Man Without Qualities, The 1st Vol. of 3: A Sort of Introduction- The Like of It Now Happens (I)

This first volume is an introduction of the protagonist, a 32-year old mathematician named Ulrich who is in search of a sense of life and reality but fails to find it. His ambivalence towards morals and indifference to life has brought him to the state of being "a man without qualities," depending on the outer world to form his character. A kind of keenly analytical passivity is his most typical attitude.