Stoner Review! | A Mediocre Professor Wanders Into a Masterpiece
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- Опубліковано 3 жов 2024
- My review of John Williams's STONER, a book filled with people so unlikeable because they remind you of people you know, but filled with wonderful prose, academic politics, and unhappy people.
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"I don't know if I liked this book, but I might have loved it"
My exact thoughts boiled down to one sentence. Brilliant review!
This has to be my favorite review of the year of my favorite book of the year! 👏👏👏
Stoner is passive but surprising at times as well! The John Williams music inserts and the Walker impression! 🤣 For me, it would be a superb ++ even if does evoke an inevitable existential crisis.
Lol thank you, Johanna! I think my inability to root for any of them kept it from the ++ rating!
I just finished it! Loved it! There's an existential bleakness throughout the novel that drew me in, which made me genuinely root for Stoner through his varied professorial challenges and personal travails. What amazed me is that amid the gray futility of life there is a mild, soft beauty woven into the prose that occasionally permits shafts of ethereal light to shine upon the weighty pages of this magnificent novel.
It makes sense that this would strike home, if it's a very realistic portrayal of teacher-life. That's what I love about literary fiction and classics. They are often mean to show you what the day-in-the-life of someone looks like.
have you read this? You would like this. Dostoyevsky would write something sad like this but in 400 more pages
A book about an English professor, eh? I keep hearing folks I know here on BookTube rave about Stoner. Now you too! Being an English professor who is occasionally given to fits of melancholy (though I'm a full professor, at least), I feel like I probably should be reading this one . . . But what if it cuts too close to the bone?!
I think you'd really love it!
Yes! Please read this book, Philip!
That's why we need more Student jeopardy episodes so that they remember you forever.
yesss!!
That pretty writing that has a good rhythm that just flows is such a joy. It's amazing how much this book has blown up. NYRB Classics is a great imprint.
I had never heard of it or the imprint but now I'm hooked!
Bring a smile to my face that you guys love my grandpa work . He real name is John Edward Williams .He was also a movie editor he in a movie 🎬 with John Wayne.
Great review! Williams write like a dream and life can be a nightmare. Stoner is the best book I ever read. Thanks for confirming.
Somehow, this review really moved me. As a neglected and verbally abused child in a household not caring about what happened at school or with my grades, teachers might have thought I didn't care for them as a person or their courses, but really it had more to do with my personal struggles, especially lack of encouragement and one-on-one time with teachers that cared. The worst part was that I thought I was the problem, that I wasn't smart enough, I didn't have the maturity to analyze the situation properly. I think it's so easy to take things personally, but most of the time the way people act, whether they're teenagers or adults, has little to do with us.
When it comes to teaching methods, they won't necessarily work for all students. I remember a Russian teacher I've had, she was so sweet and clearly passionate, but I really struggled in her class because she had no visual aid whatsoever and I needed to see those words (it was an online Uni course - it would have cost me more to cancel it so I just quit :/). I had nothing against her personally.
It sounds like a very interesting and profound novel. I must admit that Stoner being indifferent to his daughter's well-being would be triggering to me. I can't talk about that marriage and what could've been done since I haven't read it yet, but your marriage and child should be your first priority. If your wife is toxic, if divorce isn't an option for x reason, you still can't live with that person harassing you everyday. Maybe he stayed for the child, but it sounds like he really didn't protect her. I understand the desire to be remembered for your hard work, but let's say he was remembered for it by his colleagues, what kind of father would his daughter remember? That, in my opinion, would be even more tragic: misplaced priorities.
Does this mean Burnt Sugar is coming?!
anything's possible!
@@TheLibraryofAllenxandria even your comments are delaying my anticipation 😂
Now I've seen Alex, Johanna, Jimmy and you rave about this book. I guess I need to put it on the TBR finally!
This sounds like the most riveting and moving mundane story that I will ever read. Hearing Johanna, Jimmy and now you gush about this one has really sold me on the book. Plus, it helps that it's such a short one!
Loved hearing your thoughts, I am glad this was such a hit for you!! 🤩
I've seen this book a lot in the used bookstore over here. I will be picking it up next time. Thanks for the review. 🥰
It's free on audible too!
wait....we didn't get down to business. IDK what to do
I just downloaded this book on audible! I've been in a fantasy book slump so I've been trying to read other genres this month.
I loved the audio!
Thanks for enjoying my grandpa book . He wrote alot of novels. He was also a movie 🎬 editor. He made a movie with John Wayne.
The scene where Stoner is burying his mother and reflecting on the "meaningless" of their labors to farm, where the more work they put into it, year after year, the more barren it became, that is the scene where I had an existential crisis. Yet, it was oddly cathartic in its nihilism.
It's interesting that William Stoner is the only one that leads a comparatively fulfilling life: he has achievements offered to him but he rejects them for the comfort of his position. Yet, Edith is thrust into marriage because I think it was expected of her. And Grace was running away from the stagnation of William Stoner in his fulfillment and the overcompensation in Edith's lack of fulfillment.
I've really enjoyed listening to everyone talk about this book and see which parts struck each person the most
I have wanted to read this one for a very long time, and I absolutely love that this somewhat random book is getting a spotlight in this corner of booktube. Any book where you go back and read a scene after you finished has to be a great one. Excellent review, I think you have pushed me to getting to this one soon.
I guess this is next on the TBR now. I always know if Allen gives a glowing review it is always going to be one of my favorites.
Eu gostaria de agradecer vc pelas suas reviews vc tem tanta energia quanda fala dos livros que me da vontade de ler youtubers de livros nao são tao populares e por isso eu agradeço demais pelo seu esforço e pelo incentivo para ler mais e aprender outros idiomas quando eu comecei a ler em inglês eu fiquei desnorteado pela quantidade de opções mas vcs me guiaram obrigado
I would like to thank you for your reviews you have such energy that make me want to read more booktubers are not very popular and because of that I thank your efforts and for the incentive to read and to learn new languages when I started english I got really disoriented with the quantity of options so Im grateful for your guidance
I came on here looking for people who are stoned and high just reviewing something... and this was not the stone I had in mind. LMFAO
When I wrote my review for this book I struggled to explain the whole Lomax and Walker situation, and you explained it so much more succinctly.
Enjoyed this book a lot, and it's nice to see it getting attention on Booktube. Great review!
I just recently read Stoner and very much agree with your review. It was wonderfully written and was objectively a 5⭐️ book, though my enjoyment was at a 4⭐️ level because of my frustration with Stoner.
Yes! It's exactly this
I read this ages ago for a summer lit class at Mizzou. It's stick with me for two decades.
If you think Stoner had a terrible life, ask yourself if he'd been better off returning to the farm as his family wanted and expected him to do.
Williams also creates a bit of existential angst by showing that for most of us, our existence is only really felt by a very few people we've connected with deeply and forgotten by the many whose lives we pass through mostly unnoticed. For Stoner, I'm sure that Katherine will always feel his presence in some way.
[dinosaurs bellowing]
Just finished the book in Audible and I’m surprised that you described the book just as I couldn’t, but felt!!
I hated so much Edith and Walker, Stoner’s passivity!
Grate book!!
Yess! I'm glad you enjoyed it!
I owned this book before it became a Booktube darling....I need to read it still. Lol. Great review!!
It's so good!
I recently read Butcher's Crossing and loved it so I'm looking forward to reading Stoner and Augustus. Still unsure if i will Nothing But the Night since Williams appeared to disown it or something.
Oh nice, glad you liked it.
I was stunned by how much I enjoyed it!
What a fabulous book!! I read this last week while visiting my grandmother in central Missouri which just so happened to be the perfect place to read this book.
Daaaaang great place to read it!
I got recommended this book after an acquaintance said my bleak outlook reminded them of Stoner. Considering your comment on being remembered as a teacher, please know that if you show your genuine passion, it will ring true for some students. While I have forgotten many of my teachers, there are still a few I will never forget. Each left a very lasting impression that definitely contributes to the person I am today. Whether I reached their expectations is another matter.
Awesome review Allen. Literary fiction isn’t typically my thing either, but maybe I’ll check it out.
Free on audio!
that's a great book that not many people know about. Excellent review!
Fantastic review man ! I keep hearing great things, might need to read it in my classics January.
It's fantastic!
@@TheLibraryofAllenxandria our tastes tend to align so I’m excited for it !
wait, it feels like it has been a while since we got a kingfin approval system. Has their been a break from it, or have I gone insane
anyway, you made me click want to read. The way you described the characters kinda reminds me of how I think of Hobb characters
I knew about the book but would not in a million years have picked it up. But now it's on my audio tbr.😅
Picked this book up last week, not sure when I'll read it exactly, but with a name like William Stoner, not that I'm a stoner,(not that I need the happy smoke to be spacey) sorta speaks to me. One thing I already don't like is how they treat their daughter, as a weapon, though it should be read more so folks think twice about doing it too, happens way too often.
As far as the existential crisis, yeah have had that and it pops up again and again. After doing a lot of head scratching and soul searching, reading Pratchett among others, I tend to think that it's unfortunately correct. Nothing does matter, the universe will expand forever and get so cold even photons faded out...BUT what that means is, we've sorta been handed a blank check, to write in values and beliefs that matter to us. The universe, life, has whatever meaning we give it. Whether this helps anyone, eh who knows, but I find it helped me.
I liked it for all of the same reasons, and like yourself, I never would have found it without recommendations from Booktube. Best surprise of the year.
One of the few books I’ve read and reread several times.
Obidiah Hakeswill vs Edith Stoner vs Lowmax..who do you hate the most? Thanks for the review. Stoner was an awesome book! I listened to it on Audible after jimmy mentioned it to you at chatting with Nutts.
Stoner recommends to his students, two novels which he says are all any student should need to read & understand. Does anyone remember the names & novelists that he recommends?
Thank you all for your support of my grandpa work .
ZEUS, are you the one who has talked about Augustus? It’s a good audiobook. Epistolary format made it really interesting. I will never remember all of those similar Italiany names because the library didn’t have the kindle version. 😩 your name is this but we’re going to call you this other unrelated name …. 🤨 thank you if it was a book you had on your TBR, good book … 4+⭐️
But... Jimmy only reads big epic tomes he can read in a nano-second
Still true
@@TheLibraryofAllenxandria unrelated by I'm finally reading Guards Guards, I'm loving it!
Dinosaurs bellowing
This sounds very depressing, idk if I’m ready for it😂. But I’m excited to read Augustus
It's...not quite depressing but...kinda? lol hard to describe
loved this book
I loved it
An excellent book and a great review.
:D
I really enjoyed Stoner as well and was compelled to try it based on Booktube reviews. I did struggle with the depth of the side characters, but I thought Stoner was a fascinating character. I also think how the antagonists were written hasn't aged well and I felt uncomfortable at the poor representation of characters with disability. The book could have been rewritten slightly so those characters weren't disabled and it wouldn't have changed the story at all. Thanks for the great review.
Yeah, I totally get that. It's implied that part of the reason Lomax is so gung-ho for Walker is bc they are both disabled but it would be easy to find another cause for this and you're right, literally nothing would change
Everyone is reading Stoner, what's going on?? I've tried few years ago but font was so small I dnf it
I hit it on audiobook and loved it!
trendy, overblown review
i didnt like the book
Stoner is what made me appreciate NYRBs. It’s been years since I read this book and I can remember each scene in detail, maybe that’s due to the excellent prose.