{"product_id":"the-man-who-wrote-the-perfect-novel-9781477320105","title":"The Man Who Wrote the Perfect Novel","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhen \u003ci\u003eStoner\u003c\/i\u003e was published in 1965, the novel sold only a couple of thousand copies before disappearing with hardly a trace. Yet John Williams’s quietly powerful tale of a Midwestern college professor, William Stoner, whose life becomes a parable of solitude and anguish eventually found an admiring audience in America and especially in Europe. The \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e called \u003ci\u003eStoner\u003c\/i\u003e “a perfect novel,” and a host of writers and critics, including Colum McCann, Julian Barnes, Bret Easton Ellis, Ian McEwan, Emma Straub, Ruth Rendell, C. P. Snow, and Irving Howe, praised its artistry. The\u003ci\u003e New Yorker\u003c\/i\u003e deemed it “a masterly portrait of a truly virtuous and dedicated man.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Man Who Wrote the Perfect Novel \u003c\/i\u003etraces the life of \u003ci\u003eStoner\u003c\/i\u003e’s author, John Williams. Acclaimed biographer Charles J. Shields follows the whole arc of Williams’s life, which in many ways paralleled that of his titular character, from their \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e[An] engrossing short biography. * The New Yorker *\u003cbr\u003eAn excellent biography. * Wall Street Journal *\u003cbr\u003eShields…hoovers up the available evidence and shapes it into an episodic narrative without giving much sense of what he makes of his subject…Shields's book is a handy corrective for anyone who's nostalgic for the days when American writers and publishers routinely ran up large bar tabs. * London Review of Books *\u003cbr\u003eA fine biography of Williams by Charles J. Shields, published by University of Texas Press * Texas Monthly *\u003cbr\u003eThis rich biography gives new insight into the enigmatic man behind \u003ci\u003eStoner\u003c\/i\u003e, a novel quickly forgotten after its 1963 publication but more recently recognized as a midcentury American classic. * Publishers Weekly, “The Most Anticipated Books of Fall 2018” *\u003cbr\u003eThe Williams that emerges is not unlike \u003ci\u003eStoner\u003c\/i\u003e himself: self-obsessed, given to petty feuds, and insecure about his abilities...It is to Shields’s credit that by the end of this finely crafted biography readers will feel they have some insight into this talented, troubled enigma of a man. * Publisher's Weekly, Starred Review *\u003cbr\u003eDespite obvious parallels with his fictional university protagonist, John Williams is both different and interesting enough to merit a book of his own, Charles J. Shields's \u003ci\u003eThe Man Who Wrote the Perfect Novel\u003c\/i\u003e. It certainly helps that, like Williams, Shields know how to tell a good story, one that will appeal especially to those interested in the ins and outs of the publishing industry and the ups and downs of a writer's life. * Los Angeles Review of Books *\u003cbr\u003eCharles Shields has done us all a service by pointing up and pointing out the novelist's unyielding ambition and rigor. * New York Journal of Books *\u003cbr\u003e[An] exemplary biography, the first devoted to the life of one of America's most unusual writers. * Financial Times *\u003cbr\u003e[A] sharp-eyed biography. * Booklist *\u003cbr\u003eThrough exhaustive research and sharp prose, Shields has composed a portrait of the complicated author and the particular darknesses that drove Williams to write, to overcompensate, to philander, to mansplain. * The Millions *\u003cbr\u003eBrief but compelling...\u003ci\u003eThe Man Who Wrote the Perfect Novel\u003c\/i\u003e is a welcome reminder that even in the rarefied world of literature, good sometimes prevails. * Waterbury Republican-American *\u003cbr\u003eShields' writing is captivating and reveals much about the wounded psyches of the GI Bill generation of American (male) authors. * Shepherd Express *\u003cbr\u003eShields describes Williams's development and motivations and explains persuasively why a writer hungry for fame didn't go in for the postmodernist experiments of his time. * New Criterion *\u003cbr\u003eShields accomplishes an admirable feat of objectivity in a biography published during our riven age of identity and tribal politics. * American Book Review *\u003cbr\u003e[John Williams's \u003ci\u003eStoner\u003c\/i\u003e] has in recent decades become the sort of book that people adore, give to their friends, fiercely identify with, and dub 'the perfect novel.' And full credit to Charles Shields for going behind the scenes to fill in the picture of Williams's own—somewhat similarly miserable—life…Stoner's rediscovery reflects well on the artisanship of John Williams, a novelist whose accomplishments and foibles Charles Shields has brought ably into view. * Western American Literature *\u003cbr\u003eCharles Shields's biography of John Williams invites us to enrich our understanding of \u003ci\u003eStoner\u003c\/i\u003e—and Williams's other writings as well—in \u003ci\u003eThe Man Who Wrote the Perfect Novel\u003c\/i\u003e. Through his accessible style, his scrupulous attention to detail, and his use of source material and interviews, Shields provides us with a balanced study of a writer whose work has the power to transform the unremarkable into the astonishing. * Journal of American Culture *\u003cbr\u003eCharles J. Shields' subtitle accurately captures the scope, purpose, and content of the book. It's a biography of John Williams. It's a description of how Williams's major work came to be, and it's a reflection on the writing life, as lived by John Williams. I found Shields to be fair in his approach to all three. * Concho River Review *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIntroduction\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePart I. \u003ci\u003eNothing But the Night\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eChapter One: He Comes from Texas\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eChapter Two: “Ho, Ho! Wasn’t I the Character Then?”\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eChapter Three: Rough Draft\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eChapter Four: Key West\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eChapter Five: Alan Swallow\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eChapter Six: Love\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePart II. \u003ci\u003eButcher’s Crossing\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eChapter Seven: The Winters Circle\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eChapter Eight: “Natural Liars Are the Best Writers”\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eChapter Nine: \u003ci\u003eButcher’s Crossing\u003c\/i\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eChapter Ten: Fiasco\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePart III. \u003ci\u003eStoner\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eChapter Eleven: “It Was That Kind of World”\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eChapter Twelve: “The Williams Affair”\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eChapter Thirteen: \u003ci\u003eStoner\u003c\/i\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePart IV. \u003ci\u003eAugustus\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eChapter Fourteen: Bread Loaf and “Up on the Hill”\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eChapter Fifteen: The Good Guys\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eChapter Sixteen: “Long Life to the Emperor!”\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePart V. \u003ci\u003eThe Sleep of Reason\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePoem: “An Old Actor to His Audience”\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eChapter Seventeen: “How Can Such a Son of a Bitch Have Such Talent?”\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eChapter Eighteen: In Extremis\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eEpilogue. John Williams Redux\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAcknowledgments\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eNotes\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWorks Consulted\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eA John Williams Bibliography\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIndex\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e","brand":"University of Texas Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49408956105047,"sku":"9781477320105","price":15.19,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9781477320105.jpg?v=1730504851","url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/the-man-who-wrote-the-perfect-novel-9781477320105","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}