Stoner

Stoner

Author: John Edward Williams 

Rating: 5/5 Stars
Reviewer: Lydia

Stoner is a simple book about a simple man. It details one man’s everyday struggles and life experiences, and it expertly depicts a single life’s microscopic rise from and meteoric descent back into obscurity. This novel is profound, and will make you contemplate how much one life means in a world of so many. Stoner is a novel that does not shout its brilliance; it is quietly perfect.

William Stoner is the son of two poor farmers who is sent on a scholarship to the nearby college where he begins to study agriculture so that he can one day help his family on the farm. However, a required freshman English composition class changes his life forever, and he breaks out of his parent’s concrete and simplistic world and begins to study literature, philosophy, and the humanities.

Stoner, as he is known throughout the rest of the novel, becomes an English professor at the college, but he is not a great teacher. He also marries a woman who he doesn’t really love, but he is not a great husband. He even has a daughter whom he loves, but he is not a good father. All in all, Stoner deftly takes us through the life of one man, from beginning to end, and the final page ends as Stoner lies on his deathbed, contemplating his life. The realization that many people would consider his life a failure is palpable. However, it is ambiguous as to whether Stoner believes this as well.

It is impossible to describe the essence of Stoner and what makes it so great, so real and raw. Essentially it is a book about a man’s life, and it shouldn’t be as interesting as it is. When it was first released the book received little acclaim, and John Edward Williams, besides being a superb writer, sank into obscurity. With this new release of his most famous book, hopefully William Stoner and John Edward Williams will receive the recognition, fame, and acclaim the novel and author both deserve.