There’s been a lot of chat online about Stoner by John Williams being a book where nothing really happens.
Well, I read it recently for the first time and I thought Stoner was PACKED with important events… and big feelings.
William Stoner grows up working on his family’s farm. When his father suggests he go to college to learn more about agriculture, he dutifully attends. Stoner always does what he’s told, quietly and competently, and without passion. Until he takes a literature class at college, and everything changes. Unable to answer a question from his professor, Stoner is, for the first time, challenged.
He changes his major, and thus the course of his entire life.
Williams’ writing is understated, yet beautifully clear and forthright, and very readable.
As someone who studied literature and worked in a university for more than a decade, I recognised many of the characters in Stoner’s world. Academia is an environment that worships the mind and celebrates original thought, and yet can be filled with petty disputes and loneliness…and some people who can only find meaning within the university’s walls.
Stoner confronts all kinds of conflict in his work and personal life, but it’s his quiet persistence and deep love of teaching that propel him steadily forward to the book’s heartbreaking conclusion.
Stoner is really about how we find meaning in our work and daily life. So in fact, Stoner is a book about a very ordinary life that is at the same time, completely extraordinary.
Cherie lives, works, and reads in beautiful Tasmania – the green island gem below Australia known for its gorgeous landscape and beautiful wildlife. She holds multiple academic qualifications in English, journalism, and fine art theory, and has worked in writing, editing, and communications roles for more than a decade. Most importantly, she has a deep love for books that began as soon as she learned how to read.
Old, new, any genre – for Cherie, reading is about as vital as breathing. She is interested in sharing books that move, excite, and compel, so others can share the joy of a truly great read. While she reads across most genres, her favourite is literary fiction. Particularly anything by Margaret Atwood, Ottessa Moshfegh, Kate Atkinson, Elizabeth Berg, Ann Patchett, and Anne Tyler.
Cherie frequents Tasmania’s beautiful boutique book shops as well as scouring secondhand shops for books to add to her extensive home library. Catch up with her on LinkedIn and on Instagram.
