Stoner by John Williams

There seems to be some debate about the smallness versus largeness and the sadness versus happiness of this book. Stoner by John Williams was published fifty yeas ago or thereabouts and received minor recognition. It is the story of William Stoner, a farm boy whose quiet parents quietly decide to acquiesce to his wish to go to college to study agriculture. There he has an epiphany and discovers English and more specifically grammar and the effect it has on literature. He becomes a teacher and the rest of the story is about his life as a teacher in college. Some people think this is a sad book but Williams didn’t, and neither do I. It’s a book about Everyman, his daily life, small pleasures, larger disappointments. Some people do better than others. But this man Stoner goes through life doing the work he loves, making and breaking relationships, with the highs and lows and sadnesses that the ordinary person experiences. Apparently the book has not been picked up in the USA. It’s cheeky of me to comment but I wonder if that is not because of that culture’s interest in narrative. I know they test various film endings to see which one appeals and they’re not big on unhappy endings, whereas the Europeans revel in them! I know this isn’t a film, of course, but I wonder if there is a cultural perspective there. Anyhow, this is a wonderful book. A friend of mine recently told me that she sometimes finds herself with an overwhelming feeling of general sadness, for no particular reason, though she is definitely not depressed. I feel that from time to time as well, a sort of sadness that recognises the way the world is, our limitations, our powerlessness and how temporal it all is. And this book taps right into that. I read it slowly and often went back to reread paragraphs and phrases, afraid of missing a word or an observation while distracted by the quest for story. It is beautifully written and a book that everyone should read.