Philip Payne – författare

Robert Musil's The Man without Qualities is perhaps the most important novel in German written in the twentieth century - certainly it is among the most brilliant, puzzling and profound. This, the first comprehensive study of the work to appear in English, guides the reader towards Musil's central concerns. It examines how Musil laboured through draft after draft to produce material that would pass his own strict literary 'quality control' and traces major themes through different layers of narrative with the aid of close textual analysis. It details how Musil subjects leading figures of fin-de-siecle Vienna to intense ironic scrutiny and how, by drawing on his extensive knowledge of philosophy, psychology, politics, sociology and science, he works into his novel essayistic statements which record the state of contemporary European civilisation. Through a disturbing and deeply serious liaison with his sister, Musil's hero Ulrich, is shown to struggle through to the brink of self-discovery and enlightenment.

A fresh and extensive look at the works of the great Austrian novelist in the context of the German and Austrian culture of his time.A panel of authors, critics, and academics convened by the Literaturhaus in Munich in 1999 voted Robert Musil's The Man without Qualities the most important German novel of the 20th century. Their collective judgment restson strong foundations: on the work's encyclopedic compass, embracing intellectual, social, political, and cultural concerns embodied in themes of striking originality; on its probing of key issues of Austrian and German life fromthe first four decades of the twentieth century; on the brilliance of its language, unsurpassed by any other 20th-century author writing in German. While this Companion gives The Man without Qualities the central focus it deserves, it also contributes to a deeper understanding of Musil's other significant works; in harnessing a team of established scholars from North America and Europe to the task of providing an assessment of Musil's work, it setsnew standards in scope and originality. The analyses are embedded in an appreciation of the intellectual contexts of Musil's writing, yielding fresh insights into Musil's artistic accomplishment and into his place in the Austrianand German cultural traditions of the 20th century.Contributors: Philip Payne, Klaus Amann, Galin Tihanov, Matthias Luserke-Jaqui, Silvia Bonacchi, Christian Rogowski, Peter Henninger, Walter Fanta, Karl Corino, GeneseGrill, Burton Pike, Rüdiger Görner Philip Payne is emeritus Professor of German Studies at Lancaster University, UK; Graham Bartram is retired as Senior Lecturer in German Studies at Lancaster University, UK; and Galin Tihanov is the George Steiner Professor of Comparative Literature at Queen Mary University of London, UK.

“Politics is will and not truth. A very primitive formulation, but rich in consequences.”Robert Musil was keenly aware of literature’s vulnerability to what he called “the over-reach and encroachment of politics”, but he was also an acute observer of the ways in which literature and politics interact. Literature and Politics presents Musil’s writings on the relationship between literature and politics from World War I through World War II and elucidates his personal struggle to bear witness during the Age of Totalitarianism.In essays, addresses, aphorisms, and unpublished notes on current events, Musil charted the increasing dangers posed to artists and intellectuals by projects of ideological conscription, as well as the broader threats posed by nationalism and other extreme forms of collectivism. His political thinking was unfailingly supple and nuanced, but at its heart was a passionate belief in the rich and irreducible nature of individual creative work as the bulwark of a free, ethical, and pluralistic society. The main texts are translated by Genese Grill and Klaus Amann provides an invaluable Introduction to Musil’s political thought, while Philip Payne introduces Musil's "On Stupidity" (which he has also translated into English).

India is the home of religion, philosophy and spirituality. Every age, she provides the world with armies of spiritual masters. The beauty of the Indian philosophy is the grand unification of a Metaphysical God who is the Absolute Reality and the substratum of all existence, and a Personal God who is the basis of all morality, ethics and the inspiration to lead a meaningful life. Amongst those Indian philosophers who accepted the separation of mind and body and argued for the existence of the soul, there was considerable dedication to the scientific method and to developing the principles of deductive and inductive logic. As keen observers of nature and the human body, India''s early scientist/philosophers studied human sensory organs, analysed dreams, memory and consciousness. The best of them understood dialectics in nature-they understood change, both in quantitative and qualitative terms-they even posited a prototype of the modern atomic theory. The novelty of this book consists of the fact that it introduces the reader to the basic of Indian philosophers and their contribution in Indian philosophy.

After centuries of peace, Tagonia suspects trouble maybe brewing from its neighbour, just across the sea. The emperor Marciarnous, although he would never admit it, is losing his control over his ambitious eldest son. Xantos, Ruler of Southern Mensk, has built an army far greater than that of his ageing father's in the North and is now desperate for conquest. No longer interested in peace, Xantos is unwilling to wait until he inherits the title of emperor before pushing forward with his plans. The king of Tagonia is also nearing the end of his time but with his daughter and sole heir totally unprepared for the crown things are looking bleak. Even with no real army to speak of and nothing more than a country full of crafters and farmers, the new queen is determined not to surrender the nation without a good fight.

No good deed deserves to go unpunished, or so it seems. Ron tries to break up a bar fight and ends up going to jail for his trouble. In prison he is given a bottle of illegal moonshine and somehow ends up naked, straddling a pot-bellied pig, earning the title of "e;The pig sticker"e;On the outside, Ron's parole officer thinks it's funny to let the moniker slip out in a conversation but the abattoir boss doesn't want to risk any funny business on his watch. Sacked from his job, evicted from his accommodation and left without any money Ron is at rock bottom.With no money, no job, no address, and all the terms of his parole broken, he has little choice but to go on the run. When the very institute that he is running from offers him a job, Ron begins to realise all is not what it seems.