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After nearly completing his training as an officer candidate in the Austro-Hungarian Empire's best military academies, Musil completed a degree in civil engineering at Brno and then moved to the University of Berlin, where he studied philosophy and experimental psychology. He spent most of his adult life in Vienna until emigrating to Switzerland in 1938 in flight from the Nazis. There he worked on this massive unfinished novel, which he began in the early 1920s, until he died in 1942. Set on the verge of World War I, the novel revolves around the efforts of Ulrich, the man without qualities, to find meaning in a society in which convention stifles a new era struggling to be born. Experimental in form, the novel virtually eschews plot, relying instead on character studies and essayistic passages. This new translation offers the most complete version yet to appear in English, incorporating all the material published during Musil's life (the first two books and part of the third); the end of the third book, edited by Martha Musil in 1943; and other materials from Musil's posthumous papers relating to the novel. This tighter, more naturally flowing translation is a significant improvement over the first, clearly reproducing Musil's brilliant wit atop the solid foundation of his breathtaking political, social, and psychological insight. Recommended for all literary collections.
Michael T. O'Pecko, Towson State Univ., Md.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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The Man Without Qualities (2 volume set)
Seller: Toscana Books, AUSTIN, TX, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. Condition: new. Excellent Condition.Excels in customer satisfaction, prompt replies, and quality checks. Seller Inventory # Scanned0394510526
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The Man Without Qualities (Complete, two-volume boxed set)
Published by
Alfred A. Knopf, Borzoi Books, Random House, Inc., New York, 1995
ISBN 10: 0394510526
ISBN 13: 9780394510521
New
Hardcover
First Edition
Seller: Mnemosyne, New Haven, CT, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. Condition: New. 1st Edition. METACLASSIC: SUPERB: RARE First edition (Orig. April 30,1995) Third Printing (August 1995): NEW: PRISTINE: Two-Volume hardcover set in EXCELLENT slipcase, NEW mylar-protected jackets w/ sharp NEW edges & corners, IMMACULATE smooth-cut text-block exteriors, NEW covers w/ black-linen wrapping spines & extending 1.25" onto front & back panels covered in black paper & w/ sharp NEW edges & corners, IMPECCABLE cream-white end-papers, NEW sewn bindings w/ tight signatures, PRISTINE interiors superbly printed in Caledonia on EXCELLENT unblemished archival paper * Volume I: 5.62" x 8.62" x 1.75", 0.92 kg, pp. 1-725 * Volume II: 5.62" x 8.62" x 1.75", 1.32 kg, pp. 726-1774 * The two-volumes complete in slipcase: 6.12" x 9.12" x 4.62", 2.54 kg, 1774 pp. * ABOUT THE WORK: This long-awaited translation, the first in English to provide the complete text, gives to its readers the greatest masterpiece in all 20th-century German literature, w/ Proust's "Remembrance of Things Past" & Joyce's "Ulysses" this is one of the three literary masterworks of modernism. Dazzlingly written, ferocious, suffused w/ high, ironic intelligence, it uses Viennese high society on the eve of World War I to chronicle the decay & collapse of the Old World & w/ utter prescience to explore all that would follow in our Age of Anxiety. At the heart of this astonishing novel is Ulrich: youngish, rich, an ex-soldier, a seducer, a scientist: "the man w/o qualities". Although he is eager for influence & worldly success, his self-awareness sets him apart from those around him. Unable to deceive himself that the jumble of attributes & values & behaviors that his world has bestowed upon him amounts to anything so innate as his "character" / "ego," he is effectively a man "w/o qualities," a brilliant detached observer of the racing society spinning around him. It is 1913 & from palace to salon all interlocking circles of court, aristocracy & high-bourgeoisie are gripped by a mission as high-flown as it is vague: to find a nationally appropriate way to celebrate the approaching 70th jubilee of the accession of Emperor Franz Josef. Half pulled (by his beautiful, high-minded, muddled cousin Diotima), half-pushed (by his stern old father the Judge), Ulrich finds himself appointed secretary general of this comically doomed enterprise. On one side, Austria's grand old aristocrats, its industrial magnates & military men, its secular priestesses of liberal culture, are all trying to salvage some illustrious idea out of the cultural chaos that is the Austro-Hungarian empire; on the other, sons & daughters of the more ordinary Viennese world are beginning to show signs of rebellion. As Ulrich maneuvers through this social labyrinth, he begins to feel the pull of what is deepest in him, gradually moving beyond the norms of erotic & political relations between men & women to the point where he seeks to dedicate his life to an exploration of a new science of passion & feelings. And his partner in this audacious enterprise will be his sister . . . This huge phenomenally ambitious novel, this "journey on the margins of the possible," was 20 years in the writing. Parts I to III appeared in Musil's lifetime (only the first was published in translation in the United States); the material presented here in "From the Posthumous Papers" existed only in highly developed sketch form in his papers at the time of his death. The first complete German edition of "The Man Without Qualities" finally appeared in 1951. Part satire, part visionary epic, part intellectual tour de force, "The Man Without Qualities" is a work of immeasurable importance. * SHIPPING: Mnemosyne carefully wraps & packages this handsome two-volume boxed set in a multi-walled custom-fitted carton for FREE shipment via USPS MEDIA MAIL within the United States & its territories. Due to the weight of this set, we ship all international orders via Mandatory USPS PRIORITY INTERNATIONAL AIRMAIL at below-cost rates quoted upon request. Seller Inventory # 011141
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The Man Without Qualities. (Two Volumes)
Published by
Alfred A. Knopf, NY, 1995
ISBN 10: 0394510526
ISBN 13: 9780394510521
Used
Hardcover
First Edition
Seller: art longwood books, Gloucester, MA, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. Condition: Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Fine. First Edition Thus/First Printing. cloth, two volumes, complete. hardcovers in dust jackets in illustrated slipcase., very small repair to one corner of slipcase with little piece of japanese tissue, minor impact. no other flaws - clean, well bound, no writing or markings.; vol. 1 - x-725pp./vol. 2 - vi-729-1774pp.; translated from german original by sophie wilkins. burton pike, editorial consultant. first english translation to incorporate material omitted from previous editions. dust jacket and slipcase designed by chip kidd and barbara de wilde. Size: 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. Multi-Volume Set. Seller Inventory # 25071
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THE MAN WITHOUT QUALITIES [2 Volumes]
Published by
Alfred A. Knopf, New York, NY, 1995
ISBN 10: 0394510526
ISBN 13: 9780394510521
Used
Hardcover
First Edition
Seller: Second Story Books, ABAA, Rockville, MD, U.S.A.
Seller rating 4 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. First American Edition, First Printing. Octavo, 2 Volumes. In Very Good minus condition with Very Good condition dust jackets. Contained in a white, grey, and copper slipcase with stains throughout, mild shelving wear, and a publisher's paper slightly separating with black lettering on the head edge. Dust jackets prices are uncut "$60.00", have stains on the spine, mild shelving wear, and a small closed tear along the spine head edge of Volume 1. Boards have stains throughout and mild shelving wear. Textblock has mild wear along the edges and light foxing along the edges. CONTENTS: Vol. 1, "The Man Without Qualities I", x, 1-725 pages -- Vol. 2, "The Man Without Qualities II", vi, 729-1774 pages. Shelved Room C. 1392245. Special Collections. Seller Inventory # 1392245
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The Man Without Qualities (Complete, two-volume boxed set)
Published by
Alfred A. Knopf, Borzoi Books, Random House, Inc., New York, 1995
ISBN 10: 0394510526
ISBN 13: 9780394510521
New
Hardcover
First Edition
Seller: Mnemosyne, New Haven, CT, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. Condition: New. 1st Edition. METACLASSIC: SUPERB: RARE First edition (Orig. April 30,1995) First printing: NEW, PRISTINE, UNTOUCHED: Two-Volume hardcover set in EXCELLENT NEW slipcase, NEW mylar-protected jackets w/ sharp NEW edges & corners, IMMACULATE smooth-cut text-block exteriors, NEW covers w/ black-linen wrapping spines & extending 1.25" onto front & back panels covered in black paper & w/ sharp NEW edges & corners, IMPECCABLE cream-white end-papers, NEW sewn bindings w/ tight signatures, PRISTINE interiors superbly printed in Caledonia on EXCELLENT unblemished archival paper * Volume I: 5.62" x 8.62" x 1.75", 0.92 kg, pp. 1-725 * Volume II: 5.62" x 8.62" x 1.75", 1.32 kg, pp. 726-1774 * The two-volumes complete in slipcase: 6.12" x 9.12" x 4.62", 2.54 kg, 1774 pp. * ABOUT THE WORK: This long-awaited translation, the first in English to provide the complete text, gives to its readers the greatest masterpiece in all 20th-century German literature, w/ Proust's "Remembrance of Things Past" & Joyce's "Ulysses" this is one of the three literary masterworks of modernism. Dazzlingly written, ferocious, suffused w/ high, ironic intelligence, it uses Viennese high society on the eve of World War I to chronicle the decay & collapse of the Old World & w/ utter prescience to explore all that would follow in our Age of Anxiety. At the heart of this astonishing novel is Ulrich: youngish, rich, an ex-soldier, a seducer, a scientist: "the man w/o qualities". Although he is eager for influence & worldly success, his self-awareness sets him apart from those around him. Unable to deceive himself that the jumble of attributes & values & behaviors that his world has bestowed upon him amounts to anything so innate as his "character" / "ego," he is effectively a man "w/o qualities," a brilliant detached observer of the racing society spinning around him. It is 1913 & from palace to salon all interlocking circles of court, aristocracy & high-bourgeoisie are gripped by a mission as high-flown as it is vague: to find a nationally appropriate way to celebrate the approaching 70th jubilee of the accession of Emperor Franz Josef. Half pulled (by his beautiful, high-minded, muddled cousin Diotima), half-pushed (by his stern old father the Judge), Ulrich finds himself appointed secretary general of this comically doomed enterprise. On one side, Austria's grand old aristocrats, its industrial magnates & military men, its secular priestesses of liberal culture, are all trying to salvage some illustrious idea out of the cultural chaos that is the Austro-Hungarian empire; on the other, sons & daughters of the more ordinary Viennese world are beginning to show signs of rebellion. As Ulrich maneuvers through this social labyrinth, he begins to feel the pull of what is deepest in him, gradually moving beyond the norms of erotic & political relations between men & women to the point where he seeks to dedicate his life to an exploration of a new science of passion & feelings. And his partner in this audacious enterprise will be his sister . . . This huge phenomenally ambitious novel, this "journey on the margins of the possible," was 20 years in the writing. Parts I to III appeared in Musil's lifetime (only the first was published in translation in the United States); the material presented here in "From the Posthumous Papers" existed only in highly developed sketch form in his papers at the time of his death. The first complete German edition of "The Man Without Qualities" finally appeared in 1951. Part satire, part visionary epic, part intellectual tour de force, "The Man Without Qualities" is a work of immeasurable importance. * SHIPPING: Mnemosyne carefully wraps & packages this handsome two-volume boxed set in a multi-walled custom-fitted carton for FREE shipment via USPS MEDIA MAIL within the United States & its territories. Due to the weight of this set, we ship all international orders via Mandatory USPS PRIORITY INTERNATIONAL AIRMAIL at below-cost rates quoted upon request. Seller Inventory # 011139
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The Man Without Qualities (Boxed Set) A Sort Of Introduction Pseudoreality Prevails Into The Millennium; From The Posthumous Papers
Published by
Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1996
ISBN 10: 0394510526
ISBN 13: 9780394510521
Used
Hardcover
Seller: Twice Sold Tales, Capitol Hill, Seattle, WA, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Hardcover w/slipcase. Condition: Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Fine. Fourth Printing. Fourth Printing. Half inch raised cloth binding on both volumes. Light soiling to text block (Vol.1). Light scuffing and creasing to dust jacket (Vol. 1). Light creasing and scuffing to dust jacket (Vol. 2). Slipcase shows very minor signs of shelf wear. Scuffing to inner slipcase. Light soiling to top and bottom of slipcase. Seller Inventory # 8885