'Stoner’ by John Williams

Boy was this a good read. This summer marks the sixtieth anniversary of the publication of this marvellous novel about the life of an English Literature teacher who spends his entire career working in the University of Missouri. It is gently told and beautifully written. Ultimately it is a pretty sad and pessimistic book, in some respects stressing the essential futility of our lives. But it is thought-provoking and completely compelling nonetheless. I also found it fascinating purely from the perspective of literary technique. Having read Virginia Woolf a lot recently, and books about stream of consciousness approaches to the writing of fiction, it was really interesting to read a twentieth century classic that steers clear of such experimentation almost completely. John Williams (1922-1994) does not take us inside his character’s minds at all – or at least not directly. We are instead invited to infer what they are thinking and feeling from his descriptions of their actions and what they say to one another. More work is left for the reader to do. More is left for us to imagine. But as a reading experience this worked beautifully for me.

I was of course greatly helped in the endeavour by the fact that I am, like Stoner becomes, a somewhat cantankerous university teacher in late career who loves his work and does use it to escape from what he sometimes perceives as a somewhat dullish personal life. I really identified with him in a number of ways, particularly his refusal to conform with expected professional norms and the way he takes refuge in books when in a scrape. My personal life has not, thankfully, been as disappointing as Stoner’s. But there are elements of similarity that made this book particularly engaging for me.

It is not often that I shed a tear of sadness when reading a novel. It is happy stuff that tends to move me most. But I did when reading this little beautifully written passage, set at a formal retirement dinner for Stoner that he would really rather was not happening. It comes towards the end of the book:

He got to his feet, and realized that he had nothing to say. He was silent for along time as he looked from face to face. He heard his voice issue flatly. ‘I have taught ….’ He said. He began again. ‘I have taught at this university for nearly forty years. I do not know what I would have done if I had not been a teacher. If I had not taught, I might have –‘ He paused as if distracted. Then he said, with a finality, ‘I want to tank you all for letting me teach’.

On the front cover of my Vintage Classics edition it says ‘The greatest novel you’ve never read’. High praise and may be a touch over-the-top. But ‘Stoner’ is certainly a great novel, and one I am delighted to have now read.