Description
Book SynopsisPrior to its destruction in 1918, the Austro-Hungarian Empire had ruled over a vast array of nationalities and, in the course of its demise as well as after, Austria was beset by nationalism, racism, and other forms of identity politics that ultimately led to the triumph of Nazism. This title presents the study of the works of Robert Musil.
Trade Review“An ambitious, authoritative new reading of
The Man Without Qualities, which establishes forcefully the relevance of the fascination of the incomparable Austrian writer. A Robert Musil for the twenty-first century? Yes. And Jonsson’s book is as suggestive about the summative powers of Musil the novelist as about that still incompletely charted cultural labyrinth called ‘modernity’ in which we continue to wander.”—Susan Sontag
Table of ContentsPreface ix
Abbreviations xv
Introduction 1
Chapter 1. Topographies of Inwardness 21
Chapter 2. The Architecture of Modern Identity 60
Chapter 3. A Story with Many Ends 97
Chapter 4. Subjectivity Degree Zero 133
Chapter 5. Monsters in Love, Angels at War 175
Chapter 6. The Most Progressive State 217
Epilogue 263
Notes 271
Bibliography 337
Index 365
