It was hard choice between four stars and five starts. I usually only give five stars to books that in my opinion are not only well written, but also deliver a strong message that resonates and lingers for years to come. Stoner is one such book. 
 Stoner is a chore. Make no mistake about it. It is told as a flat, boring biography, the plot never picks up, and as I read through its agonizing pages I kept asking: "do I have to read this? Can't I just read something *enjoyable*?" But Stoner, like some other annoying challenges in my life, pushed me to determination. I refused to give up, and this is exactly the message the book delivered: never give up. 
 This might sound a bit too much of a cliche and too little a book review at this point, but bear with me. The point being made here is not how strong of a person I am, but how Stoner made me stronger. At first I shared a brotherly burden with the protagonist, then sorrow, then anger, and eventually we split apart: I wanted to throw the book against a wall an yell, but not Stoner: he just kept on living, painfully, letting the world run its course around him until the very end. 
 I think the story could have ended perfectly if Stoner would have never realized what could have been. Perhaps then I could excuse him for his ignorance. But he does realize, and he is far from ignorance. At the very end he asks himself "what did you expect?" over and over, and I find myself yelling the same thing at him, imagining how I'd shake him and shove him against a wall, my mouth foaming with angry frustration. This is why this is such an excellent book. It moved me. It made me more determined to make sure my life will not end (or be lived) the same way as Stoner's. And now, as I'm writing this, I am happy it's not.