I just completed Stoner, by John Williams...
"Bleakly awesome" was the phrase that immediately came to mind when asked to describe it. I was too engrossed in empathizing with Stoner through his love life and career to count how many times Williams used the word "perfunctory." I was reminisced to my military days of acceptance of circumstance with solidity. I tend to feel for the characters in the books I read, as many, if not all of you do, but this one was a deviation from the usual experience for me. What did you all think of it? Did anyone actually count the number of times "perfunctory" was used? Williams really surprised me with the way such an ordinary story could be told as to be on the level of amusement that it is. I won't lie, there were times when I nearly shed a tear for Stoner. Love lost, the trap of an indifferent marriage, etc. I've purposely refrained from using the word "stoicism" as that is the epitome of the novel and most commonly associated word.
