The first half, approximately, of STONER reads like a summary. Therefore, it is quite dull. But I recommend it to book groups because it contains a lot to discuss. .

Essentially, this is a story of a boy, then a man who goes through life not defending himself and, with rare exceptions, choosing to do what others want rather than what he wants. It is a frustrating story that even gets disgusting when he allows his hateful wife to take over the life of their child.

STONER, written in the 1960s, is praised as “the most beautiful book in the world” and “almost perfect” and, now, even has a 50th anniversary edition. Must be good, right? That’s what I thought. But I found it to be otherwise, although it might have been better if I read it with no expectations, if I had ignored that over-the-top admiration.

So, beware.