ArtiFact #7: John Williams’s ”Stoner” | Joel Parrish, Alex Sheremet

John Williams (1922 – 1994) is best remembered today for his 1965 novel, STONER. Mostly ignored during his lifetime, the book has become a cult classic after being re-issued in 2006 by the New York Review of Books. But is the novel worthy of its more hyperbolic praise (“perfect”, “almost perfect”, “the most beautiful book in the world”)? Is the text misogynistic, as claimed by the feminist literary critic Elaine Showalter, or do such charges merely paper over some deeper problems in the novel? Finally, what can we say of John Williams’s understanding of his own work? Alex Sheremet and Joel Parrish discuss these questions, and more.

You can also watch this episode on our YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/wgT8RX0pZW0

Read the latest writing from the automachination universe: https://automachination.com

Joel's website: https://poeticimport.com

Read Alex’s (archived) essays: https://alexsheremet.com

Music sample: Lowkemia - "Lorem Ipsum" (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Timestamps:

0:00 – What is a “cult classic”, anyway?
4:12 – Context & introducing John Williams’s life
12:20 – William Stoner’s first big gamble
18:32 – Implied characterization in STONER
21:18 – The novel’s risky (but successful) opening
29:18 – Alex: John Williams takes no real position in the novel
33:10 – Joel: despite the author’s claims, William Stoner is not a “saint”
34:50 – Why was it a good choice to set the book during WWI, not WWII?
41:10 – Is Gordon Finch a total piece of shit?
46:40 – Edith as (unintended) caricature
54:50 – John Williams’s excellent use of sexual inversion
01:01:18 – Edith guilts Stoner into having a child
01:10:40 – How John Williams slips into stereotype
01:15:52 – Joel: Edith is not given any redeeming qualities
01:25:00 – Katherine Driscoll & William Stoner’s romantic affair
01:34:45 – Alex: Katherine, like Stoner & Lomax, never indicates that she “gets” art
01:45:30 – Critiquing some of the novel’s best passages
02:18:22 – Is William Stoner a failure?
02:38:58 – Debunking Elaine Showalter’s criticisms of STONER
03:26:30 – Jack Kerouac + closing remarks