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Stoner

A Novel

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Stoner

By: John Williams
Narrated by: Alfred Molina
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Summary

This is the story of a quiet man, destined to be a farmer but who becomes an academic. It is book in which nothing and everything happens and is possibly the greatest novel you've never read.

William Stoner enters the University of Missouri at nineteen to study agriculture. A seminar on English literature changes his life, and he never returns to work on his father's farm. Stoner becomes a teacher. He marries the wrong woman. His life is quiet, and after his death, his colleagues remember him rarely.

Yet with truthfulness, compassion and intense power, this novel uncovers a story of universal value - of the conflicts, defeats and victories of the human race that pass unrecorded by history - and in doing so reclaims the significance of an individual life.

'It's simply a novel about a guy who goes to college and becomes a teacher. But its one of the most fascinating things that you've ever come across' Tom Hanks, Time

'A beautiful, sad, utterly convincing account of an entire life' Ian McEwan

'A brilliant, beautiful, inexorably sad, wise and elegant novel' Nick Hornby

© John Williams 1965 (P) Penguin Audio 2016

 Classics Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Psychological World Literature Heartfelt Thought-Provoking Inspiring
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Critic reviews

A terrific novel of echoing sadness (Julian Barnes)
It's simply a novel about a guy who goes to college and becomes a teacher. But its one of the most fascinating things that you've ever come across (Tom Hanks)
I was stunned by it... beautifully written in simple but brilliant prose, a novel of an ordinary life, an examination of a quiet tragedy, the work of a great but little-known writer
One of the great unheralded 20th century American novels...Almost perfect (Bret Easton Ellis)
One of the great forgotten novels of the past century. I have bought at least 50 copies of it in the past few years, using it as a gift for friends. It is universally adored by writers and readers alike...so beautifully paced and cadenced that it deserves the status of classic
A beautiful, sad, utterly convincing account of an entire life… I’m amazed a novel this good escaped general attention for so long (Ian McEwan)
A brilliant, beautiful, inexorably sad, wise, and elegant novel
Something rarer than a great novel -- it is a perfect novel, so well told and beautifully written, so deeply moving, that it takes your breath away...few stories this sad could be so secretly triumphant, or so exhilarating.
A beautiful and moving novel, as sweeping, intimate and mysterious as life itself (Geoff Dyer)
The most extraordinary work of fiction I've read in a long time... If you're looking for a book that's simple and subtle, warmly human and at the same time utterly pitiless in his rendition of the vicissitudes of an ordinary existence, here's one you will read again and again
All stars
Most relevant
If you enjoy Donna Tartt I think you will enjoy this. I am left feeling bereft after finishing this book, so much so that I am about to start again!

Probably one of the finest books I have listened to - why isn't this book better known?!

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Utterly fantastic, moving and expertly composed. Everyone should read this book. The person who read this version was also flawless in his delivery.

A Truley Great Novel.

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A fantastically crafted narrative that explores the human condition. As dark as it is beautiful.

Dark and beautiful

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Any additional comments?

This isn't the sort of book I would normally go for. It took me a while to get into it, but once I did I was hooked. I think comparisons to John Steinbeck are pushing it a bit, but Stoner is a compelling classic American novel with a character I came to really care about.

Thoughtful and compelling

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From the get go, Stoner had my full attention and I was was immediately transported into the world its characters inhabited. I didn't want this book to end, such was the expertise, beauty and eloquence of Williams' prose and Al Molina's delivery.

How I hadn't known and read this author sooner is beyond me. Or maybe I'm mature and academic enough now to appreciate such great work.

Stoner, the character, I deeply cared for and loved. In fact, all the characters were so well crafted they became as real to me as if they were in my own company. I wasn't merely a reader or listener of this beautifully written character led story. I was with them, in their homes, in nature, at the university, in their heads and their relationships.

This work is an example of brilliant writing which doesn't rely on creating huge plot twists or events to engage us as readers. It is masterly, poignant and wonderful in its every word, every thought, movement and expression, with dialogue so natural and believable, even when forced to put it down, it was drawing me back to it like a magnet.

It lingers still, now, and I suspect it will remain with me, such was the effect it had on me. It is most certainly one of my favourite novels ever.

Remarkable - I could have listened to this forever!

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