William Stoner is born at the end of the nineteenth century into a dirt-poor Missouri farming family. As years pass, Stoner encounters a succession of disappointments: his marriage 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.
By Damla
“You must remember what you are and what you have chosen to become, and the significance of what you are doing. There are wars and defeats and victories of the human race that are not military and that are not recorded in the annals of history. Remember that while you’re trying to decide what to do.”
So, here is a little story of how my Stoner journey totally flipped on me and I didn’t even feel it coming.
Starting this book, I had quite a few apprehensions. It wasn’t the type of book I was in the mood for. It seemed a bit boring, too. Why did it have such high ratings? (mind you, this was a few years before its sudden popularity on Instagram and Booktok, which boosted its ratings even more) Well, I picked it up nonetheless on a moment’s whim, and now I had to commit. I could get through it.
A few pages in, the apprehensions became considerable doubts. By page 20, I was just plain unwilling to go on. Except, somewhere along the line, I found myself becoming mildly interested in this extraordinarily mediocre man’s life. And then, all at once, I was fully invested.
In the gray-tinted life of the frustratingly passive (and aptly inert named) Stoner, devoid of much ambition, happiness, or passion at its heart, there are certain moments of honest brilliance that was surprising to witness. The writing itself feels impactful through its starkness and realness, in turn creating a very satisfying and (perhaps ironically) emotional read. We are reminded that, yes, in life no joy or despair lasts, and after a short journey, you die.
Depressing? Yes. But also, somehow beautifully simple.
Down with its final chapter, this book is an unexpectedly deep and quietly brilliant surprise overall.
