Stoner: Introduction by John McGahern (New York Review Books Classics)

An ordinary man living an ordinary life. Sounds boring? It isn't. At the beginning I wasn't really sure whether I'd like this book or not, but with every word, every sentence, every chapter I got more and more curious about this man's life and choices. And it didn't matter that he wouldn't do anything out of the ordinary, extremely brave, daring, or surprising. I liked this book. And I'd recommend it to anyone who still isn't sure whether an "ordinary" life is worth writing about.

Ein trostloses Buch über das Leben eines Akademikers, der sich dem Leben beugt, der durchhält, ohne sich aufzurichten. Mich hat die Geschichte runtergezogen. Die negative Passivität der Figuren hat mich aggressiv gemacht. Die emotionale Kälte hat dafür gesorgt, dass das Buch keine tieferen Spuren bei mir hinterlassen hat.

I wasn’t prepared for this book to end. Although I kept telling myself I should read more slowly in order to absorb the astonishing beauty of John William’s writing style, the pages flew past, William Stoner managed to smooth his way into my heart as one of the most moving characters I’ve ever encountered, and the book’s simple structure continued to impress me with every new sentence. „Stoner“ deals with the main character William Stoner's path of life, leading from his first day on earth to his very last one. (His death cannot be considered to be a spoiler, as the book is written from retrospective and establishes Stoner’s fate during the second sentence.) Stoner is an insignificant character who wouldn’t be remembered today for any of his achievements, had this story been true. His life equals many other people’s lives, dealing with love, death, misfortune and struggling. All in all, Stoner’s life is boring. People usually aren’t interested in reading books about characters like him, living a life without anything extraordinary happening. Stoner is born, grows up, has several experiences, sad and joyous alike – and dies. This could be the end of the story. It isn’t for me. Stoner will continue to accompany me even after reading the novel, he managed to shape my opinions of humanity, and he eventually became a character I took to my heart. The sheer simpleness of his life impressed me, the way Stoner dealt with specific things and struggled his way through his life, escorted by all his flaws and failures. I’ve read this in other reviews as well and can only repeat it: Stoner stunned me. This book represents a profound and in-depth analysis of an unhappy man’s life. Don’t expect to find tension in Williams‘ work. Don’t expect to find an arc of suspense, and you won’t be disappointed. Stoner’s story is one you have to get into, and some people might not succeed in the attempt to do so, but once you’ve allowed Williams to enchant you with his wonderful writing style, you don’t want to get out of the story anymore. I definitely didn’t want to, and I probably felt with Stoner more than he felt with himself. He is a fascinating character, one I will forever keep in my mind as one of my favorite ones. Williams violates every existing „show, don’t tell“ principle, but I don’t mind: This book is amazing as it is. And it is impossible to choose some of my favorite quotes from this book, too unique is the beauty of its language. „Stoner“ is not something I’d normally have chosen judging from the book’s blurb, yet I’m so glad I did give it a chance. I can’t wait to turn my attention towards „Butcher’s Crossing“, one of Williams‘ other works, soon. * And if you still are not convinced, then just go to the book page and read some of the top reviews. There are actually also negative ones, but the reviews with five-star-ratings far outweigh those. And each of them is fascinating to read in its own right!