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A review by david_rhee
The Man Without Qualities by Robert Musil
4.0
The Man Without Qualities is a book naturally almost impossible to rate justly due to its unfinished state, but there is still a lot to like about it. The backdrop is uniquely set in the waning years of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy which sits between a flourishing materialistic democracy to its west and the developing socialists to its east. Within itself, there are insoluble groups of people unable to decide if they want to be more or less German or Italian or neither. The clash of ideas, philosophies, and interests within this nation leaves its people in a state of being where one cannot cultivate his or her own personality and are therefore at the mercy of bombardment by neverending waves of opposing schools of thought.
The slow developing novel revolves around the planning of the Emperor's seventieth jubilee of his accession. The campaign dedicated to discovering the great idea representative of the Austrian spirit which is to become the theme of the celebration is headed by the aristocracy. The main man without qualities Ulrich, via connections through his father, finds himself at the heart of this campaign.
The pace actually holds up well and between the constant butting of heads of Ulrich and the Prussian tycoon Arnheim, the tale of the alluring Diotima, and the many side stories along the way there is plenty to entertain the willing reader. Concerns about the length of the work are understandable and they do end up proving to be for good reason. The later sections of the novel start to become frenetic and appear to lose structure. Storylines lose the interwoven nature observed in the earlier parts. Now of course, this is an unfinished work so all we are seeing is a part of the work without the benefit of a wash and wax. It could also be at least partly due to a reader losing stamina. I wasn't sure which.
The slow developing novel revolves around the planning of the Emperor's seventieth jubilee of his accession. The campaign dedicated to discovering the great idea representative of the Austrian spirit which is to become the theme of the celebration is headed by the aristocracy. The main man without qualities Ulrich, via connections through his father, finds himself at the heart of this campaign.
The pace actually holds up well and between the constant butting of heads of Ulrich and the Prussian tycoon Arnheim, the tale of the alluring Diotima, and the many side stories along the way there is plenty to entertain the willing reader. Concerns about the length of the work are understandable and they do end up proving to be for good reason. The later sections of the novel start to become frenetic and appear to lose structure. Storylines lose the interwoven nature observed in the earlier parts. Now of course, this is an unfinished work so all we are seeing is a part of the work without the benefit of a wash and wax. It could also be at least partly due to a reader losing stamina. I wasn't sure which.