Welcome to Litsy!

6 lbs. cat for scale. I stopped at the end of book 2, at the bookmark. The rest, the posthumous papers, will stay unread. But at least I snuck in this into 2022.

Musil looks at 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.

It‘s like 2/3-coffee-mug thick. I started this monster, volume II. My plan for now, assuming I can get into it, is the read the 1st 400 pages, which is the second and volume Musil published in 1933. The last 600 pages contain his unfinished draft for the 3rd volume.