John Williams: Stoner

Unpretentious. Beautiful. Frustrating.

These three adjectives could describe the main character William Stoner, according to our group who read this book by John Williams as the last one for the spring season ’23. The book was so convincing already from the first pages onwards that the reader could not help noticing that. A timeless classic, perhaps?

“How to lead a modest life”, as one of the book clubbers summarized the events in the book.  The Stoner was published in 1965, but the events in themselves date back to the late 1800´s and early 1900´s. Born and raised in a poor countryside of Missouri, Stoner is the hope of his family as he is being sent from the rural fields straight to the university. But something remarkable happens, as the intended agronomy studies are gradually replaced by the studies of English literature. He dwells on the world of literature and language. Thus later on, he starts living a scholarly life and starts teaching. He is married to a girl from a “proper background” and the life goes firmly on. But somehow, it all starts going slightly askew.  We come to witness that his marriage is not truly a happy one, his career is overshadowed by some obscure intentions, and he does something that a teacher is not supposed to do… It seems that his life is on a downward spiral, in many ways. Yet he is doing nothing to change the course of his life. As a reader, a frustrating feeling to witness this all.

A novel was published in 1965, a period in the American history when the country was involved with the Vietnam war.  Also in Stoner, the war is lurking in the background. Maybe this is not a coincidence, but perhaps Williams has done this on purpose – an anti-war atmosphere is reflected in the actions and statements, at least when it comes to the world-view of his protagonist, William Stoner.

Review of our group: 3,5/5 stars!

-Marika

Image: goodreads.com