So this is the greatest novel about love ever written? Just finished it, and cried for about 10 minutes

So this is the greatest novel about love ever written? Just finished it, and cried for about 10 minutes.

What was the deal with Lomax and Walker? I feel stupid because I didn't get the reason for why Walker was essentially an idiot when not fed by Lomax's questions.

walker was good at talking out of his ass without really giving an answer to anything because hes a dumb faggot cripple, the only reason lomax gave a shit about him.

he was an inept student. However, he was physically crippled, much like Lomax, and Lomax identified with that.

Stoner for best anti-affirmative action novel ever

But why could Walker talk out of his ass so well? was it a talent he just had, or did it have to do with Lomax teaching him or something?

Been a while since I read it, so I don't know if the novel says otherwise but I assumed Lomax helped Walker in preparing for the test, or something like that, since he's so fond of him.

Well he was obviously well read and intelligent but I think it was more that he didnt UNDERSTAND things. He could just recite shit word for word and namedrop. But like they said Lomax is a cripple to so he took him under his wing. When Stoner confronted him Lomax took it as a personal attack against cripples or something

Walker is a lot like Veeky Forums. He can talk out his ass about a bunch of famous books, but he hasn't read deeper than that and he probably hasn't read too much of or understood the books he does talk about. He's a charismatic pseud.

Lomax enabled him because they were both crippled. I think those two characters represent everything wrong with academia; sophistry, vacuous education, nepotism, etc. People aren't there out of passion or intelligence, like Stoner. The Walker's of the world get through because they are chosen to get through.

Walker was his bastard son.

>everything wrong with academia
not quite, but that's because I go to a mediocre school.

Via stoners wife?

Spot on. Walker reminded me of the fashionable nonsense often seen on this board.

I don't believe that, because otherwise there would be more hints about that in the book. Also, it would be way too obvious - it is more believable that Lomax just empathized with Walker's burden.

There are thousands novels of this quality out there. It certainly wasn't a masterpiece. It was good though and i don't wanna push the experience down for you, but no, there is far too much that is equally touching and well written to call it the greatest novel of anything. Of course it can still be for you.

I am not sure if it the greatest novel about love, but it certainly is the greatest novel about academia. As another poster pointed out, Walker and Lomax represent that which is wrong with academia: sophistry, nepotism and power games, while Stoner represents the parts of academia that are great: passion, dedication, pushing the limit. Stoner's book made me think about how most academics only contribute one tiny innovation, one tiny droplet to the enormous pool of knowledge, but that is what makes academia so beautiful.

>it certainly is the greatest novel about academia
>What is Glassbead game

>sophistry, nepotism and power games
i dont disagree, but this is true for anything

Why did he wind up marrying Edith?

They never connected, why not at least look at some other girls?

Marriage hadn't been fully subverted by hedonist individualist ideology during the time of the novel.

Still though,
Why'd her parents approve?

Because it was a good match for an autistic women and both sort of wanted the marriage

Her parents didn't care.

>fashionable nonsense
Top Sokal.

I'm two-thirds into the book and I keep wondering why Lomax kissed Edith during the 'homewarming' party. Is this revealed in the book later on or something?

No.

I cried too man.
To me it's about a quiet, cowardly man spending his whole life reading, barely engaging with real life events depicted in the book and injecting all his accumulated knowledge in a little book that likely as not, no one ever reads. It is sad and validating.

F U C K L O M A X

It was relatively inconsequential and more like gesture of mutual respect. It was described as the most chaste kiss Stoner had ever seen. There wasn't any malice to it but I felt like it was also an act of dominance of sorts. Something to further affirm his status among colleagues.

I didn't really think he was so good at it. He was flagrantly evading the questions. It wasn't a talent - he was going to get away with if it weren't for stoner because of Lomax's favor and the complacency of the other faculty auditor.

Makes you wonder why Stoner wasn't just complacent as well.

How is lit so shitty if everyone on lit seems to be so aware of how shitty everyone on lit is?

>these two posts
>everyone on lit

Why is everyone sucking Stoners dick? He wasnt flawless, as a person, academician, or professor. He was markedly not great.

>not seeing stupid posts that say effectively the same thing on every thread

>lol everyone on lit is dumb haha I recognize that because I'm not like them

Jealous faggot detected.

I agree but he is relatable.

He was passionate and cared about his work and family

He was arguably too passive with both

Wonderfully written character in my opinion.

Bc everyone who has been on Veeky Forums for more than 2 hours has seen every thread/post that's ever been on Veeky Forums

That's not actually true. But you can gtfo if you think so

He certainly cared about Grace, but did he care about Edith? His passivity had a large part with Graces shit life. Yeah Edith fucked with her, but if stoner shed his selfdefeatedness he could have saved her. He is a great character, but he's not a great person.

I think one of the messages Williams was trying to get across was that greatness can exist inside a man who is essentially a failure

I didn't cry but my body weakened and I sort of re-enacted the final page minus the obvious spoila, my gf was like wtf and I i slapped her and called her edith then raped her.

Sent From PrisonMobile

Of course he cared about edith, but they were not inlove, or drawn together or they did not 'find each other' in the general sense, they married for marriages sake, he loved grace because she was his only real accomplishment and here character embodied the ignorance of youth

Such as?

I think it was meant to express an affinity between the two characters. They both live in the shadow of childhood tormentors.

I agree. He lived exclusively, selfishly, in his dream world, the world of how it ought to be. He didn't struggle to find the line between that and How It Is, which is where the human experience lies; the choice, the exercise of personal judgement. Your wife ought to place her daughters needs over her own, but she doesn't, so you need to check that bitch. Academia shouldn't be a popularity contest, governed by the social laws of non-dreamers, but it is, so do Lomax a favor and give Walker a pass.

The is/ought dichotomy is a popular topic of literature (starting with Jesus, and his dream of love in what was a barbaric world), and I guess this novel is a study in people who are either too timid or lack the wisdom to freely choose between both concepts to his or her advantage. Notice how Gordon Finch was able to thrive. His was the most commendable personality in that novel.