Point of View

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.

The author uses a great deal of realism in the fictional account. The fictional story takes place in the real world. This is normal for a great deal of fiction although it is extremely alien for science fiction or fantasy fiction. As such, for foreigners the novel does give great insight to the Germanic cultures. The purpose seems to actually give greater depth to understanding this tribune of cultures for people who live in it as well as...