Stoner

Content Warning: This guide contains references to death by suicide and people with alcohol addictions. The referenced book engages in ableism and stereotypes about physical disabilities. It depicts people with physical disabilities in a problematic manner.

Stoner is an exemplar of the campus novel. The campus novel is a subgenre of literary fiction that focuses on the experiences of students and professors on university campuses. The campus novel is defined by the setting of the university, the sexual tension between academics and often students, the pettiness of academia, and the quiet joy inherent in the study of the humanities and sciences. The campus novel is often sarcastic in tone and satirizes campus and academic life. The campus novel typically explores the pros and cons of institutions and the individuals who either uphold those institutions or defy institutional expectations.

The campus novel was popularized by Kingsley Amis and Vladimir Nabokov. Amis’s campus novel, Lucky Jim, published in 1954, is a comedic satire that follows a professor, Jim, as he struggles to maintain his career on campus, get his paper published, and deal with inter-personal relations. Nabokov’s 13th novel, Pnin, published in 1957, follows a professor as he struggles to acclimate to American university life.