The Man Without Qualities by R. Musil

[[deleted user]]

This is the thread for the January-March 2023 read of The Man Without Qualities by Robert Musil (1880-1942).

[[deleted user]]

RELATED READING: INDEX

Post your recommendations!
Contributors: fed, Klowey, sabagrey, Sam, ...
Update: through message #77

A. Musil's: see here

B. Fiction:

1810, Michael Kohlhaas
1892, Mysteries
1901, Buddenbrooks...
1921, The Good Soldier Švejk
1921, The Difficult Man
1923, Zeno's Conscience
1924, The Magic Mountain
1929, All Quiet on the Western Front
1932, The Radetzky March
1932, The Sleepwalkers
1933, The Unknown Quantity

C. Nonfiction, The Man Without Qualities:

1988, A Critical Study...
2003, The Critical Response...
2022, Paradiso e naufragio

D. Nonfiction, general:

1889, Twilight of the Idols
1899, The Theory of the Leisure Class
1918, The Decline of the West
1920s, What I Saw...
1936, The Work of Art...
1942, The World of Yesterday
1962, The Guns of August
1972, Before the Deluge...
1980, Fin-de-Siècle Vienna...
2014, The Novel-Essay, 1884-1947
2016, Grand Hotel Abyss...

[Klowey]

Suggestions for related reading:

   The World of Yesterday
   The Radetzky March
   The Magic Mountain
   Buddenbrooks: The Decline of a Family
   All Quiet on the Western Front
   The Good Soldier Svejk
   Before the Deluge: A Portrait of Berlin in the 1920s
   What I Saw: Reports from Berlin 1920-1933
   Zeno's Conscience
   The Theory of the Leisure Class

Many of these books are available free online either in PDF or audiobook. If you are interested, I can tell you where to find them.

[[deleted user]]

The Critical Response to Robert Musil's the Man Without Qualities.

[Klowey]

Robert Musil's "The Man Without Qualities": A Critical Study

[Sam]

Pardon my English/American titles on possible recommendations.
I don't know that I will get to any of these myself.


The Confusions of Young Törless, Robert Musil I find earlier novels helpful in understanding l ater works, especially in interpreting and appreciating the more confusing works.

Fin-de-Siècle Vienna: Politics and Culture
Carl E. Schorske
I like reading about cultural influences that a writer would have been exposed to in his developing stage. I know nothing of this work and only linked it as representative of what I meant by the idea.

The Sleepwalkers Hermann Broch
Another work with similarities.

Twilight of the Idols / The Anti-Christ Friedrich Nietzsche
Some familiarity with Nietzsche seems relevant and Twilight of the idols is short and easy to assimilate.

My last recemmendation would be a something by Walter Benjamin perhapsThe Work of Art in the Age of Its Technological Reproducibility, and Other Writings on Mediain|1860] though no specfic work comes to mind.

[sabagrey]

as for the book itself: I found it on the Internet Archive, to borrow:

https://archive.org/details/manwithou...

if anyone else is interested in the German original, it's on Project Gutenberg:

https://www.projekt-gutenberg.org/mus...

[[deleted user]]

1921, The Difficult Man (theatre)
1933, The Unknown Quantity (novel)
2022, Paradiso e naufragio (essay)

[Klowey]

Sam wrote: "Pardon my English/American titles on possible recommendations.
I don't know that I will get to any of these myself.


The Confusions of Young Törless, Robert Musil I fi..."

A great list. I had heard of The Sleepwalkers and this is a perfect time to read it.

I have also wanted to read The Arcades Project by Walter Benjamin and my suggestion of Grand Hotel Abyss: The Lives of the Frankfurt School includes him, so I'm going to add your recommendation of The Work of Art in the Age of Its Technological Reproducibility, and Other Writings on Media. What do you think of Radio Benjamin?

[Sam]

Klowey wrote: What do you think of Radio Benjamin?

I haven't read it and am weak on Benjamin, Musil, and other authors of the period aside from English and American. I have only sampled from Arcades and read a few essays of Benjamin, gaining more info on what others wrote about by him.

I am thinking I may read Young Torless in November/December as an appetizer before we tackle the main work if anyone is interested as a buddy read,

[[deleted user]]

Sam wrote: "...I am thinking I may read Young Torless in November/December..."

I'm interested, Sam. I was thinking of reading all his shorter works (1) in October.

In addition to TMWQ, I think there are roughly:

(1) 1000 pp c.ca of novellas and theatre;
(2) 1600 pp c.ca of diaries;
(3) 1000 pp c.ca of letters and essays.

In September I'll be reading:
The Difficult Man & other theatre;
The Sleepwalkers trilogy.

[Klowey]

What do you all think of these books:

The Guns of August, which is in the running in our 4th Quarter 2022 Long Read Nominations poll, and Fräulein Else by Arthur Schnitzler which is in the running in our October 2022 Short Story/Novellla Nominations poll.

Neither is looking like it will win, but there is still a chance. Arthur Schnitzler is discussed in Fin-de-Siècle Vienna: Politics and Culture which someone recommended for this buddy read.

In addition, it seems Barbara Tuchman has also written another book about the pre-WWI era, The Proud Tower: A Portrait of the World Before the War, 1890-1914. Does anyone have opinions are these this and "Guns"? Which is better?

[sabagrey]

Klowey wrote: "What do you all think of these books:"

There is also The World of Yesterday by Stefan Zweig running in the New School Classics Nominations.

[J_BlueFlower]

I am keeping an eye on this tread as I want to read it.... someday ;-)
It is at the World Library 100 list.

As for Barbara W. Tuchman's books The Guns of August is considered the most important:

"John F. Kennedy was so impressed by the book, he gave copies to his cabinet and principal military advisers, and commanded them to read it. .... Kennedy drew from The Guns of August to help in dealing with the crisis in Cuba, including the profound and unpredictable implications a rapid escalation of the situation could have."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gun...

The book was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction for publication year 1963.

It still plays a roll in US administration. If you read Fear by Bob Woodward you will see it played a huge roll for US secretary of defense James Mattis.

Tuchman also wrote The Zimmermann Telegram about the time just before WWI and how US entered the war.

Books during the period: On the light side the Sherlock Holmes short-story:
His Last Bow ”It was first published in September 1917 in The Strand Magazine .... it is a spy story, rather than a detective mystery. Due to its portrayal of British and German spies on the eve of war, its publication during the First World War and its patriotic themes, the story has been interpreted as a propaganda tool intended to boost morale for British readers.”
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/His_Las...

[J_BlueFlower]

BTW The Guns of August may need yet a second to make it to the poll:

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

[J_BlueFlower]

The same is likely true for The World of Yesterday

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

[[deleted user]]

In general: I propose we add titles related to the genesis and themes of the book (as understood from the synopsis), and not just works from the same period or geographical region.

If you would like a title to be added to the list of background reading, please write it in the body of the message (so that I won't end up adding unrelated titles that might happen to be discussed here).

Would that work? thanks for the feedback!

New: A separate list for Musil's works.

[Klowey]

sabagrey wrote: "Klowey wrote: "What do you all think of these books:"

There is also The World of Yesterday by Stefan Zweig running in the New School Classics Nominations."

Oh yes indeed. I have read it. It fits in very well. All Quiet on the Western Front is also in the poll at the moment.

[Klowey]

J_BlueFlower wrote: "The same is likely true for The World of Yesterday

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/..."

Thanks. I have seconded Guns. And thanks for the background on it.

[Klowey]

Fed wrote: "In general: I propose we add titles related to the genesis and themes of the book (as understood from the synopsis), and not just works from the same period or geographical region.

If you would li..."

Makes sense. I'm fine with that. Though, I'm probably a bit unsure of the themes.

I thought reading up on the general cultural and political atmosphere just before WWI would be relevant. But maybe something like All Quiet on the Western Front is too distant, since it's about during the war.

Your thoughts?

[sabagrey]

Klowey wrote: "I thought reading up on the general cultural and political atmosphere just before WWI would be relevant. .."

"General" will be way too broad. Even narrowing the scope down to the German-speaking world won't do: Prussia was very different from the Austrian-Hungarian Empire (let alone Switzerland), and the Viennese culture of the pre-WWI era was still more specific, and prolific in itself - the wikipedia articles Wiener Moderne and Young Vienna can serve as a first overview.

If I extend the period to the works written in retrospective - e.g. by Musil, Joseph Roth, Stefan Zweig, Karl Kraus - I see more than enough context and accompaniments to the Man without Qualities.

For my part, I plan to re-read Joseph Roth's Radetzkymarsch and Stefan Zweig's The World of Yesterday (at least I'll try - I've always had a hard time with his language) this autumn, and that will be enough of a preparation for me, knowing that The Man without Qualities is rooted in the epoch but considered to transcend it in form and contents.

[[deleted user]]

Klowey wrote: "... Your thoughts?"

Thank you, Klowey! I'm reading some articles on the historical-political background of Austria-Hungry and the First Republic of Austria – things were changing fast, even if we limit the study to the years of Musil's life (1880-1942).

Parts of the North of present-day Italy were part of the empire at some point, or under its influence, so the history of the region is studied in great detail at school already. Trieste (now Italy), for instance, was the fourth city of the empire at the time of its citizen Italo Svevo (1861-1928), and his best known novel, Zeno's Conscience, is full of Viennese culture and history, and deals with some of the main themes of TMWQ.

My main interest is thought, so my reads on politics and history are only instrumental to exploring thought (culture, philosophy, themes). For instance: other works (regardless of their geographical provenance and period) where the themes of willpower, inaction and the inability to act are central, or important, would be very relevant and interesting for my reading of TMWQ.

For background reading, I also rely on a book (or its synopsis) explicitly quoting or mentioning TMWQ.

sabagrey wrote: "For my part, I plan to re-read.."

Thank you Sabagrey – very good inputs!

[Klowey]

Fed wrote: "Klowey wrote: "... Your thoughts?"

Thank you, Klowey! I'm reading some articles on the historical-political background of Austria-Hungry and the First Republic of Austria – things were changing fa..."

Thanks for that good summary. And I didn't know the part about northern Italy.

[Luke]

I'm not committed to reading anything other than TMWQ next year, but Sleepwalkers, Buddenbrooks, and Zeno's Conscience have all been waiting unread on my shelves for quite a while (although, thanks to the atrocity of the new book page, it's impossible to tell that individually). I'll have to keep those in mind when I'm planning for my 2023 challenges.

[Klowey]

Aubrey wrote: "I'm not committed to reading anything other than TMWQ next year, but Sleepwalkers, Buddenbrooks, and Zeno's Conscience have all been waiting unread on my shelves for quite a while (although, thanks..."

Really glad to have you in our buddy read Aubrey!

Those three are on my to-read list along with The Radetzky March which sounds like a good supplemental reading, but am open to comments.

I also want to read The Guns of August because it sounds like it discusses the atmosphere before WWI and is a highly recommended book.

[sabagrey]

Klowey wrote: "And I didn't know the part about northern Italy."

don't worry - some parts of Europe have a really, really complicated history. You feel like stumbling over centuries-old battlefields and borders at every step.

[Sam]

I also give a thumbs up to The Guns of August though it has been too long since I read it to note any connection to TMWQ.

I probably won't find much time for any additional reading beyond Torless and Magic Mountain which I have only begun. Fed drop a note if you are reading Torless in October or whenever and I will do the same.

Since this is a first time read of TMWQ, I will not try and absorb the whole and will probably only concentrate on a few elements that interest me, otherwise, just try to enjoy the reading experience letting it wash over me and letting me get a sketch of the whole. There is a good chance I won't be able to finish the book but I will go along for awhile, probably dividing the reading into daily segments of 10-20 pages or whatever feels comfortable.

But I will look for outside help and one Youtuber I like is Chris Via of Leaf to Leaf. He has six videos on TMWQ. The first video is linked below and in the description are some other good links.

https://youtu.be/KMQjElfsP_o

Another lecturer is Susanne Klingenstein who gave a series of lectures on German literature at the Goethe Institute including one on Torless and another on TMWQ. These are harder to find and I suggest a search if you are interested.

[[deleted user]]

Reading:

Hugo von Hofmannsthal
(Vienna, 1874-1929):
Der Schwierige (1921)
Der Unbestechliche. (1923)

In addition to the underlying political theme of post-war Austria/Europe (loose transition):

In Hofmannsthal's comedies, life presents itself as the place of infinite possibilities, all apparently equivalent and indifferent, challenging man to determine and define himself not by virtue of his inborn personality, but through his choices.

[sabagrey]

I'm halfway through The World of Yesterday, and boy, do I remember how I've always had problems reading Stefan Zweig - I am now old enough, not to like him, but to have better reasons to dislike him.

BTW, I've found out that Musil and Zweig detested each other. There's an anecdote that Musil refused an offer to emigrate to South America because Zweig was there.

I think that, as a reaction, I will read Musil's lecture Über die Dummheit next.

[[deleted user]]

sabagrey wrote: "...I'm halfway through The World of Yesterday..."

The memoir of another émigré, Nobel laureate Czesław Miłosz: Rodzinna Europa ("Native realm"), poetic and refined.

"...I will read Musil's lecture Über die Dummheit next...."

Sounds intriguing – I'll read it too, thanks! I'm reading The Sleepwalkers by Hermann Broch.

[Sam]

I only have two related reads planned: Michael Kohlhaas by Heinrich von Kleist, latest Michael Hoffman translation, with the intent of filling in a background gap in nineteenth century German literature and I intend the continued read of Magic Mountain.

I did pick up a work of criticism that might be of interest, The Novel-Essay, 1884-1947, by Stefano Ercolino, but won't delve into it till I start our group read.

[sabagrey]

Fed wrote: "Sounds intriguing – I'll read it too, thanks! I'm reading The Sleepwalkers by Hermann Broch. ."

Sounds likewise intriguing - another major reading enterprise, though.

Both Musil and Broch were authors over-studied and over-debated by German literature students (of whom I knew quite a handful) in my university years, and so I developed an impulsive resistance toward both: the wannabe scholarly jargon robbed me of any wish to read these authors by myself. I am trying to overcome this revulsion now.

[sabagrey]

Sam wrote: "I did pick up a work of criticism that might be of interest, The Novel-Essay, 1884-1947, by Stefano Ercolino, but won't delve into it till I start our group read.."

This sounds intriguing ... the English edition seems to be the original one, although the author is Italian and teaches in Venice (excuse my foible for ferreting out original language versions wherever I can read them)

As to Fed "I've just completed the first novel of Broch's trilogy and absolutely loved it, even more than The magic Mountain."

thank you for the encouragement; although, having utterly failed to enthuse about the Zauberberg, aeons ago, I am not surprised that you loved something better ;-) .

[[deleted user]]

sabagrey wrote: "...Both Musil and Broch were authors over-studied and over-debated by German literature students..."

I've just finished Broch's The Sleepwalkers trilogy. I find it impossible to overestimate the import of this work – lucid, visionary, poetic...

The third [and longest] part, The Realist, is mostly a philosophical essay – little plot otherwise – on the existence, origin and nature of evil, in the light of WWI: Kant, Hegel, Scholasticism, Reformation and Counter-Reformation, gnoseology, epistemology and the question of theodicy...

[sabagrey]

Fed wrote: "Kant, Hegel, Scholasticism, Reformation and Counter-Reformation, gnoseology, epistemology and the question of theodicy..."

That does sound like a severe threat. ... sauve qui peut! ;-)

[[deleted user]]

sabagrey wrote: "That does sound like a severe threat. ... sauve qui peut! ;-)"

The Unknown Quantity is very approachable: Broch's usual themes (the nature of reality, faith, the purpose of life) are treated without recurring to essay-sections and are mixed with some romance. 5/5

[Klowey]

sabagrey wrote: "as for the book itself: I found it on the Internet Archive, to borrow:

https://archive.org/details/manwithou...


I have that book in epub, but it seems to be only about ~356 pages and my copy ends with Chapter 72. This is the earlier translation by Wilkins and Kaiser. Some think it's a better translation than the newer one by Wilkins and Pike.

Which translations are people planning on reading? From my understanding Volume I contains Parts 1 and 2, and Volume II contains an unfinished Part 3 and a never written Part 4. Is this correct?

[Luke]

I have the Wilkins and Pike in hard copy.





Very glad younger me shelled out on the complete set when the opportunity arose. First vol has p1 + 2 and second has p3 + posthumous papers.

[Klowey]

Aubrey wrote: "I have the Wilkins and Pike in hard copy.

Very glad younger me shelled out on the complete set when the opportunity arose. First vol has p1 + 2 and second has p3 + posthumous papers."

Thank you.

[Sam]

I will be reading Wilkins and Pike and listening to the Audible version of that translation too.

[Klowey]

Sam wrote: "I will be reading Wilkins and Pike and listening to the Audible version of that translation too."

Thanks Sam. I have that audible too.

I might try to also read the first 72 chapters in the Wilkins and Kaiser translation.

[sabagrey]

I'll be reading the German original. There is an audiobook, but I think listening will not be enough. So I will use the Projekt Gutenberg eBook to read along. - I have no idea yet how complete the one or the other is, but my ambitions do not extend to annexes, drafts, etc.

[Klowey]

sabagrey wrote: "I'll be reading the German original. There is an audiobook, but I think listening will not be enough. So I will use the Projekt Gutenberg eBook to read along. - I have no idea yet how complete the ..."

Looking forward to your comments. You're very lucky to be able to read it in the original.

I'll probably not venture into the annexes, drafts, etc. either.

[Sam]

Just following up on Fed's comments about preparatory reads before
The Man Without Qualities.

For October I will just continue with Magic Mountain and perhaps supplement with short stories by Robert Walser

November I will be reading
Michael Kohlhaas and Confusions of Young Törless plus Three Women by Musil.

[Sam]

I wil ask Sara for a buddy read of The Confusions of Young Törless for November 15th and we can see what happens with the other two in the polls. I usually read the books that win polls the month before thr discussion starts, but I usually catch up on recently published books nominated for awards during the latter half of the year so I run late in those months.

[[deleted user]]

«The Best German Novels of the Twentieth Century is a list of books compiled in 1999...»

#1: The Man Without Qualities

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Best_...

[[deleted user]]

Robert Musil:

FICTION, ARTICLES, MISCELLANEA

• The Man Without Qualities:
- Vol.1 (containing part I-II) pub. 1930;
- Vol.2 (containing part III) pub. 1933;
- XX chapters as galley proofs, 1937;
- 10K pages c.ca of material pub. posth.

• The Confusions of Young Törless
novel; written 1902-05; published 1906; 180p

• Unions: Two Stories
collection of two stories; published 1911; 80p

• Three Women
three novellas; published separately between 1921-24; 90p

• Posthumous Papers of a Living Author
30 short prose pieces; originally published separately on newspapers, etc.; published together in 1935; 130p

• Ten prose pieces
published separately on newspapers, etc. between 1923-32; 45p

• Short prose pieces and articles
published separately on newspapers, etc. between 1903-1932 or posthumous; 160p+

• Aphorisms
published in three collections between 1935-37, and posthumous aphorisms; 30p

*

THEATRE

• Vorspiel zu dem Melodrama "Der Tierkreis"
a prelude to his plays; 1920; 8p

• The Enthusiasts
play in three acts; 1921; 70p

• Vinzenz and the Girlfriend of Important Men
play in three acts; 1923; 30p

*

ESSAYS, LETTERS, DIARIES

under construction

[Sam]

I requested a buddy read folder for The Confusions of Young Törless for November 15. I will be starting Michael Kohlhaas on November 1, and i am open to dates for Tonka or other Musil shorts. Do we need folder for either of these reads? I did not know if there was much interest and if we should have separate folders or just post here as they are prereads.

Thanks Fed for posting the Best German novels of 20th century link. I have only read five and need to reread some of those.

I also wil be reading selections from Robert Walser's Girlfriends, Ghosts, and Other Stories during the month of November.

[[deleted user]]

Michael Kohlhaas: I enjoyed the novella and found particularly helpful and interesting, in order to understand why modernist authors revered Kleist and how they interpreted his works, the 60-page essay on Kleist written by S. Zweig – in: Hölderlin, Kleist, and Nietzsche: The Struggle with the Daemon (1925).

[[deleted user]]

The Novel-Essay, 1884-1947
by Stefano Ercolino, 2014

A useful pre-read. The style is academical, with frequent use of philosophical theories. "The man without qualities" is introduced at the beginning of Chapter 3; chapters 1-2 offer a valuable picture of the dynamics that led to the crisis of naturalism (and cartesianism) and to the birth of a new literary style.

Main titles discussed:

Chapter 1.
Against Nature by J.-K. Huysmans, 1884
The Damned by J.-K. Huysmans, 1891
The Inferno by A. Strindberg, 1897-98

Chapter 2.
The Magic Mountain by Th. Mann, 1924

Chapter 3.
The Man Without Qualities by R. Musil, 1930-42
The Sleepwalkers by H. Broch, 1931-32

Chapter 4.
Doctor Faustus by Th. Mann, 1947-49

Also largely discussed:
F. Dostoevskij, L. Tolstoj, É. Zola, M. Proust