The Man Without Qualities, Volume 2

The Man Without Qualities is the epitome of the "novel of ideas." Though it is not without plot, and has an engaging cast of characters, the substance of this 1100+ page unfinished novel lies in the extended discussions on philosophy, sociology, and psychology. The setting is Vienna from 1913 to mid-1914. The principal character is Ulrich (no surname given) who is the man without "qualities," a term that doesn't translate fully, but essentially means a man devoid of moral committment or a sense of calling. He is a man much like Pierre Bezuhov in War and Peace, highly educated and full of ideas but without a sense of purpose. In Volume 1, Ulrich is called upon to participate in the "Parallel Campaign," an interdisciplinary committee effort to come up with the proper idea with which to celebrate the forthcoming 70th anniversary of the accession of the Austro-Hungarian emperor, Franz Josef, in 1918. (Of course, by 1918 Franz Josef will have died and his empire along with him, a fact Musil assumes his readers will know.) It is in the workings of the Parallel Campaign that Musil, in Volume 1 at least, sets forth many of the issues which will dominate the novel. These include nothing less than the reason for a nation's existence, the duty of a man to his country, an individual's responsibility for his actions, the importance of ideas versus action, etc. In the second volume Ulrich meets his sister Agathe, from whom he has been separated since early childhood. The two develop an immediate rapport so intense as to create a sexual tension between the two. They realize, quite simply, that they have fallen in love with one another, and this leads to lengthy discussions on the nature of emotions, most especially of love. In the real world does one respond to "I love you" with a 20-page essay on the definition and cultural context of romantic love? Of course not. Musil's novel is not the least realistic in that sense, even though the characters and events are at least believable. His purpose it not to tell a story, but to present a series of dialogs between a fascinating cast of archetypical characters. And while Ulrich is the hub of the action and the principal idea-holder, the author also gives us the interaction of the different types to let us see each point of view from a series of different perspectives: the socialite and the general, the national socialist and the financier, the servant and the aristocrat, etc. As noted, The Man Without Qualities was unfinished at Musil's death. The Vintage International edition, translated by Burton Pike, includes over 600 pages of additional "posthumous papers." These include completed chapters that Musil, at the last moment, withdrew from publication, as well as various drafts, sketches and notes. I strongly recommend reading these in full. They contain some rather shocking events that Musil would probably have toned down for publication, as well as notes that substantially illuminate some of the ideas tha

Musil's continuation of 'The Man Without Qualities' takes us even deeper into the turn of the century continental psyche. Ulrich and Agathe deliberate both the will and legacy of their late father as well as the nature of morality, human sexuality, and perhaps the unconscious. There are extraordinary additions to Musil's elaborate cathedral of ideas and characters, such as the brief visit to the asylum to meet Moosbrugger, the intriguing murderer and psychopath that haunts the imaginations of the elite within the Parallel Campaign. Although the Man Without Qualities is an incomplete work, it remains as rich as any major novel of the 20th century; if only Musil had been able to endow it with the structural strength and form to bring it to a close as his primary literary rivals (Joyce, Proust) had done so brilliantly.

The last reviewer obviously does NOT appreciate Musil in any true sense. There are no "unnecessarily longwinded, only somewhat interesting, conversations" --the reader who thinks this way has definitely ignored Musil's central concept of "Essayismus," which is essential to any understanding of the book. With this "essayism" Musil strove to find the perfect balance between the antipodes of life--art and science (clearly evident in the book's style), precision and soul, intuition and logic. It is the path to Utopia. Musil's "anti-Semitism": The last reviewer points this out as a factor which might put off some readers. This is comparable to putting an emphasis on Dostoevsky's alleged anti-Semitism--you end up missing the whole point. By the way, Musil's wife Martha was Jewish. After Hitler's rise to power, the Musils, like many other intellectuals, fled to Switzerland. I don't know where one finds any anti-Semitism in Musil. This book is highly rewarding when given the time. Don't be turned off by the length. It is much easier to read than Joyce and Proust and can actually be a real page-turner. Anyone who gives it less than five stars is just not getting it.

This is an undeniably great novel, that despite its shortcomings stands head and shoulders above pretty much anything around. It attempts to explore the great themes - life and death, madness and sanity, objectivity and subjectivity - against the decay of the Austrian-Hungarian empire. Being written in the 1930s about the pre-war years it is obviously knowing and didactic, but also very funny, primarily at the expense of rather foolish and pretensious toffs. While the main character Ulrich may vere towards the offensive in his lofty detachment, Musil endows him with such intelligence and rigour, with such unfeasible articulacy, that the reader can only be impressed. There is a snooty tendency to bracket Musil with Proust and Joyce, but this arises primarily from a shared half of the century, prolixity and apparent difficulty. Personally, I find Musil the least taxing of the three because his style is beautifully clear and focused. If,like me, you are largely unacquainted with the intricacies of modernist philosophy but are attracted by the novel of ideas then the MWQ is an incredibly invigorating reading experience. Musil is more approachable than Thomas Mann (compare MWQ to Mann's 'Doctor Faustus') and his exploration of ideas is clearer in his fiction than in his essays, because many of the ideas are delineated through discussion. Some readers may find the style unappeallingly scientific and cold, but, for what it's worth, I also love writers like John Cowper Powys, stylistically the antithesis of Musil. Ulrich's preoccupation with the fragmentation of knowledge and the increased routine of modern life of course reflects two great modernist themes (the automation and mechanisation of modern life, and the increasingly specialised nature of intellectual debate that stems, at least in part, from the undermining of the great systems of thought - Nietzsche's death of God etc.) and remain very resonant today. The vision of modern life that Musil explores inadvertently prompts the reader to consider the extent to which post-modernism represents a break with modernism, as the Anglo-Saxon world tends to believe, than a continuation and and development of the modern. Best of all this book made me feel clever and really did make a genuine impact on my perception of the world!

I've only gotten through volume l and part of volume ll (so far). I agree that I find it incredible that Musil is not as well known as Proust...he's his equal as a writer and in my opinion a much finer thinker. The brilliance of the book is in the extended introspections rather than the events...the multi-page musings on the human condition illustrate the timeless aspects of what we conceitedly think of as our "post-modern" psychic quandry. In common with Proust we are inside the protagonist's head, but in the third rather than first person, which gives the experience a different feel...we're a little outside at the same time. It's a ghostlier sort of connection, but I think equally as immediate. We walk the streets of Vienna as vividly as Chambray, but, perhaps Ullrich's less romantic nature, I find him a better correspondent. His perceptions are intellectual rather than the sensual, and yet, experiencing that intellect is a sensual experience for the reader (at least for this one!)A note: I do not think the recent translation compares to the original English one...it may read more breezily, but my brief comparison suggests that it loses a LOT of subtlety in trying to achieve a more colloquial, effortless, less dated narrative voice. For instance, a passage in the original English translation reading "knowledge was beginning to become unfashionable" is translated in the new as "science became outdated". Two totally different meanings, and the first is clearly closer, given the context..(in which Musil is waxing sarcastic about a silly but dangerous bourgeois "believing" fad - spookily portentious of the Hitler era). An incredibly absorbing psychological novel...if your reading time is precious...nothing will reward more deeply or stay with you longer.