Everyone should read this book - I'm normally a fussy reader with low concentration but this book was amazing, despite not being too dramatic. If you are reading this review then you're considering reading this book. Please read it! It's fantastic.

I had never heard of it until I came across it at one of the recommended sections in Waterstones. When I firstly saw the title I thought it had to do with substances, but after reading the synopsis I became interested. Following the life of Stoner through his youth till his death. Reading about his passions, his decisions, his love, his lost, his disinterest. A possibly simple book that makes you reflect on how quickly life goes, it’s ups and downs and the meaning and things you leave behind with it. The story of a simple, forgotten life, that could be any of us. Truly moving.

I read this book in a few hours, which is unusual for me, and I could not put it down. The writing is beautiful and poetic, and it resonated deeply with me. I haven’t stopped thinking about this book since I read it, and I can say it really changed my perspective on life. It’s an absolute must read.

What a wonderful gentle read. The life of William Stoner, a student and then a Professor at the University of Missouri. He initially enrolled to study agriculture, and help manage his father’s farm, but in one very significant life changing moment he discovered his true vocation in the world of literature. His choice of Edith as a future spouse was a fundamental mistake….”She was short, plump woman with fine white hair that floated about her face; her dark eyes twinkled moistly, and she spoke softly and breathlessly as if she were telling secrets.”………”in her white dress she was a cold light coming into the room”…..And so with a stoical mind and a shrug of inevitability Stoner fills his days with the enquiring and challenging minds of his students and his lifelong love of books and the written word. Katherine Driscoll, a student completing her dissertation, falls in love with Stoner and he, whose life is totally devoid of any affection, reciprocates this much wanted attention. For a time, his personal and private life were full of joy but under pressure from departmental elders the affair ended….”He had wanted love; and he had had love, and had relinquished it, had let it go into the chaos of potentiality. Katherine, he thought. Katherine.”……. The life of Stoner is a life or ordinariness filled with those special moments, full of decisions taken, choices made, right or wrong, good or bad. It is a clever, poignant book and in many ways a reflection of any human life, and the inevitable fate that awaits us all. Beautiful storytelling and highly recommended.

Many authoritarian governments of the past and present have enforced book bans, however rarely do we see them enforce mandatory readings. If Britain were to ever do the latter, I would hope Stoner be on that list.