What is the author's style in The Man Without Qualities Ii: The Like of It Now Happens by Robert Musil?

The author uses third person omniscient for the novel. Robert Musil is a man of the 19th and 20th centuries. He is a Germanic Continental European which makes quite a difference. There are times when this difference is not particularly pronounced but remains an underlying theme, rather like background noise. The author is a highly educated man. He likes ideas a great deal. This truth pervades the book.

There are certain characteristics of the novel that show how it conforms to the same literary tradition as Dostoevsky's novels. One of these is the complexity of the language. Another is the inclusion of debates concerning issues of the day. Musil uses the plot of the novel to share ideas and includes the role of intellectuals and of ideas within the Germanic cultures as part of the novel.