoner to literature, said ‘You must remember what you are and what you have chosen to become and the significance of what you are doing”. A character in The Wars mocks and berates the contribution that Churchill made in World War II, but I found instead in Stoner that like Churchill there was in fact a greatness in Stoner and it was this conviction that propelled me through the story. I think though it is very much a man’s story – man to man. It demonstrates perseverance and fortitude – so what if things are rather tough: be a man - marrying badly – so what if you’ve married a bitch: be ruthlessly and selflessly magnanimous, working at far less than what you are capable of: find, somehow the dignity implicit it it and plan for a better day and for the moment at least stick with it with no aim of personal gain whatsoever. I recalled while reading Stoner the rather discouraging notion that many ‘live lives of quiet desperation’ and think it is false and it is bad advice: it is not desperation at all but living with extreme dignity, living less for yourself and instead expending yourself for an idea, a vision, a principle, even for another. John Williams shows the different forms love – wife, friend, lover, daughter and colleague – can take and the forces that oppose it. In a sense this is different from Enough about Love where the focus among four key characters has each of the characters seeking love so as to reenergize their lives. Stoner at one point notes that “in the soft light her face showed young and unlined” and he thought “if only I had been stronger, had known more, had understood ….” then maybe we could have had a better life together. There is also a point where Stoner inadvertently falls in love and has an affair and it does not reflect on Stoner negatively on any way (at least for me, the reader): I found it to be love in the purest and most innocent form, and neither Stoner nor his beloved had sought love and they were simply victims of and blindsided by Cupid as many are. It was not so much that I wanted to see them run away together and be happy: somehow I knew that this was not what Williams was writing about, that it was not about Stoner’s fulfillment as a person or even his success. The introduction stresses that when Stoner dies he will already be forgotten: and yet, one gets the sense that instead of this being some existential threat to one’s value as a human being – e.g. ‘will I have a son to carry on my line?’ which seems to pervade much of our culture – and, perhaps it is the Classical nature of Stoner’s studies, Stoner knows that like Socrates he may live on forever but whether he does or does not, while he was alive he was a witness, and perhaps martyr, to what is best in the human. Edwin

Amanda Wright

Dani

The son of a Midwestern farmer, William Stoner, arrives at the University of Missouri in 1910 to study agriculture. He had intended to return home to take over his father's farm - but instead, inspired by the professor of English literature, he remains at the university to teach.

“To a woman or to a poem, it said simply: Look, I am alive!”

“He had conceived wisdom, and at the end of the long years he had found ignorance. And what else? he thought. What else? What did you expect? he asked himself.”

“Like all lovers, they spoke much of themselves, as if they might thereby understand the world which made them possible.”

throughout my reading i listened to ryuichi sakamoto's solitude on loop; both stubborn pieces that insist on themselves without the need for a grander affair, and grows more difficult over time because of it. there's a sense of fatigue, sometimes, because to keep a tone consistent you endanger being dull. but while solitude challenges itself stoner decides to lie back and persist. later in life i worry i would look back on whatever becomes of my teaching and find myself at the same precipice stoner stood on. i worry i would find change and have nothing to stir me anymore to move towards it. i worry i wouldn't even have something to reach for to terrify me enough that it makes me think i am alive.

transparent. a course of life. nothing groundbreaking. love can only give you so much purpose; after that, you choose

shen

“To a woman or to a poem, it said simply: Look, I am alive!”

“He had conceived wisdom, and at the end of the long years he had found ignorance. And what else? he thought. What else? What did you expect? he asked himself.”

“Like all lovers, they spoke much of themselves, as if they might thereby understand the world which made them possible.”


throughout my reading i listened to ryuichi sakamoto's solitude on loop; both stubborn pieces that insist on themselves without the need for a grander affair, and grows more difficult over time because of it. there's a sense of fatigue, sometimes, because to keep a tone consistent you endanger being dull. but while solitude challenges itself stoner decides to lie back and persist. later in life i worry i would look back on whatever becomes of my teaching and find myself at the same precipice stoner stood on. i worry i would find change and have nothing to stir me anymore to move towards it. i worry i wouldn't even have something to reach for to terrify me enough that it makes me think i am alive.

transparent. a course of life. nothing groundbreaking. love can only give you so much purpose; after that, you choose

Hier begleiten wir einen Mann, der sein ganzes Leben dem Wissen und der Universität hingibt. 

Ich fand das Buch langweilig und wollte nur schnell damit fertig werden, obwohl ich dachte das ich es vielleicht etwas mögen würde, weil jeder es mag gefühlt, aber naja. Für mich war der Mann die ganze Zeit so passiv und es war irgendwie alles so negativ. 

Mariam Raji

Hier begleiten wir einen Mann, der sein ganzes Leben dem Wissen und der Universität hingibt. 

Ich fand das Buch langweilig und wollte nur schnell damit fertig werden, obwohl ich dachte das ich es vielleicht etwas mögen würde, weil jeder es mag gefühlt, aber naja. Für mich war der Mann die ganze Zeit so passiv und es war irgendwie alles so negativ. 

I read Stoner because someone recommended it to me, they said it might be slow, but I didn't find it boring at all, I was actually hooked the whole way through. ;) 

The book starts by explicitly stating that William Stoner wasn't special. He was just a human being who lived a full life, full of love, failure, struggle and passion. It's such a basic life, but John Williams writes it so beautifully, far more melancholic than I ever imagined. 

The best way to describe William Stoner is 'stoic.' He had this deep love for literature and teaching, but he was almost too calm, so passive that he missed out on things he could have achieved. He had so much potential. I found myself a lot of the scenes, like how love can have such a massive impact on your life, or that specific connection when two intellectuals fall for each other just because they're on the same wavelength. 

It's impossible to convey how beautiful the book is. John Williams take this ordinary life and renders it with a dignity so sharp it's haunting. The real beauty isn't in what Stoner achieved, but the deep passion he held for literature and the struggle to endure as life takes away those closest to him. The steady toll of loss, from the deaths of his parents, his teacher and his close friend, marks the passage of time more than any career success.

The intense reflection on mortality, the heartbreaking realization of human experiences, the greatest loves and disappointments, are often lived and lost in complete obscurity, but, here it forces us to confront our own end. 

I read Stoner because someone recommended it to me, they said it might be slow, but I didn't find it boring at all, I was actually hooked the whole way through. ;) 

The book starts by explicitly stating that William Stoner wasn't special. He was just a human being who lived a full life, full of love, failure, struggle and passion. It's such a basic life, but John Williams writes it so beautifully, far more melancholic than I ever imagined. 

The best way to describe William Stoner is 'stoic.' He had this deep love for literature and teaching, but he was almost too calm, so passive that he missed out on things he could have achieved. He had so much potential. I found myself a lot of the scenes, like how love can have such a massive impact on your life, or that specific connection when two intellectuals fall for each other just because they're on the same wavelength. 

It's impossible to convey how beautiful the book is. John Williams take this ordinary life and renders it with a dignity so sharp it's haunting. The real beauty isn't in what Stoner achieved, but the deep passion he held for literature and the struggle to endure as life takes away those closest to him. The steady toll of loss, from the deaths of his parents, his teacher and his close friend, marks the passage of time more than any career success.

The intense reflection on mortality, the heartbreaking realization of human experiences, the greatest loves and disappointments, are often lived and lost in complete obscurity, but, here it forces us to confront our own end. 

I really feel for William Stoner. My life is "nothing" like his and yet I found his journey of defeats to resonate with me. I'm not even quite sure of what I am meant to take away from this book, but I know I am changed from it.

Stoicism finally makes an overt mention late into the book; Stoner realizes that entire generations of mankind walked this planet quietly taking in life's miseries and remaining stern-faced despite the hardships. Stoner does just this, yet while he also calls himself poor at introspection, I believe this is a self-deception; many times he makes connections from his own experiences to those of others. His ability to think deeply about his life with a sense of truth and honesty is something we should all strive for. His sense of justice even makes an appearance and he sticks up for what is right. He really is an ideal stoic.

But he is not an ideal man. Stoner's life is far more defeats than victories and one cannot help but watch as many of these defeats are self-inflicted. Honestly, he's so pitiable that he horseshoes back into almost irredeemable; the man's early choices and reluctance to enact change on them doom him for decades and anyone with a brain, Stoner included, can see it happening. It's painful, but I think it's important.

I loved "Stoner". I don't really know how to recommend this book considering how miserable and sad it can be and how this makes for a really tough pitch; but with that said, I think if you're a fan of reading, you have to read this book.

Evan

A sad and quietly harrowing story.

I really feel for William Stoner. My life is "nothing" like his and yet I found his journey of defeats to resonate with me. I'm not even quite sure of what I am meant to take away from this book, but I know I am changed from it.

Stoicism finally makes an overt mention late into the book; Stoner realizes that entire generations of mankind walked this planet quietly taking in life's miseries and remaining stern-faced despite the hardships. Stoner does just this, yet while he also calls himself poor at introspection, I believe this is a self-deception; many times he makes connections from his own experiences to those of others. His ability to think deeply about his life with a sense of truth and honesty is something we should all strive for. His sense of justice even makes an appearance and he sticks up for what is right. He really is an ideal stoic.

But he is not an ideal man. Stoner's life is far more defeats than victories and one cannot help but watch as many of these defeats are self-inflicted. Honestly, he's so pitiable that he horseshoes back into almost irredeemable; the man's early choices and reluctance to enact change on them doom him for decades and anyone with a brain, Stoner included, can see it happening. It's painful, but I think it's important.

  

I loved "Stoner". I don't really know how to recommend this book considering how miserable and sad it can be and how this makes for a really tough pitch; but with that said, I think if you're a fan of reading, you have to read this book.

Stoner was one hell of a ride and truly, one of the best books I’ve ever read. There is not much interesting going on, but it’s an excellently told narrative of the monotonous, “boring” life of William Stoner. This is the kind of book that makes you see parts of yourself in him, your life slipping by but you don’t fully realize it until it’s too late, makes you comtemplate whether mediocrity and ordinariness is a blessing or a curse, are you at peace by it, or are you a victim of it? Leaves you with a great deal of self reflection, not a book you easily forget after a few months.

April M

a seemingly impossible novel: yes, i found myself entranced by it, but at points, i stopped to wonder why i care, only to just continue anyway.

pacing was excellent, not once did i think that a scene overstayed its welcome or did i want to listen in more.

anyway, this novel is just about right in its ambition – not too wide, and not too insular. if a perfect shower temperature was a book, this would be it

the mundanity of life seems to sweep the protagonist along as it goes. he first is a student, without planning, one day becomes a tenured literature professor. first a single man, then finds marriage and fatherhood thrust upon him. he finds himself content, then sickness befalls him. he does not quite go out without a fight, and his life serves as a reminder of how quickly time passes and you grow old. dont let life pass you by...

really enjoyed the portrait of edith, his wife, who has more agency than william but who nonetheless life binds to her fate. from young, she leaves home an eager girl, itching to experience life away from a domineering mother, only to become a mother who irreparably changes her daughter's life not unlike how she changes  her own through brash decision-making. there is a certain cruelty here, although if i were to take a charitable reading, she just never dealt with her own repressed traumas, and by pattern-matching and taking her daughter's life into her own hands, there was a return of the repressed. her self-declared war on her "boring" husband is also so amusing to me, like ohhhhh so this is what undersimulated women did with life in the past, before they were able to channel that energy into being girlbosses. in a way, edith's story is an alternative to gillian flynn's gone girl

in the correspondences published between his publisher and himself, they shared the view that they didnt see commercial potential in the book – i am so amused with how wrong they are, it has morphed into a cult classic in the internet age, far beyond what they couldve imagined, although it is a pity that they both did not live to witness its success

Ghee

so much life in 290 pages..

a seemingly impossible novel: yes, i found myself entranced by it, but at points, i stopped to wonder why i care, only to just continue anyway.

pacing was excellent, not once did i think that a scene overstayed its welcome or did i want to listen in more.

anyway, this novel is just about right in its ambition – not too wide, and not too insular. if a perfect shower temperature was a book, this would be it

🚨 SPOILERS 🚨

the mundanity of life seems to sweep the protagonist along as it goes. he first is a student, without planning, one day becomes a tenured literature professor. first a single man, then finds marriage and fatherhood thrust upon him. he finds himself content, then sickness befalls him. he does not quite go out without a fight, and his life serves as a reminder of how quickly time passes and you grow old. dont let life pass you by...

really enjoyed the portrait of edith, his wife, who has more agency than william but who nonetheless life binds to her fate. from young, she leaves home an eager girl, itching to experience life away from a domineering mother, only to become a mother who irreparably changes her daughter's life not unlike how she changes  her own through brash decision-making. there is a certain cruelty here, although if i were to take a charitable reading, she just never dealt with her own repressed traumas, and by pattern-matching and taking her daughter's life into her own hands, there was a return of the repressed. her self-declared war on her "boring" husband is also so amusing to me, like ohhhhh so this is what undersimulated women did with life in the past, before they were able to channel that energy into being girlbosses. in a way, edith's story is an alternative to gillian flynn's gone girl

in the correspondences published between his publisher and himself, they shared the view that they didnt see commercial potential in the book – i am so amused with how wrong they are, it has morphed into a cult classic in the internet age, far beyond what they couldve imagined, although it is a pity that they both did not live to witness its success

Stoner

Reviews

Highlights