"stoner" by john williams

this book was highly recommended by a co-worker. in his review, he told me "it's a little slow going, but by around page 50, i realized i cared for the main character more than i care for most real people".

while john williams certainly has a strong ability to create sympathy for a character, i wasn't as overcome as my colleague. "stoner" is the story of william stoner, who grows up as a single child on a farm. he goes to the city to get a degree in agriculture, but soon discovers a latent passion for literature and changes his course of study. the novel follows stoner as he starts a long teaching career at the university, marries, has a child, has an affair, upsets his colleagues, falls ill, eventually retires and dies.

a strongly written and minimalist book with flowing prose and beautiful descriptions, "stoner" is a portrait of a man who faces his many disappointments in life with a stoic-ness that is heartbreaking.