Stoner
by John Williams · first published 1965
79% recommend21% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Quiet, beautifully written novel about an ordinary English professor's unremarkable life, which still evokes deep sympathy and emotional force. Suits patient readers who like prose-driven, reflective fiction.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
William Stoner is born at the end of the nineteenth century into a dirt-poor Missouri farming family. Sent to the state university to study agronomy, he instead falls in love with English literature and embraces a scholar’s life, so different from the hardscrabble existence he has known. And yet as the years pass, Stoner encounters a succession of disappointments: marriage into a “proper” family estranges him from his parents; his career is stymied; his wife and daughter turn coldly away from him; a transforming experience of new love ends under threat of scandal. Driven ever deeper within him
Affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
Related books
2023–2024Butcher's Crossing
John Williams
Recommended by 2 · mentioned by 32 recommend · 3 mention2 recommend · 32 recommend
2011–2023Superdistribution
Brad J. Cox
Recommended by 1 · mentioned by 61 recommend · 6 mention1 recommend · 61 recommend
2007–2026Blood Meridian
Cormac McCarthy
Recommended by 105 · mentioned by 192105 recommend · 192 mention105 recommend · 192105 recommend
2010–2026Don Quixote
Miguel De Cervantes
Recommended by 15 · mentioned by 4915 recommend · 49 mention15 recommend · 4915 recommend
The Five Dysfunctions of a Team
Patrick Lencioni
Recommended by 44 · mentioned by 5444 recommend · 54 mention44 recommend · 5444 recommend
2008–2026A Confederacy of Dunces
John Kennedy Toole
Recommended by 41 · mentioned by 7041 recommend · 70 mention41 recommend · 7041 recommend
2008–2026The Grapes of Wrath
John Steinbeck
Recommended by 56 · mentioned by 17056 recommend · 170 mention56 recommend · 17056 recommend
…von Humboldt; Darwin said of him "if it hadn't been for AVH, I would have never stepped foot on the HMS Beagle"; profoundly important to modern science, an adventurer, yet little known in modern times "Stoner" by John Williams; fiction; this book knocked me on my butt and I read it all in almost one sitting; about an English professor who refuses to relinquish his integrity in the face of great adversity "Light…
on “Ask HN: Best books you read in the past decade?” ↗This is a very specific question but... Stoner by John Williams is one of my favorite books. It was also more difficult for me to read than other books I typically pick up which are primarily sci-fi and NYT bestseller fiction books. When I read the…
on “Ask HN: Mind bending books to read and never be the same as before?” ↗…The sheer numbers; the depth of destruction for the profit of a hide. It boggles the mind that we did this. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butcher's_Crossing (Off-topic, but Williams is best known for Stoner, a truly beautiful work that you should read immediately if you haven’t already.)
on “Ken Burns chronicles the sad fate of the American buffalo” ↗Stoner, by John Williams The story of an average, not very successful literary professor, told with great humanity and tenderness. This does not seem much of a story line, yet I believe this book is so good…
on “Ask HN: What book changed your life in 2014?” ↗…thing become what it is, to cherish small achievements and to appreciate people. And more importantly it inspires me to be alone and use the mind to think about the world and rebuild it. Similar book is “Stoner” by John Williams
on “Ask HN: What books changed the way you think about almost everything?” ↗Stoner by John Williams. It is a slow burner, but it’s worth the effort. It’s novel about an average person living an average life, but the prose captures the emotion of life. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stoner_(novel)
on “Ask HN: What are the best unknown books you have read?” ↗A somewhat-recent example of a great novel that was recently discovered was "Stoner" by John Williams, which is about an English professor named William Stoner who stoically lived a seemingly unremarkable life that still evokes sympathy and empathy. The book was first published in 1965,…
on “Could the greatest works of literature be undiscovered?” ↗> "Stoner" by John Williams; fiction; this book knocked me on my butt and I read it all in almost one sitting; about an English professor who refuses to relinquish his integrity in the face of great adversity I…
on “Ask HN: Best books you read in the past decade?” ↗…beautiful short story by the Three Body Problem’s translator - Cryptonomicon feels like a great balance between heady reading (it goes into WWII-era crypto thinking) and pulpy humor. I loved reading it. - “Stoner” by John Williams (not the Stoner you think, and also not the John Williams you think) is kinda in a different direction, but it’s a really well paced and beautifully written book about a farmer’s son…
on “Ask HN: What are you reading?” ↗I recently read Stoner by John Williams. Would recommend.
on “Ask HN: What are your favorite classic books?” ↗I used to feel a bunch of that same pointlessness, and I still do sometimes, but a novel helped me frame what I was feeling. Stoner (1965), by John Williams. It is not about drug use. It essentially covers the life of an assistant lit professor born in 1891 that ended up not living up to his expectations in all areas of life and…
on “I thought I’d have accomplished a lot more today and also before I was 35 (2020)” ↗…putting things into perspective. - Things Fall Apart, Achebe. - The Pearl, John Steinbeck - Hyperion (first book), Dan Simmons. Great sci-fi. Bought the second book and look forward to reading it. - Stoner, John Williams. Incredibly well written book - One Hundred Years of Solitude, Gabriel García Márquez. Still finishing but I hope to finish in time for next year
on “Ask HN: What did you read in 2025?” ↗So true, lol. Stoner by John Williams does a good job of showing this.
on “As professors struggle to recruit postdocs, calls for change in academia” ↗Stoner by John Williams and Crime & Punishment. I love TBK and other of Dostoyevsky's works but C&P really resonated with me
on “Ask HN: What Lived Up to the Hype?” ↗If you enjoyed Williams's Augustus, do give Stoner and Butcher's Crossing a read. I "enjoyed" them even more than Augustus. Enjoyed is in quotes because they are both emotionally devastating -- Stoner more so than Butcher's Crossing. I didn't feel…
on “The joy of reading books you don't understand” ↗