LisaKLynch

Stoner, John Williams

A beautifully written story of a man’s life. One of the most beautiful things about the book is its realness. There is no great drama or thrilling action. What is presented instead is a story that is closer to reality and the truth of a life lived. I think that is why it felt so tragic. Tears streamed down my face by the final sentence, not due to some dramatic climax, but due to the quietness of Stoner’s final exit from the page.

“Sometimes, immersed in his books, there would come to him the awareness of all that he did not know, of all that he had not read; and the serenity for which he labored was shattered as he realized the little time he had in life to read so much, to learn what he had to know.”
― John Williams, Stoner