/lit/ - Literature

2023......I am forgotten.

thoughts on stoner by john williams?

>doesn't rip a chunky doober even once
Why?

What the FUCK was Edith's problem?

why didnt he just kill his wife?

or at least beat her?

I just read Stoner by John Williams and noticed something that was confirmed by an interview with William's wife. She said of him: "The last thing he wanted was to have an earnest conversation."
In the novel Stoner seems incapable of speaking his problems, mainly with his wife, but I wonder if its part of the philosophy of the character (and also of the writer).
Also this: Much of my life has been lived in such secrecy. It has never been politic for me to let another know my heart. —John Williams, Augustus
I just can't see why not speaking of what is troubling you can be seen as a virtue.
I'll also leave a quote from a song that came up to me while thinking of all this.
"If our lives come to an end when we know the true motives of others then let's talk until our tongues go dry."

Where do I go from here?

Is this worthy of the overwhelming praise it gets?

Why is Edith like this. I've never hated a character so much.

Is Stoner autistic?
>rapes wife while she is half awake

Is Edith the ultimate literary femanon character?
>as husbando leaves, lies down on bed naked and waits for Stoner to come fuck her

In 2017, am I supposed to be reading this as a comedy? I heard the ending made some anons tear up.

boring moralising and pretentious

Is this worth a good read, /lit/?

>Straight White Male Problems: The Novel

i liked it
what should i read next

>>8535205
Babbys first novel

This is CUMFEE and also reading infinite jest but taking a quick break at about 450 pages so I don't burn out

Can somebody recommend me some books based off my intrest.

I like 'stoner' for it's simplicity and dark and sad undertones.

>Walker bangs Edith
>Loves the crippled D
>Both agree to elope together
>They take Grace with them
>Stoner kills himself

I'm 8 chapters in

No, this won't be another tired Stoner thread about how it was the first book that made me cry or whatever the fuck people always say on this shitty Kurdish meat curdling website. Instead, I want to talk about quality that exists in Stoner and the rest of Williams' work, and also exists in the work of others writers like, say, Kazuo Ishiguro: humility. I get the feeling that one of the reasons I am able to appreciate the work of Williams to the extent that I do is that there seems to be no ego whatsoever in them. Williams seems to be writing not to impress anyone. And don't get me wrong: Williams has a very careful and balanced style and is a very good writer, but he doesn't seem to ever be trying to prove his intelligence in the likes of Joyce or Wallace. And there's something almost pure about it: I get the sense that he writes not at all to impose himself and his ego on the reader, to make a name for himself, but for the love of literature itself, for the love the expression, the words, the emotions, etc. This humility is even mirrored in the character of Stoner himself. And with regards to Ishiguro, when I was reading the Remains of the Day, I felt a very similar feeling. Ishiguro never made any unnecessary references to prove how well-read he was, nor did he really do anything that was ever unnecessary, each sentence seeming to be crafted for the purpose of telling the story and evoking a feeling, not ever to prove his intelligence. So, my question is: how important do you think humility is in the crafting of a work of art? When does the ego of the writer get in the way of the efficacy of his art? While literature is obviously an academic pursuit, and the desire to prove one's intelligence will always be embedded deep within it, at what point do you think this desire should be suppressed, if at all?

Just finished pic related.

Why isn't Edith considered one of the greatest literary villains of all time?

Is this supposed to be good?

What would Stoner think about the current c-ucked state of the University of Missouri?

Well, it turns out "Stoner" is shit because misogyny

holy shit. im never getting married. jokes aside this book was fantastic. i almost cried at the end.