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Reviewed by:
  • Hermann Broch und die Moderne: Roman, Menschenrecht, Biographie by Paul Michael Lützeler
  • Vincent Kling
Paul Michael Lützeler, Hermann Broch und die Moderne: Roman, Menschenrecht, Biographie. Munich: Wilhelm Fink, 2011. 237 pp.

It would have been out of character for the doyen of Broch scholars to allow 2011, the year of a double observance—Broch was born in 1886 and died in 1951—to pass without at least one significant contribution. Besides participating in numerous conferences in North America and Europe, Lützeler has observed these milestones with these conscientiously reworked and reorganized essays. They have all appeared previously, as detailed in the “Editorische Notiz” (227–28), but they are assembled in this volume with a symmetry and logic that makes them virtually new in their new placement. Each essay is illuminating in itself but also as part of an ensemble of contributions in which the total is more than the sum of the parts. And while the main three divisions of the book are circumscribed, as given in the subtitle (see above), they are starting points that leave no aspect of Broch‘s work uncovered.

The very arrangement, then, with its elegant balances and echoes, makes a contribution beyond the individual sections. After an introductory section, there are three major divisions, one each on the belletristic work, the essays and other discursive writings, and the letters. Leaving out the “Einleitung” (11–33) in the brief introductory section, the other three divisions each have three sections, each of which has two complementary essays. For instance, the division headed “Zum dichterischen Werk” (37–99) discusses “Pasenow oder Die Angst vor der Moderne” in two Roman-numbered chapters: “Pasenow als Stadt-Roman” and “Pasenow als Agrar-Roman,” followed by two essays on “Die Schlafwandler und Thomas Manns Der Zauberberg” and so on. Other topics covered include Broch’s involvement with Nietzsche, modernism, and abstract painting, as well as several essays on the author’s correspondence. [End Page 128]

Very few scholars are more closely linked to one writer than Lützeler is to Broch; if any critic has ever deserved the name of expert on his or her subject, then surely this is the case. And while scholars frequently find a need to change their emphases, Lützeler has not only remained very much associated with Broch over decades, shown by a wealth of research, biography, and criticism, but he has always—here too—placed his commentary in a broader context and found sometimes unexpected and ingeniously observed intertextualities that arise from his wide reading and imaginative connections.

Here, too, Lützeler manifests unflagging concentration and sweep of insight. Of perhaps greatest interest to readers without a special interest in Broch or not convinced of his value is the introductory section, which appropriately and pointedly addresses the question, “Broch lesen—wozu?” Is it true that readers divide between those who favor Broch and those who prefer Musil—and that very few readers have an equally high estimation of both? Anyone needing persuasion about Broch—or some refreshing of that persuasion—would benefit from the two chapters that make up the introduction. “Brochs Aktualität” (11–20) “updates” Broch‘s work in every category by placing it into the context of recent critical approaches, rescuing Broch‘s work from accusations of datedness while also clarifying the aspects of Broch‘s times that elicited the essays, novels, short stories, philosophical studies, and psychological analyses. Lützeler‘s second essay in this section, “Broch als Leser: Kafka, Joyce, Canetti” (20–33), documents Broch‘s exceptional acumen and taste as a reader, showing at the same time another aspect of his extraordinary empathy and generosity, specifically his dealings with Canetti. Encouragingly supportive and keenly critical at the same time, Broch emerges as an ideal mentor and friend. Lützeler’s opening section would be an ideal introduction for readers wanting to understand Broch as he was and as he related to his age.

What bears repeating, though, is that Lützeler shows here, as indeed throughout his book, the pertinence of Broch—too often considered of merely historical interest—to contemporary concerns in the study of literature. This aspect is most evident in...

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