If I had only gone by the description on the back cover, I would never have picked up Stoner. The story of the life of a quiet, unassuming English literature professor at a small university doesn't exactly promise to be exciting or memorable. He isn't a hero that we are used to. But, trusting the high praises of those who had read it, I gave it a chance.
It's a book by American author John Williams first published in 1965 and back then it went by fairly unrecognized - it was not the right time for it, people, especially the American culture, was not impressed by it. Then it was rereleased in the early 2000 in Europe and became a bestseller. It finally got the attention it deserved.
The beginning of the book was indeed a bit slow. William Stoner is an only child in a poor, farming family, and from a young age, he knew only hard work and fulfilling his parents' demands. At 18, when he found himself at the university, he discovered a love for literature, stayed to earn his doctorate, and became a professor.
Although already the first two paragraphs reveal Stoner's beginning and end, through stories and details of university life, which encompass two world wars, we get a clear picture of his character. This is a work of literary fiction entirely driven by the main character, with whom we sympathize or get angry at his actions. It paints a picture of ordinary people, too ordinary, unremarkable, people who accept their fate without rebellion; but a picture that is universal and realistic, so that even when we disdain their actions, we still feel empathy for something all too familiar. It's written from a third person perspective, and this time the narrator is trustworthy, we don't question anything he shares.
After a slow start, the story gains momentum that devours pages one after another. An incredible feat. Discussions on topics that in reality sound boring or abstract become the most exciting, dynamic debates. We learn about Stoner's university life, problems with other professors and students, marriage issues, love affairs... We want him to start standing up for himself and not let people run over him.
Simple yet beautiful prose is written with such a fluidity that it doesn't let you put it down. Perfectly precise. It's a touching story about the everyday, about humanity, a love for learning, morality, and stubborn principles, about a passion for life and a lack of it, about seeking meaning in a meaningless world. A zoomed-out picture of an existence where the turbulent river of life pulls us with its current, throws us onto the surrounding rocks, and then swallows us again.
“He had, in odd ways, given it to every moment of his life, and had perhaps given it most fully when he was unaware of his giving. It was a passion neither of the mind nor of the flesh; rather, it was a force that comprehended them both, as if they were but the matter of love, its specific substance. To a woman or to a poem, it said simply: Look! I am alive.”
I really don't know how John Williams managed to do it, but he succeeded in making the most exciting boring story through the portrait of Stoner. We realize that even what seems like an ordinary, dull life has its intense moments of pain, pleasure and purpose. A simple, direct writing style, no more and no less than what is necessary. It’s no wonder it's marked as a perfect novel.
4.5/5