Robert Musil's 'The Man Without Qualities'

Robert Musil''s The Man without Qualities is perhaps the most important novel in German written in the twentieth century - certainly it is among the most brilliant puzzling and profound. This the first comprehensive study of the work to appear in English guides the reader towards Musil''s central concerns. It examines how Musil laboured through draft after draft to produce material that would pass his own strict literary ''quality control'' and traces major themes through different layers of narrative with the aid of close textual analysis. It details how Musil subjects leading figures of fin-de-siecle Vienna to intense ironic scrutiny and how by drawing on his extensive knowledge of philosophy psychology politics sociology and science he works into his novel essayistic statements which record the state of contemporary European civilisation. Through a disturbing and deeply serious liaison with his sister Musil''s hero Ulrich is shown to struggle through to the brink of self-discovery and enlightenment.