Stoner
Layered
Meaningful
Timeless

Stoner

John Williams2006
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
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Reviews

Photo of cyn
cyn@bookbear
5 stars
Nov 21, 2024
Magnetic
Profound
Compelling
Meaningful
Intelligent
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_linia_@dolohov
2.5 stars
Nov 11, 2024
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rachel@r4chll
5 stars
Oct 30, 2024
Photo of Luke Pearce
Luke Pearce@aldouslanark
5 stars
Oct 29, 2024
Pure
Simple
Eloquent
Compelling
Contemplative
Photo of Kévin-Lâm Quesnel
Kévin-Lâm Quesnel @invisible_lobster
5 stars
Aug 29, 2024
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Drew Nerbas@drew_cn
4 stars
Jul 24, 2024
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Chris Dailey@cris_dali
5 stars
Jul 7, 2024
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Ainsley Jeffery@ainsleyjeffery
5 stars
Jul 5, 2024
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James Wattie@jameswattie
4 stars
Jul 4, 2024
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mimi nguyen@nakedguacamole
4.5 stars
Jul 3, 2024
Photo of diya
diya@diyankilaco
4.5 stars
Jun 12, 2024
Deep
Layered
Thought provoking
Photo of Louis Norton
Louis Norton@pissfactory
5 stars
May 22, 2024
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elizabeth@ekmclaren
5 stars
May 11, 2024
Pure
Meaningful
Photo of Naomi
Naomi@melonbrain
5 stars
Apr 12, 2024
Photo of Bella Baxter
Bella Baxter@bellhorebooks
3 stars
Apr 4, 2024
Photo of Teresa Bonifácio
Teresa Bonifácio@teresabonifacio
4 stars
Apr 2, 2024
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Maria@nocturnes
4 stars
Apr 2, 2024
Photo of Tobias V. Langhoff
Tobias V. Langhoff@tvil
5 stars
Feb 24, 2024
Photo of Miranda
Miranda @miranda-8-8-8
5 stars
Feb 17, 2024
Honest
Eloquent
Long winded
Photo of Ray Remnant
Ray Remnant@rayremnant
2 stars
Feb 5, 2024
This review contains a spoiler
Creative
Pretentious
Photo of D.
D.@travelling_bookworm
4 stars
Jan 29, 2024
Photo of jack
jack@statebirds
5 stars
Jan 27, 2024
Photo of jess
jess@visceralreverie
5 stars
Jan 7, 2024
Photo of iamazoo
iamazoo@iamazoo
5 stars
Jan 6, 2024

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kemi@loveloser
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Jessiel Diez@jes_read
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Lula Diaz@luladiazf
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Lula Diaz@luladiazf
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Lula Diaz@luladiazf
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Lula Diaz@luladiazf
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Holly @mysticalbluerose
Page 194
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Holly @mysticalbluerose
Page 167
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Holly @mysticalbluerose
Page 37
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Holly @mysticalbluerose
Page 36
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Holly @mysticalbluerose
Page 31