ohdayoda • read

miguelribeiro • read

micke • read

jakewelch • read

08/14/2024 – 8/19/2024 – Stoner is both simple yet rich in both its narrative and in its language. I found it incredibly easy to read despite it having some advanced vocabulary throughout. This is a read that I think I would have enjoyed more had I related more to it. Stoner was a man who lived his entire life both stoic and infuriatingly complacent. The way he simply settled for his situation without ever trying to make better of it made me upset. I know many love and resonate with this book because they see themselves in it, but I feel like I've spent my short life doing exactly the opposite of what Stoner did. On a subjective point, I generally struggle with novels dominated by a third person narrative and I find novels that tell decades of stories to be rushed and I struggle to connect with the characters and immerse myself in their experiences. Because of this, I give the book a 4/5, based on personal preference rather than on the quality of the book which was undoubtedly excellent. UPDATE: 8/20/2024 After some consideration, I've decided to bump this down a star. I still think I'd recommend this to certain readers, especially to people pursuing academy or people who are unhappy with the trajectory of their life, but in reflection, while Williams uses some big words throughout, the prose felt lacking and failed to make me feel very much, and I think that's a serious issue. The book is more elementary than people let on. It feels a bit overrated and I didn't find anything about it to be very memorable. Truthfully, I wanted to say and think it was excellent because of the way everyone else talks about it, but in my heart of hearts, I don't think it is.