Cover of The Man Without Qualities

The Man Without Qualities

Robert Musil, 1930

Austrian novelist, 1880–1942.

The Man Without Qualities is a 1930 novel by Robert Musil, translated from German.

Acclaimed
  • Critics' Darling

On 3 of the 11 lists it was eligible for.

The Novel Index earns a small commission if you buy through our links, at no extra cost to you. It never affects our rankings. More about how we earn.

At a glance

Author
Robert Musil
First published
1930
Length
1152 pages (UK paperback)
Original language
Translated from German
Genre
Literary fiction, Philosophical, Modernist, Satire

Is The Man Without Qualities worth reading?

3 of the 11 best-of lists it could have made include it, among them 100 books of the century (Le Monde) and Bokklubben World Library (Norwegian Book Clubs).

ListPlaceOriginal
100 books of the century (Le Monde, 1999)No. 86See the list
Bokklubben World Library (Norwegian Book Clubs, 2002)ListedSee the list
The 100 best novels of all time (The Guardian, 2026)No. 67See the list

Best edition of The Man Without Qualities

The edition we link to is the Picador paperback (2017), 1152 pages, translated by Sophie Wilkins.

Publisher
Picador (paperback, 2017)
Pages
1152
Translator
Sophie Wilkins
ISBN
9781447289432

How critics and readers rate The Man Without Qualities

Critics rate it most highly: it earned 48% of the points available on critics' lists, against 0% on readers' and booksellers' lists.

Critics
48%
Prizes
Not eligible for any of these lists yet
Readers and booksellers
0%

Share of the available points it earned on each kind of list it was eligible for. How the scores work

Books like The Man Without Qualities

If you liked The Man Without Qualities, try The Grapes of Wrath, Catch-22 or Heart of Darkness.

Lists used on this page