The original version of this newsletter was sent out on Tuesday, February 10.
Sign up for All Booked, our bi-monthly newsletter exclusively for book lovers.
Hello, fellow bookworms!
This week, our wonderful Assistant Editor Tiana Molony brings us a review of John Williams’s Stoner. While we normally like to bring a few books into the spotlight per newsletter, this time, we’re turning the focus on only one book, allowing it to shine. I’m definitely thinking of adding this one to my list…after I get through my 12-plus-book TBR list … someday!
Happy reading!
—Tessa, allbooked@independent.com
I should start this review with a warning: Readers, beware, if you pick up John Williams’s Stoner, you may find yourself alone in a coffee shop, sitting at your desk, or walking down a desolate street, thinking of William Stoner and his beautifully mundane life.
Our story begins in 1910 on a modest farm in rural Missouri. At his parents’ request, Stoner leaves home to study agriculture at the University of Missouri. Once there, he enrolls in an English class with Professor Archer Sloane, whose lectures ignite something in him and lead him to abandon agriculture for literature.
Stoner never returns to the farm, save for his parents’ funerals. He graduates, becomes a professor, and remains at the university for the rest of his life. From 1910 through the mid-20th century — spanning both world wars — the novel follows his ordinary, often difficult existence: a cold and unhappy marriage, a deep but doomed love affair with a colleague, bruising battles within academic politics, and his quiet, unwavering devotion to teaching.
Williams’s prose is sharp, witty, and immersive, drawing the reader so close that the boundaries of the story begin to blur. One of my favorite moments comes when Stoner and his lover consider the fragile world they’ve built: “He leaned back on the couch and looked at the low, dim ceiling that had been the sky of their world.” And then there is the line that lands like a fist to the chest: “They had forgiven themselves for the harm they had done to each other, and they were rapt in a regard of what their life together might have been.”
This is not a story about a man who starts small and goes on to do great things. It is the story of a man who lives an unremarkable life, yet one that is profoundly human, and that is why it lingers. We are so often handed fast-paced narratives meant to inspire ambition. This is not that. It is a tale so vivid and raw that my heart aches just thinking about it; it reached my core and even followed me into my dreams. And still, I walked away with a sharper understanding of what it means to be human.
—Tiana Molony
FROM OUR PAGES
We’ve had some great author visits and interviews recently, so don’t miss out. Here is some of our book-related coverage from the last two weeks! Read all this and more at Independent.com.
“Mexican-American Dreamer Julissa Arce Wins Luis Leal Literary Award” by Keith Hamm
“‘We Are Resilient’ Is Theme for New Book from Mother-Daughter Team” by Leslie Dinaberg
“Robert Landau Talks Art Deco Los Angeles in Santa Barbara” by Alice Dehghanzadeh
UPCOMING BOOK EVENTS
Below, you will find a few bookish events coming up in Santa Barbara. If you are hosting a bookish event in Santa Barbara, be sure to submit the event to our online events calendar.
Book Talk and Signing: Robert Landau, Art Deco Los Angeles
Wednesday, February 11, 5:30 p.m. | Chaucer’s Books
Comic Chaos Club
Wednesday, February 11, 4 p.m. | S.B. Central Library
Romance Book Club
Wednesday, February 11, 5:30 p.m. | S.B. Central Library
IHC Humanities Decanted: Suzanne Jill Levine, Unfaithful: A Translator’s Memoir
Thursday, February 12, 4 p.m. | McCune Conference Room, UCSB
Goleta Valley Library Poetry Club
Sunday, February 15, 2 p.m. | Goleta Community Center
Embodying the Goddess: Books and Yoga with Cynthia Abulafia and Lara Sanderson
Sunday, February 15, 2:30 p.m. | Yoga Soup
Chaucer’s Storytime: Leslie Bains, Birds, Monarch Butterflies, and Short Hikes in the Santa Barbara Area
Sunday, February 15, 3 p.m | Chaucer’s Books
Montecito Poetry Club
Wednesday, February 18, 10 a.m. | Montecito Library
Godmothers Gather: Françoise Kirkland
Thursday, February 19, 6 p.m. | Godmothers
Trail Talks: Far-Flung Hikes of the Los Padres with Perry Van Houten
Thursday, February 19, 6:30 p.m. | S.B. Central Library
Poetry Reading Celebrating the Publication of SALT Issue Eight
Friday, February 20, 5 p.m. | Unity of Santa Barbara Chapel
Godmothers: Gather: Sravana Borkataky-Varma & Anya Foxen, The Serpent’s Tale: Kundalini, Yoga, and the History of an Experience
Friday, February 20, 6 p.m. | Godmothers
Goleta Valley Library Horror Book Club: Lone Women by Victor LaValle
Saturday, February 21, 1 p.m. | Goleta Community Center
Book Release Party: Celebrating We Were Here, We Are Here: A Living History of Black Santa Barbara
Saturday, February 21, 4 p.m. | Eastside Library
S.B. SPOTLIGHT
We at the Independent get many books sent to us by area authors, sometimes too many! It’s practically impossible for us to read and review them all, but just because we are busy bees does not mean that they aren’t worth the attention. In an attempt to not completely drop the ball, we have compiled a list of books here that are either written by a Santa Barbara author, feature someone in our community, or have another tie to Santa Barbara. I urge you to look through this list. Perhaps you will find your new favorite read!
The following are the most recent titles that have been sent to us.
DIY Spirituality: Chart Your Own Sacred Path by Faith Freed
Mythos Quartet by Mary Heebner
Lessons Learned While Running in Circles: Honoring God in Sports and Life by Jeff Raymond
If you are a local author and would like us to feature your book in this section, please email allbooked@independent.com with the subject line “S.B. Spotlight.”
Book Reviews Courtesy of CALIFORNIA REVIEW OF BOOKS*
Thanks to the generous contributions of David Starkey, Brian Tanguay and their team of reviewers at California Review of Books, we are able to provide a steady stream of book reviews via our content partnership. Recent reviews at Independent.com include:
I Could Be Famous: Stories by Sydney Rende; review by Brian Tanguay
*At the present time, all of the Independent’s book reviews are provided in collaboration with California Review of Books (calirb.com).
You must be logged in to post a comment.