I dunno. Certainly the prose is clean and elegant, but it was hard for me to care about any of the characters, as Stoner seemed so passive. No “captain of my soul, master of my fate” stuff here. He came across to me more like a man seeking refuge and solace in his own dreamworld and the ideas of others, to the detriment of his own life. I did not walk away from that book with any deep insights or feelings beyond an inchoate sadness.

Well-written and beautifully crafted, yes. A place on my own personal top-ten list, no.