Stoner

“A remarkable read. very enjoyable, and realistic, human journey I related to. 10/10 must Read”

“Arguably the most underrated American novel. Absolute masterpiece that has started picking up steam as a cult favorite over the past 10/15 years. Heartbreaking stuff, so tenderly executed that one man's objectively depressing reality becomes a series of felt universal truths. It feels particularly strong juxtaposed against modern ideology. Also it's almost definitely shorter than anything else that will be recommended, which is huge for me as someone who typically avoids fiction (and everyone who is struggling with a waning attention span).”

“The most beautiful (and endlessly readable) book I’ve ever read :’) reminds you to find something in even the smallest of moments”

“A great novel about the complexities of a mundane life”

“A life lived! Lived well? That’s up to the reader. Devastating opening paragraph and lots more in between. One of those books you wish you can read again for the first time.”

“A book worth every page it’s printed on. Not a single wasted word or space. Elegant and moving and precise.”

“a beautiful, quiet portrait of an "average" man. wonderful read - poignant and precise, with a light touch”

“It’s quiet, thoughtful and heartbreaking. Everything I want with my limited reading time with kids.”

“heartfelt narrative about the life of an ordinary individual”

“Make no mistake, this book is a bad time. I absolutely loved it”

“pg. 292 rating: 4/5 “it’s the love of the thing that’s essential. and if you love something, you’re going to understand it. and if you understand it, you’re going to learn a lot.” (williams, p.xiv) truly such an elegiac book. there is something profoundly moving about the idea that love precedes understanding. that we seek to understand something not to master it but simply because we care. to love something is to remain attentive and curious, even when there is nothing tangible to be gained. not everything we devote ourselves to needs to amount to something nor does its worth have to be measured by what it produces. i think there is a tenderness in the thought that we don't always need to justify why we love what we love. the fact that something continues to move us, even in ways we cannot quite articulate, is reason enough.”

“spent my reading week actually reading - though not for class as the name intends to suggest. this book really got me back into the flow of things. my favourite part is the 10 days of christmas vacation stoner spends with katherine in the mountain - so heartbreakingly tender and rare my eyes welled up.”

“Stoner hits hard, capturing the breadth of a whole life without making it feel grand. John Williams writes with a sober clarity that feels like the titular character. The prose carries Stoner’s dryness, his restraint, and the narrowness of the world he moves through. Where a marriage curdles in a paragraph. And a small humiliation lasts a lifetime. It’s devastating, enthralling, and somehow still a breezy read. A strong recommend about how fast life goes by. It might just change your life.”

“I couldn't put it down. The fear and realization of an ordinary life is palpable.”

“American classic I was unaware of, these characters will live with me for a long time. This is not a fairytale, it’s a slice of real life, victory and defeat, love and heartbreak. The story of one man’s journey from a boyhood spent ploughing fields to a life in academia, it’s complex and rich, heartbreaking, yet ultimately satisfying”

“Just read it!!”

“Your life, however “small,” will always be yours if you have art in it.”

“Such a great, quiet novel. Couldn’t stop reading.”

“not that kind of a stoner”