Stoner

By: John Williams

Narrated by: Robin Field

Length: 9 hrs and 46 mins

Publisher's summary

William Stoner is born at the end of the 19th century into a dirt-poor Missouri farming family. Sent to the state university to study agronomy, he instead falls in love with English literature and embraces a scholar's life, far different from the hardscrabble existence he has known. And yet as the years pass, Stoner encounters a succession of disappointments: marriage into a "proper" family estranges him from his parents; his career is stymied; his wife and daughter turn coldly away from him; a transforming experience of new love ends under threat of scandal. Driven ever deeper within himself, Stoner rediscovers the stoic silence of his forebears and confronts an essential solitude.

John Williams's luminous and deeply moving novel is a work of quiet perfection. William Stoner emerges from it not only as an archetypal American, but as an unlikely existential hero, standing, like a figure in a painting by Edward Hopper, in stark relief against an unforgiving world.

©1965 John Williams (P)2010 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

“A perfect novel, so well told and beautifully written, so deeply moving, it takes your breath away." (Morris Dickstein, New York Times Book Review )

“A masterly portrait of a truly virtuous and dedicated man.” ( New Yorker)

“An exquisite study, bleak as Hopper, of a hopelessly honest academic at a meretricious Midwestern university. I had not known…that the kind of unsparing portrait of failed marriage shown in Stoner existed before John Cheever.” ( Los Angeles Times)

Rookie

This book is truly a masterpiece of the human drama. It is the day to day life experiences that provide a framework for a life that we can identify and have empathy. Rarely have I ever been so moved by a book--wanting to tell the main character to pick a different path, but, realizing that the foundation that WIlliams has built- won't allow it. One of the best books I have ever read...

Have you lived 70 years or the same year 70 times?

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I would recommend it to someone who likes a classic work of fiction that does not excite through it plot but rather through the deep thought provoking questions that this piece of work raises.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Stoner himself presents an interesting case study of a life lived like many others. Its interesting to see how certain decisions and choices affect his future self.

What about Robin Field’s performance did you like?

Excellent. An understated performance that quietly goes about it business in an impressive way.

Any additional comments?

Well worth a listen if you do not have time to read the original.

Amazing

This has truly become one of my favorite books of all time. I loved it.

A Hidden Gem!!

Where does Stoner rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Top 10

What was one of the most memorable moments of Stoner?

The sacrifice of his happiness for others' happiness.

Which scene was your favorite?

I really loved the book front to back. I don't have a favorite per se, but I rather enjoyed when he finally stood up for himself and changed the his course study. He really took a beating through so much of it that it was nice to finally have a small victory.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I laughed, cried and go angry. There are many emotions that this book brought out in me.

Any additional comments?

I got this book as a $2.95 special. I read some good reviews and decided to give it a try. I am so glad that I did. I really connected with Stoner and almost felt protective over him through some of his dealings with certain adversaries. I found that not only did I laugh out loud, I yelled out loud. haha People in the cars next to me must've thought I was nuts.

One of the Greats

My husband warned me that, while this was a great read, literally nothing happened. I didn't quite believe him, and I'm glad I didn't, because I might not have given it a try. The prose is down-to-earth, but wonderfully crafted, and for such a meek main character, the reader comes to know Stoner so intimately without any external psychological description, but rather like a man that you have lived with all your life. It is perhaps the simplest story I've ever heard, and yet one of the most profound, and I feel thoroughly inadequate to describe it.

Perfection of plot

Beautifully written. Horrific truth-telling of love. I read it first. Listened afterwards. Now I want to read it again.

Remarkable in its simplicity

This is, simply, a story of life. Most people go about their daily lives, touching others in ways they do not understand or remember. That is Stoner's life, the story of most men.

Magnificent

True literature, this book took me on a journey I was not anticipating, and provided nourishment for a hunger I didn’t know I had either. Wow. I want to get the print edition now. Thanks to my friend that recommended it.

Amazing

It wasn’t what I expected but it was, indeed, the perfect novel. Wow.

It was like a memoir of someone I didn’t know from a time a wasn’t familiar with. I didn’t know what to make of it at first but I was gradually drawn into it in a way that I was not used to.

I’m thinking about life right now in a way that I’d never before.

Absorbing.

This book about an ordinary (mediocre?) college professor is mesmerizing for reasons I can’t explain. Is he to be admired, pitied, dismissed or held in contempt? I can’t decide but that is what makes the story so absorbing.