The Man Without Qualities, Volume II: The like of it Now Happens

Robert Musil

ISBN 10: 0330256122 / ISBN 13: 9780330256124

Published by Pan Books: Picador Classics, New York, NY, 1988

About this Item

Very Near Fine in Wraps: the expected light tanning to the text pages due to aging; the binding leans ever so slightly; else flawless; the binding remains perfectly secure; the text is clean. Free of creases to the panels. Free of creases to the backstrip. Free of any creased or dog-eared pages in the text. Free of any underlining, hi-lighting or marginalia or marks in the text. Free of any ownership names, dates, addresses, notations, inscriptions, stamps, plates, or labels. A handsome, nearly-new copy, structurally sound and tightly bound, showing the noted minor, unobtrusive imperfections. Bright and clean. Corners sharp. Very close to "As New". NOT a Remainder, Book-Club, or Ex-Library. 8vo (7.75 x 5.05 x 1.15 inches) . Translated by Eithne Wilkins & Ernst Kaiser, but the translation is not attributed in this volume. Language: English. Weight: 12.1 ounces. First Picador Classics Edition [1988]; Sixth Printing. Picador published an earlier paperback editon in 1979. The hardcover edition was published by Secker and Warburg in 1954. Trade Paperback. The Man Without Qualitiesi s among the most fascinating books I've ever read. It's slow going at times because the style is so free-form. While traditional plots do exist, they do not form the crux of the books in this series. Rather, the reader watches Ulrich, the 'man without qualities', as he goes about his life in 1913 Austria. He is among the intelligentsia, he is young (32 or thereabouts) he is an engineer, a sceptic, he has an ironic eye as he moves among the ruling classes of Austrian society on the eve of the First World War. This book is deeply philosophical without proposing solutions: sometimes his observations gut-punch you, sometimes they bring tears to your eyes. But always, they're fascinating. It is so worth the effort. The book is complex but always engaging. It is concerned with the nature of writing and many other things and challenges the reader at every turn. It is definitely worth the read and worth reading slowly; the writing is extraordinarily good. Two young men travel from New Zealand through Australia to China then the then USSR to Europe where a number of incidents and events engage their attention. The language is intense, uniquely so, and, while it is an engaging narrative of real interest, it has metafictional and even philosophical aspects. One of the true classics of modern literature and demands an wider audience. ; Small 8vo 7½" - 8" tall; vii, 454 pages.

Seller Inventory # 47862

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Man Without Qualities, Volume II: The like of it Now Happens
• Publisher: Pan Books: Picador Classics, New York, NY
• Publication Date: 1988
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0330256122
• ISBN 13: 9780330256124
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition: First Edition Thus; Sixth Printing.
• Condition: Near Fine

About this title

Synopsis

Cover marked and worn, some foxing to tanned page edges. Shipped from the U.K. All orders received before 3pm sent that weekday.