It’s either an indicator of superb recommendations or undiscerning taste that I have enjoyed close to all the books I’ve ever got a chance to read. I haven’t spilled my thoughts onto the page for a while, so here’s to getting back into the habit of writing. My time in Sweden has left me a lot of space for that and I should take that: life is not just about <div class=”container with-margin”> after all.
Well this book was just a real heartbreaker. It was recommmended by a close friend and apparently it’s really made the rounds amongst professors, and for good reason — its protagonist, William Stoner (who you could hardly call a hero, really — the book begins with a description of his nondescript death and lacklustre impact upon the world) was a literature professor, who had his own set of (presumably) relatable struggles and conflicts. But it really brings to mind the question of what “the well-lived life” is — even if you are not a mover and shaker, even if you’ve never made any profound positive impact on the lives of others, can you still live a good life?
Stoner goes through an immensely sobering discussion of how this relatively obscure man makes his way through his personal conflicts, and it really felt like watching a train crash, and then reassemble in slow motion [the train here being a tired metaphor for the value of values such as doggedness and ‘sticking to your guns‘]. He comes from humble beginnings: a farmer, a man of the soil, who stumbles into university by the hard work of his parents and drops agronomy for literature. When offered a chance to be a scholar for life, he takes it on, entering into a new world where the rules of the game have completely changed. (This is not unlike the journey that many first-generation students, or in-betweeners, shoutout to Yale-NUS College, make.)
John Williams treats his protagonist with the utmost respect, but pulls no punches: there’s no mercy in the way the author lays bare Stoner’s desires, faults and successes. Stoner is a man whose chief virtue is perseverance; a man who has never bothered to learn how to navigate relationships, office politics, and has nobody to turn to for advice (no conversation with his parents, and a professional distance between him and his colleagues). When his troubled marriage becomes a battleground, he trudges on, not knowing how to deal with newfangled modes of conflict. (passive aggression? Huh?!)
The most intense part for me was watching his relationship with his partner as well as the office conflict. When confronted with a PhD student who clearly has no clue what he’s doing, Stoner sticks to his guns and jeopardizes his standing amongst his peers. He angers the wrong person, which affects his day-to-day life significantly. (Imagine! Imagine having classes spaced out! And not being able to teach graduate seminars as a professor! I shudder at the thought.)
But he stands up for himself. And how satisfying that scene was. Small victories. If you thought subject matter makes a book, you should read Stoner, who will definitely prove otherwise to you.
A wise man once said ‘you go to university to learn to read and write.’ A person who can articulate their thoughts well, succinctly — they’re a deadly weapon. Have a little competition over the sentences you include, and showcase the best. So here’s to higher quality reading and writing.
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