Musil, Robert

Musil, Robert (rō`bĕrt m`zĭl), 1880–1942, Austrian novelist. His style, which has been compared to Proust's, is marked by subtle psychological analysis. This is evident in the novel Young Törless (1906, tr. 1955) and in his chief work, Der Mann ohne Eigenschaften (3 vol., 1930–42; tr. The Man without Qualities, 1953–60 and 1995), widely considered one of the masterpieces of 20th-century literature. Many of his stories have been translated and published in such posthumous collections as Tonka and Other Stories (tr. 1965) and Three Short Stories (1970).

Bibliography

See his diaries, ed. by M. Mirsky (tr. 1998); studies by B. Pike (1961, repr. 1971); L. Appiqnanesi (1973); P. Payne (2d rev. ed. 1989); and C. Rogowski (1994).