Fabian. Die Geschichte eines Moralisten
1931
Erich Kästner
Munich : Deutschen Verlags-Anstalt
German
Novel
112pp
Satire, Sex Workers, Unknown
Summary
A moralist man who lost his job wanders Berlin and encounters the range of its immoral inhabitants, including several queer characters. The novel is a realist series of misfortunes and social betrayals with a backdrop of Germany's rising Nazis.
More Info
Kästner's books, including this one, were among the titles burned in the 1933 Nazi book burnings.
Content & Trigger Warnings
(highlight to reveal)
SUICIDE: a friend of the protagonist commits suicide after he is told, as a joke, that his thesis had been rejected.
Editions
Multiple forewards and and statements have been included over the years. It seems that most or all have been compliled in the 2013 edition.
Munich : Deutschen Verlags-Anstalt (1931) Expurgated. Cover by Wikipedia. Spine seen at oldthing.
Jonathan Cape (1932) Expurgated as Fabian: The Story of a Moralist.
Libris (1990) Unexpurgated as Fabian: The Story of a Moralist.
Northwestern Uni Press (1993) Unexpurgated as Fabian: The Story of a Moralist. Includes 1952 epilogue. Tr. Cyrus Brooks.
Zurich : Atrium-Verlag (2013) Unexpurgated as Der Gang vor die Hunde (Going to the Dogs). Restored passages and added appendix detailed at Wikipedia.