by Sue,
Below is an edited version of his review of Stoner in The Observer, 22nd June 2013:
“In 1965 a brief, favourable review of Stoner, a novel by an English professor called John Williams, ran in the New Yorker. The book was described as "a masterly portrait … of the life of an ordinary, almost an invisible, man". Stoner received no further coverage and was out of print within a year. But rather than disappearing altogether, Stoner is now being heralded by some as a lost classic, and since its initial republication a few years ago has been enjoying an unlikely second act.
Perhaps the novel's unremarkable subject matter was out of step with the upheavals of its time; certainly its restrained, delicate brand of realism was out of fashion. But then it is a strange novel to provoke raucous applause in any age. It tells the life story of an unassuming literary scholar called William Stoner. Williams makes a point of his very ordinariness on the first page – Stoner was ‘held in no particular esteem when he was alive’, and ‘few students remembered him with any sharpness’. But his ordinary life is treated with bracing sincerity, and an enraptured state of attention.
The hushed dysfunction of Stoner's marriage, the furtive joys of an affair, the struggles of his fragile, wayward child – rarely has the intimate detail of a life been drawn with such emotional clarity. Williams renders an invisible life lustrous in all its quotidian triumphs and tragedies; his novel deserves similar illumination.”
We should perhaps consider why Mr. Hammond thinks “it is a strange novel to provoke raucous applause in any age”. Do we agree with him? And does the novel deserve the applause it has more recently received? Would a novel about a scholar’s life resonate with a wide audience? However, the brief description of Stoner’s family life, provided by Mr. Hammond, suggests we’ll be reading about life experiences shared by many. Maybe the appeal of the novel lies here.
Whatever, a book so well reviewed should be deserving of our attention. I do hope so.
Hello Ladies
ReplyDeleteDidn’t see your message until a few days ago, Katie. A barbeque and pool party is surely the only way to deal with lots of guests. I admire you for doing it. I couldn’t cope. Hope it all went well and the sun shone on you all. Did Benjamin enjoy himself? Here, summer is ending – fitful sunshine and a cold wind. Schools re-open next week, when summer’s last hurrah is promised – temperatures in the middle twenties are predicted. So glad I’m not teaching anymore. I wasn’t a history teacher, Katie, but I studied history for a while at Uni. If I’d been imaginative enough I’d have taught it. As it is, the dreadful prospect of a lifetime making papier maché (spelling?) Stone Age villages and re-enacting the Wars of the Roses meant I taught English instead.
Just like Mr. Stoner – well, fortunately not at all like Mr. Stoner. I got so distressed I nearly gave up. Chapter 8, in which Edith more or less kicks him out of the house and takes over Grace, was almost too much to take.
Such a convincing character, Stoner: his capacity and willingness to love are enormous. So, naturally, his capacity for suffering has to be enormous too, or, like Edith, he’d be destroyed. And perhaps that is why I do not think this is a strange novel “to provoke raucous applause”. Stoner might only be a small town professor, but he’s heroic in the ways we all need to be; and selfish, too, in the ways most of us are. His relationship with his parents is awful; but the only alternative was to stay on the farm. There’d be no social or cultural progress if we all stayed on the farm. (There again, I was listening to something earlier today that suggested the hunter-gatherers’ life style was perhaps the most egalitarian of all human life styles: Sapiens, by Yuval Noah Harari.)
So many totally selfish, unreasonable people surround Stoner: the Footes, Edith and her family, Lomax, Walker . . . one wonders what he did to deserve it. But I don’t really think we are meant to sit in moral judgment are we? Is Stoner meant to be Everyman – full of human qualities (for example determination) that collide with his environment producing unpredictable results?
A more worldly man would not have married Edith. One wondered just how many marriages were once like Stoner’s. I’m assuming different attitudes and better medical treatment mean there are fewer of them now. But no doubt thee are just as many dysfunctional ones.
I think that’s the thing: Stoner is a man of his times, but a man of our times, too. I’ve met people like Stoner: single minded; gentle mannered but with cast iron determination; easily overlooked, but unforgettable once known; hard working; a conformist only on the surface; sensitive to people and atmosphere. (Now I’ve described him that way, he sounds rather like an Earth Ox in a Chinese horoscope.)
Some great descriptive writing: the snow and his response to it in Chapter 11, p. 185 in my book; the time at Lake Ozark.
So, I’m glad I read it, but found it hard going in places.
Look forward to reading your comments, ladies.
Love to you both
Sue
Hello Ladies,
ReplyDeleteI find it difficult to believe another month has passed by, wow !
I hope all is well with you both.
Katie, by your photos you and Franklin look so happy and blessed and little Benjamin is just so beautiful, how wonderful life can be !
We are all well here and I am reveling in the warmer weather. Ivars and I enjoyed a beautiful coast walk yesterday, perfect weather and tasty picnic food, who could ask for more.
On to Stoner.
I am glad I've read this story, I found it challenging in places and intensely sad. There have been times over the past month where I could not put it down and then other times I found myself reluctant to pick it back up again and share in another of Stoner's disappointments.
You're right Sue, There were a lot of selfish people surrounding him, although John Williams chose not to enlighten us on their motivations. I would have perhaps liked a diversion into some of the other characters lives.
Is Stoner everyman?
We talked of everyman when we read "The Sense of an Ending" and noted Julian Barnes' comment of the difficulty in writing 1st person narrative when your character is unpleasant and inadequate. Stoner's everyman is perhaps more noble and sincere so maybe that's why I find it more comfortable to identify with him and his ordinariness than I did with Barnes' Tony character.
Katie, in one of your comments you quoted from Sense of an Ending {sorry,these stories feel similar to me] "This is another of our fears: that life wouldn't turn out like Literature? Look at our parents - were they the stuff of Literature?
At best, they might aspire to the condition of onlookers and bystanders." When we were discussing if our lives were novel worthy.
Did Stoner expect more from his life?
In the last few pages as he is dying it would appear he does as he asks that question a number of times "What did you expect?"
Stoners stoic, silent acceptance of his life's events could possibly stem from his harsh upbringing or perhaps his time in history.
All in all, thanks Sue, for suggesting this, as I said I'm glad I've read it, although I must admit I am not singing its praises and recommending to everyone as I was with Regeneration !
Hello again,
ReplyDeleteThis book was suggested to me the other day, by a woman who recommended it to her book club.
The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion.
Should we add it to our list?
Cheers
Hello there!
ReplyDeleteBenjamin’s party was a great success! He had so much fun and great weather for the day. It was a lot of work but completely worth it. So sad to see summer going. I’m not looking forward to winter (they are predicting another terrible winter this year). What can you do? We’ll just hope for the best.
Stoner was both difficult and easy to read. Each hardship and difficulty made it more and more depressing. But Stoner’s love for literature and his passion for his work were inspiring. When Edith was being a monster, I felt I could cry for Stoner. And when he figured out a way to get back at Lomax, I wanted to cheer. And while his death was sad, his acceptance made it bearable.
I don’t think that I would call him an “everyman”. I felt that Stoner did not have enough flaws to be like everyone else. I feel that there are few people who accept the terrible things life throws at them as passively as Stoner does. I’m not sure I would call this good or bad. Absolutely Stoner is a very noble and sincere character, Nancy! Couldn’t agree with you more, which may be why it was so difficult to watch him suffer.
Sue, you mention dysfunctional marriages and medication. There is no doubt in my mind that Edith suffered from some sort of mental health disease. Her behavior was so erratic. But certainly there are many marriages that don’t even have the excuse of mental illness. I don’t know if he could have avoided her but I wonder how he was able to stay with her. Were there many options, in that time period, to get away from a crazed significant other? I suppose his hands were tied especially because of Grace.
I’m sorry for the lateness of my review, unfortunately work has been hectic. How I envy you both on your retirements! Haha.
Much love to you both!
Hello Ladies
ReplyDeleteWhat good planning to have a baby born in summer, Katie.
Maybe the predictions regarding the coming winter will be wrong. They do say long term weather forecasting is not an exact science.
Loved your description of Stoner as passive, Katie, - and thank you, Nancy for the comparison between Stoner and Tony. I hadn't thought of it. It was interesting to go back and read our reviews on Barnes' book. I liked "The Sense Of An Ending" better but agree with you both that Stoner is a much more sympathetic character.
Now you've pointed out the "What did you expect?" repetition, Nancy, it haunts me. Awful to end life disappointed with it.
In a valiant attempt to avoid the same fate, we are going to Southern Africa in October, first on a tour then visiting friends. As you imply, Katie, there are wonderful advantages to being retired.
I'm sure "The Rosie Project" will be just the thing for January - when Jay goes to Malaysia to visit family. The timing of his visit, of course, has nothing to do with that fact it's winter in the U.K.
You must be looking forward to summer, Nancy.
Much love to you both
Sue
I'm sorry Nancy. Is Orphan Train mine or yours to review?
ReplyDeleteHi Katie,
ReplyDeleteit was mine.
I'm just late.
I've been in Brisbane celebrating Sam's 22nd birthday.
Time goes by so quickly, it doesn't feel that long ago he was a little boy like Benjamin, soak up the moments !!