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Stoner

A Novel

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Stoner

By: John Williams
Narrated by: Alfred Molina
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This is the story of a quiet man, destined to be a farmer but who becomes an academic. It is book in which nothing and everything happens and is possibly the greatest novel you've never read.

William Stoner enters the University of Missouri at nineteen to study agriculture. A seminar on English literature changes his life, and he never returns to work on his father's farm. Stoner becomes a teacher. He marries the wrong woman. His life is quiet, and after his death, his colleagues remember him rarely.

Yet with truthfulness, compassion and intense power, this novel uncovers a story of universal value - of the conflicts, defeats and victories of the human race that pass unrecorded by history - and in doing so reclaims the significance of an individual life.

'It's simply a novel about a guy who goes to college and becomes a teacher. But its one of the most fascinating things that you've ever come across' Tom Hanks, Time

'A beautiful, sad, utterly convincing account of an entire life' Ian McEwan

'A brilliant, beautiful, inexorably sad, wise and elegant novel' Nick Hornby

© John Williams 1965 (P) Penguin Audio 2016

 Classics Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Psychological World Literature Heartfelt Thought-Provoking Inspiring
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Critic reviews

A terrific novel of echoing sadness (Julian Barnes)
It's simply a novel about a guy who goes to college and becomes a teacher. But its one of the most fascinating things that you've ever come across (Tom Hanks)
I was stunned by it... beautifully written in simple but brilliant prose, a novel of an ordinary life, an examination of a quiet tragedy, the work of a great but little-known writer
One of the great unheralded 20th century American novels...Almost perfect (Bret Easton Ellis)
One of the great forgotten novels of the past century. I have bought at least 50 copies of it in the past few years, using it as a gift for friends. It is universally adored by writers and readers alike...so beautifully paced and cadenced that it deserves the status of classic
A beautiful, sad, utterly convincing account of an entire life… I’m amazed a novel this good escaped general attention for so long (Ian McEwan)
A brilliant, beautiful, inexorably sad, wise, and elegant novel
Something rarer than a great novel -- it is a perfect novel, so well told and beautifully written, so deeply moving, that it takes your breath away...few stories this sad could be so secretly triumphant, or so exhilarating.
A beautiful and moving novel, as sweeping, intimate and mysterious as life itself (Geoff Dyer)
The most extraordinary work of fiction I've read in a long time... If you're looking for a book that's simple and subtle, warmly human and at the same time utterly pitiless in his rendition of the vicissitudes of an ordinary existence, here's one you will read again and again
All stars
Most relevant
Outstanding, wonderfully written, impeccable performance. An absolute classic, an all time great no doubt !

Beautiful

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Stoner would never have come close to entering my wish list but, thanks to the Daily Deals, I have just finished listening to what is now one of my favourite books of all time. Summarising the storyline would serve no useful purpose. It is more important to know that the writing, observation and characterisation are magnificent. All this is beautifully conveyed by Alfred Molina’s narration which surpasses any I have heard to date.

This is a must!

This is why I love the Daily Deals

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I need to read this again. once is not enough. for the first time I think I understand why we are here... the bitter sweet suffering and joy of life and death. this book has changed me.

profound examination of life & death

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I’ve loved this book for a very long time and the reader (Alfred Molino) manages to encapsulate the beautiful, understated Stoner really well. Listen and weep!

Stoner is a masterpiece and this reading serves it well

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I could have stopped listening to this in the first hours. I even went back to the synopsis to see why i had purchased it. I wondered if I was perhaps not bright enough to understand the brilliance others had suggested it held. Then suddenly I was all in. I now feel a mix of privilege to have heard it and regret it’s over.

Wow. Just wow

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