The Stone DiariesThe Stone Diaries
Score Modern
What it's about
Daisy Goodwill is born in rural Manitoba in 1905; her mother dies giving birth to her. The novel follows her whole life, through childhood with a neighbor, marriage, widowhood, motherhood and a career, until her death in a Florida nursing home nearly ninety years later. It's told partly by Daisy and partly by others, with letters, lists and photographs, as if it were a real autobiography.
Why it's worth reading
It won the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award and was a Booker finalist. It's a moving portrait of an ordinary woman's life and how much of it goes unseen.
You'll love it if you liked
Good to know
Daisy is often absent from her own story, which is the point. Its shifting voices take getting used to.
By the numbers
- Readers24 out of 100 · counts 42%
- Critics90 out of 100 · counts 34% (its stronger lane)
- Bestseller16 out of 100 · counts 14%
- Buzz0 out of 100 · counts 10%
Critics and Bestseller are two ways to earn a place: a book's stronger one counts more. Buzz rewards recent bestseller weeks and prizes, so older books start at zero. The parts combine into the Must-Read Score, shown on a scale where the best book we found scores 99 and the last book to make the ranking scores 50.
Where it ranks
- #659 of the 1,573 modern books we rank
- #1243 of the 2,816 books we rank
Why it made the list
Reads as
Moving, Thought-provoking
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Quick answers
Is The Stone Diaries worth reading?
Yes. It won the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award and was a Booker finalist. It ranks #1,243 of the 2,816 books in our ranking, with a Must-Read Score of 70.5 (the best book we found scores 99).
What is The Stone Diaries about?
Daisy Goodwill is born in rural Manitoba in 1905; her mother dies giving birth to her. The novel follows her whole life, through childhood with a neighbor, marriage, widowhood, motherhood and a career, until her death in a Florida nursing home nearly ninety years later. It's told partly by Daisy and partly by others, with letters, lists and photographs, as if it were a real autobiography.
How long does it take to read The Stone Diaries?
About 9 hours (361 pages), or about 3 weeks at 30 minutes a day.
What awards has The Stone Diaries won?
Pulitzer Prize for Fiction winner (1995); NBCC Award (Fiction) winner (1994).
What should I read after The Stone Diaries?
If you liked it, try The Years by Annie Ernaux, Gilead by Marilynne Robinson or Middlemarch by George Eliot.