story_admin's reviews
106 reviews

Heart of Darkness by Paul O'Prey, Joseph Conrad

adventurous challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Ham on Rye by Charles Bukowski

adventurous dark sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Frankenstein: The 1818 Text by Mary Shelley

adventurous dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Aquarium by David Vann

dark reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Pnin by Vladimir Nabokov

funny lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

Shogun by James Clavell

adventurous emotional funny sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

The Life and Extraordinary Adventures of Private Ivan Chonkin by Vladimir Voinovich

adventurous funny fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

Pale Fire by Vladimir Nabokov

adventurous challenging dark funny mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Stoner by John Williams

dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

In the foreword, Williams' describes his book as an "escape into reality". His portrayal of one mans ordinary life features no heroes and no villains and is simply the chronicle of a mundane life.  The sparse and melancholic prose tells the story of John Stoner from age 19 through to his death. We see his humble beginnings in desperate poverty with his parents who toil on their farm and only ever know hardship and hunger and endurance and pain. Stoner is sent to university to study new agricultural techniques, and he subsequently falls in love with the English language and decides to become a scholar. He settles in at the university, gets married, has a child, and deals with adversity. In the mundane flow of his existence, there are moments of true love, a fulfilling career, and a quiet legacy left in his writings. 

Stoners decision to become a scholar is perhaps the only decisive moment in his entire life. He drifts through life with a stoic passivity that's almost painful to witness. At every confrontation with life’s pivotal  moments, Stoner capitulates to inaction.  This might sound frustrating to witness, but his story is so lovingly and tenderly written that it is easy to enjoy the ride, and almost impossible to not relate.

The final few chapters examine the questions of what it means to live a successful life. Stoner is by all regards very very average. His stoicism borders on self-sabotage, especially evident as he watches his wife undermine his relationship with his daughter, offering no resistance. Stoner is not an innocent victim though, the repeated sexual assaults on his wife and neglect of his daughter, even as she descends into alcoholism and hopelessness paint a complicated picture of a man deeply flawed and complicit in the suffering of those around him.

Perhaps this is a novel about the inherent beauty and tragedy in just living, just being. Or perhaps it is a warning about passivity and the dangers of just 'going with the flow'.  Stoner's life story leaves us pondering the fine line between resignation and acceptance, and the quiet yet profound impact of the choices we make or fail to make.