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Stover at Yale

owen johnson

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An excerpt:

DINK STOVER, freshman, chose his seat in the afternoon express that would soon be rushing him to New Haven and his first glimpse of Yale University. He leisurely divested himself of his trim overcoat, folding it in exact creases and laying it gingerly across the back of his seat; stowed his traveling-bag; smoothed his hair with a masked movement of his gloved hand; pulled down a buckskin vest, opening the lower button; removed his gloves and folded them in his breast pocket, while with the same gesture a careful forefinger, unperceived, assured itself that his lilac silk necktie was in contact with the high collar whose points, painfully but in perfect style, attacked his chin. Then, settling, not flopping, down, he completed his preparations for the journey by raising the sharp crease of the trousers one inch over each knee -- a legendary precaution which in youth is believed to prevent vulgar bagging. Each movement was executed without haste or embarrassment, but leisurely, with the deliberate savoir-faire of the complete man of the world he had become at the terrific age of eighteen.

386 pages, Paperback

First published January 1,1912

This edition

Format
386 pages, Paperback
Published
October 15, 2003 by Ross \u0026 Perry Inc
ISBN
9781932080308
ASIN
1932080309
Language
English

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About the author

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owen johnson

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Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Owen McMahon Johnson was an American writer best remembered for his stories and novels cataloguing the educational and personal growth of the fictional character Dink Stover. The "Lawrenceville Stories" (The Prodigious Hickey, The Tennessee Shad, The Varmint, Skippy Bedelle, The Hummingbird), set in the well-known prep school, invite comparison with Rudyard Kipling's Stalky & Co. A 1950 film, The Happy Years, and a 1987 PBS mini-series, The Lawrenceville Stories, were based on them.

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Community Reviews

Rating(4 / 5.0, 16 votes)
5 stars
6(38%)
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4(25%)
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6(38%)
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16 reviews All reviews
Profile Image for Kimberly .
palladia
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 16,2025
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Even for the early 20th century, the book is mostly bland and uses the redundant platform of privileged men at an Ivy League school.

Johnson almost offers a moment of grace when Stover ostracizes himself by shunning the socially hierarchical sophomore societies. Naturally, this is undone by Stover's sellout: he joins the most hierarchical of senior societies: Skulls and Bones.

Sigh. Silly love story, coming into one's own, dropping of the ego...

oh, I just woke up.
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GAlbert
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 16,2025
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Love these campus Novels. Secret societies.
STOVER AT YALE
"suddenly found himself in a school for character, enchained to the discipline of the Caesars, where the test lay in stoicism and the victory was built on the broken hopes of a comrade."The deadly seriousness of the American spirit, the savage fanaticism of its race for sucess

Brockhurst. here's 20 great machines that need new bolts, work harder than the next man, work at only one thing too succeed. It used to be enjoy leisure and youth, ruin wits with everyone. He wants to abolish the societies.

Great thoughts come out in the discussions about ridgid education ruining imagination and ORIGINALITY.

Stover admirable in the end making up his own mind and standing on business.
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KamuiDK
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 16,2025
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school book. boring. did not like. will not be elaborating
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Lerrete
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 16,2025
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If Jacques says its his one of his all-time favorites, then I gotta read it!
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SammyB05
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 16,2025
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Read long ago if at all. Maybe it was Frank Merriwell instead. My Dad was a Yalie(me too albeit briefly) so he probably gave it to me. Rings a faint bell... Date read is a guess.
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cellophanes
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 16,2025
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Interesting period novel about college life at Yale during the early twentieth century.
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Sloth_Hawk
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 16,2025
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Excellent book!
Interesting how F. Scott Fitzgerald called it “the textbook of our generation,“ and obviously was hugely influenced by it, to the point that his “This Side of Paradise” feels like a copy of it. Yet, when one tries to research this inspirational connection, there is hardly a word to be found. I find “Stover at Yale” to be fresher than Fitzgerald’s work. This is a true forgotten gem.
In any case, the writing is effervescent and extremely witty. I found myself laughing out loud again and again, something that I rarely do when reading novels, even funny ones. I suppose it’s the universality of the story, the uncanny insights and honed talent as gifted narrator Owen Johnson displays. A modern reader can relate very well to the inner workings of the main character. The more things change, the more they stay the same.
Stover at Yale is a coming of age tale, set at the beginning of the 20th Century at Yale University, which was then essentially a male world. This doubles as a valuable insight into a reality before emancipation and our modern social attitudes. The political and social problems Dink struggles with go the roots of the beginnings of our modern society. The well-written glimpses found throughout this work effect an understanding and appreciation of our historic struggles and the long road travelled, while at the same time entertain and awe. But be that as it may, Stover at Yale is certainly a terrifically written adventure story. Readers who enjoy masterly use of nuanced language and who do not get discouraged by occasional antiquated word usage — which does require looking up to attain best enjoyment — will get excited about this delightful book. As a bonus: it’s free to download since it’s copyright expired.
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Gasflower
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 16,2025
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Here's the start:

"Stover," said Le Baron, resting a hand on his knee, "I like you. I liked you from the first time we lined up in that Andover-Lawrenceville game. You've got the stuff in I'm trying to make you see this thing as it is. You come from a school that doesn't send many fellows here. You haven't the fellows ahead pulling for you, the way the other crowds have. I don't want you to make any mistake. Remember, you're going to be watched from now on."
"Watched?" said Stover, frowning.
"Yes; everything you do, everything you say that's how you'll be judged. That's why I'm telling you these things."
"I appreciate it," said Stover, but without enthusiasm.

Already running a gauntlet. Seen Everybody Wants Some!!?? Where he says, "When I was in high school, I was the best at what I did [baseball] — but here, everyone was the best at where they came from, and we have to start over" or something like that. He's already being winnowed. This is when you're in a class at all — and with Stover, we're talking no girls, and pre-World Wars.

"They pound out spontaneity," someone says later in the novel, sounding like a Generation X-er (which is why I mention Richard Linklater's movie, above — we all have to go through this, over and over, and so much the worse if we didn't get the notes to begin with!). "They make us do stuff that fits into a line of work later . . . " or something. The fact that they're rebelling, or considering rebelling, is what makes this book a milestone.

From F. Scott Fitzgerald to Thomas Pynchon and Richard Fariña, this book set the tone for what was to come later — what if it was appealing, to conform . . . ?? What if you felt all the eyes on you, and it wasn't so easy . . . ?? What if you said something really stupid to the girl, and didn't know if you could take it back . . . ??

These are the signal virtues of any good dramatist/fiction writer — putting you there, and Johnson qualifies in spades. It's just so different that it snaps back and hits you in the face.

A good book.

Highly recommended!


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