FICTION

ROBERT MUSIL, SELECTED WRITINGS, edited by Burton Pike (Continuum: $24.50 hardcover; $10.95 paperback; 345 pp.). This brilliant and bold collection of writings by Austrian-born author Robert Musil (1880-1942) ranges from his first novel, “Young Torless,” published when he was 26, to prose written shortly before his death.

Influenced by Nietzsche, Musil wrote that “literature is a bolder, more logical recombination of life. A calling into life or analyzing out of possibilities.” This belief is evident throughout his work: His characters don’t lead unexamined lives; most of them are afflicted with a heightened awareness of their emotions, constantly analyzing their responses as well as the responses that arise from their self-analysis.

Time becomes a character in much of Musil’s work, surrounding the individual with its powerful impact. His prose is rich and intuitive: “And all at once her past seemed the imperfect expression of something that was yet to come.”

In his stunning novella, “The Perfecting of a Love,” Musil deals with the almost mystical connection between two people, a connection that has the power to affect the objects surrounding them. Claudine and her husband--like many of the characters in Musil’s other work--are fascinated by the delicate, shifting line that blurs the difference between good and evil.