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gbliss's review
5.0
Anything I would say is not up to the task. A book like nothing else I have ever read. A daunting, but rewarding read. Not a short walk around the block for sure, but worth every minute.
Among other things, a long exploration of contradictions, opposites, disjointed pairings, truth found at polar opposites....
One of those books I know will stick in my head for a long, long time to come.
Among other things, a long exploration of contradictions, opposites, disjointed pairings, truth found at polar opposites....
One of those books I know will stick in my head for a long, long time to come.
graywacke's review
reflective
slow-paced
3.0
I read Book 2, the first 402-pages: Musil looks at the interaction of thoughts and feelings and the dissolution of Austrian culture. What makes book 2 better than book 1 is Agathe, Ulrich‘s sister and coconspirator, in a way. She tones down the sexual tension, and enlivens the book because she‘s much more dynamic and alive than Ulrich.
ingebored's review
2.0
This book (vol 1 and 2) felt like literary hoarding. An editor somewhere definitely didn't do his job when this was published, and a lot of the novel could have not existed. There are moments of brilliance and great observations, but they are drowned out by all the non-essential clutter.
blueyorkie's review against another edition
3.0
Hey hey hey; harrowing reading, almost fatal at times! A new character introduced at the beginning of this volume, and takes up a lot of space, practically all of the area. She is the sister of the man without qualities. More or less a stranger to him, their reunion marks him deeply. However, this character, far from drawing me, rather bored me, and unfortunately, their discussions and introspections are endless a real fixation. I reduced to waiting for small nuggets of brilliant writing, which seemed rarer to me than in the previous volume. I wanted to know the developments of the parallel action and to have news of my favourite characters, Clarisse and General Stumm in particular. These moments occur but seemed to me short and spaced, lost in the thickness of this volume which surpasses the previous one. Another complication: this novel is incomplete, and the more we advance, the more we encounter unfinished sections, sketches, studies, different versions of the same chapter. Cohesion suffers. It is a pity that the author has not known, after all these years of work, to give a rigid and finished framework to this novel which nevertheless bears the mark of genius. The whole piece was, therefore for me both a great discovery and a bitter disappointment.
urtencija's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Ši dalis man pasirodė labiau apie žmones, jų santykius bei vidines dilemas. Bet kartu ir vėl apie nieką. Man knygą puikiai apibūdina ši citata: "Teisinga" ir "neteisinga" - tai išsisukinėjimai tų, kurie niekada nenori prieiti prie kokio nors sprendimo".
coruscate68's review
5.0
Monumental! A book of ideas searching for the way out of the degradation of early twentieth-century Europe.
quintusmarcus's review
2.0
Second attempt at reading volume 2, in April 2016: another failure. The book is vaguely interesting, but largely unreadable. That there is little action, and that the story is meandering and unfocused, would be okay, if the quality of meditation were as high as, say, Thomas Mann. But it's not: Musil will explore a great idea briefly, over the course of a few sentences, then drop it and move on. But of course, the work was unfinished at Musil's death--who knows what the final completed work would have been.
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