I thoroughly enjoyed this book! It was refreshing to see a protagonist who, instead of being stuck in his twenties like most others, lives his life well into his late years; though this does not make him a very interesting or extraordinary "hero". Given the fact that this is explained in the first pages of the book, we readers are given no false promises of adventure and extravagance. One of the German snippets on the back of the book calls Stoner "a deeply human book about a deeply human man", which seems to encompass the spirit and story of his life quite well.

It's a slow book that trots along, where time moves fluidly and timeskips are handled realistically. Nothing really happens in William Stoner's life, and the only change in his day to day routine is brought upon him by the women he loves and the men he dislikes. There's a fair share of melancholy tucked away in his experiences, making this a book you might want to dig out on a rainy autumn weekend. It won't take you long to read it, and you probably won't feel strongly afterwards - but there's a lingering feeling that remains, that gnaws it's way into your heart and settles down in there. The ordinariness of William Stoner is what makes him a mirror, it's what makes you see yourself in him. It's comforting to know that there are people in this world who simply live, and to know that that is valid in itself is a truth of life.