Stoner

By: John Williams

Narrated by: Robin Field

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)

Incredible story with ALMOST perfect narration

First, this is now my favorite classic,which is funny because I had never heard of it before I found it on Audible. (They never teach the good stuff in high school). The reviews on this site pretty much sum up why it's so great, so if you're prepared to feel a bit sad when it's over then you'll probably love it.

My only complaint is about the narration, but I would NOT give the narration less than 4 stars. The problem for me was that Robin Field uses the same cadence for every line that isn't being spoken by a character, and for a few that are. It's sort of like when you're learning about iambic pentameter in 11th grade English, and the whole class ends up reading in a kind of monotone sing-song. And THEN he WALKED out TO the BARN and RAKED. It wasn't quite that bad, and the rhythm was less obvious than iambic pentameter, but I found myself nodding my head a little to the pattern and it was a bit distracting. His VOICE, though, is utterly hypnotic,and once I got past that rhythm issue each time I started listening I got pulled in and didn't want to turn it off.

Listening to this audiobook felt like listening to what my grandfather must have sounded like as a young man. That's part of the beauty of the story, too, that you truly feel like you're listening to someone's life story, not some glamorized, plot driven adventure. It touches you because it could BE you - it's one of those rare stories where the character's decisions are not what drives his story, they're just what determine how he lives with his simple disappointments.

Stunning

Would you listen to Stoner again? Why?

I'd listen to the book over and over again if I didn't think it would make me weep in public places.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Stoner is -- well, a singular literary creation.

What does Robin Field bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

The reader stands back and lets the book do its job.

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

I just loved it.

Singularly depressing...

Stoner's life was a depressing ride. Not much joy in his life. As he lays on his deathbed he sums up his life well - career was halfhearted, marriage to a semi crazy woman a failure, daughter ends up distant and messed up, his moment of love was brief. If this sounds good, read this book. I forced myself to finish this one.

Exquisite Writing and Beautifully

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes

Any additional comments?

I don’t know how I had never heard of this novel before (it was written in the 1960s and had experienced wide acclaim). Seemingly about nothing but the most mundane of lives, it is in fact a rich and textured exploration of the inner world with all of its existential angst and disappointments. It is a beautifully paced and precise piece of writing that will leave lovers of wonderful writing in awe of the observational power of authors like Williams.

It takes a little time to become immersed in the character of Stoner and his life tale but once ‘locked in’ it is a hard book to stop listening to. The narrator was perfectly suited to the pace and the tone of this lyrical and melancholic novel. I know it will not be for everyone but I think it ranks as one of the best I have listened to.

Wonderful

"If only I would have loved her more. " When will we push aside the trivialities of day to day life and appreciate the miracle of everyday. We meander through Stoner ' s life and we look at choices.....choices we ourselves have made hoping to find the outcome we want but not putting in the effort to make it so. Let us learn something here.....let us live and love before it is too late.

ok, but very slow start

I kept thinking of giving up, but about half way through the story got interesting, and it kept up til the end. Not a bad read, but not great, same for the reader.

A Simple Life Told in a Simple Way

I was about halfway through Stoner when I realized how much it reminded me of "The Bridges of Madison County." They both are stories that aren't action packed or driven by mystery, but in the end they pack an emotional punch as you realize the enormity of a simple life told in a simple way.

Stoner is a farm boy who comes to the University of Missouri to learn farming only to be taken with literature and never leaving the college, choosing a teaching career over that of a farmer. He takes few risks in life and almost all of them after careful deliberation. He makes mistakes, but makes no excuses. He gains no great reward or honor during his life, but neither does he end up a derelict. He lives his life with a quiet, slow dignity that carries him through until the end.

Robin Field does an EXCELLENT job with the voices on this recording. Spot on.

Recommended!

Five stars

An amazing sense of place, well developed characters and story that I will remember. I didn't really want it to end.

Professor Stoner

John Williams, relatively unknown, has written a masterful book about the life of a professor, depressing and accurate, beautifully described. He is one of the great writers of the mid20th century.

The best book I have ever read

....or, in this case, had someone read to me. I’ve never cried at the end of a book but this one touched me so deeply that I broke down. Find the article from The New Yorker (October 2013) about this rare book. Read that and read the book.