The Realist

"The Realist" is the third novel in Hermann Broch's trilogy The Sleepwalkers. Published in 1932, it chronicles the disintegration of European society from 1888 to World War I, illustrating the victory of realism over romanticism and anarchy. The novel follows Wilhelm Huguenau, a deserter who becomes a newspaper partner. He is selfish and egotistical, ultimately killing his partner, raping his widow, and escaping punishment to achieve wealth and conventional success. Huguenau's rise exemplifies the moral decay in the post-war world. The trilogy as a whole moves from a parody of 19th-century realism through expressionism, employing various literary forms to explore human experience and societal change.12