I would like to clarify that “Stoner” is a book. Don’t let
your imaginations run wild because the topic of the plot is far from your
personal associations of the title. Stoner is fictional memoir of William
Stoner; A simple man from Missouri that sets off to study agronomy in
university. I find it difficult to call the book a memoir; memoirs are written
for the likes of Hemingway, Steve Jobs and explorers of Atlantis. Stoner is
memoir of a different kind, an allegory of the book “Stoner” is a minimalist
painting. The simplicity of the painting is almost satirical; however its
abstract candor conceals great depth, a depth that few can understand. Stoner
is not your traditional hero, he led his life through his devotion to the
university, his marriage was a suffocating failure and even his supposedly
arousing affair could be called placid.
So what is so enticing about the book? Personally I related
to the numbness, an anesthetic detachment from reality. Only in a few
distinctive moments, did Stoner show any indication of true feeling. Moments of
anger, pain or happiness were quickly subdued to a catechizing oblivion. Stoner’s
scrim cloaked feelings provoked many questions: How much of life do we really
apperceive? Does the awareness of our inexorable attrition cause us to numb our
feelings? Can divulgement of all our feelings deteriorate our health?
To conclude this short review, I would like to share a quote
that stood out for me:
“So we are the world, after all; we should have known that.
We did know it, I believe; but we had to withdraw a little, pretend a little,
so that we could-"
- - Little Frames
P.S I would like to thank my good
friend Liri for recommending “Stoner” to me. :)
