Erich Kästner, known to many as an author of children's and youth books, also wrote critically acclaimed novels. Fabian. Die Geschichte eines Moralisten was completed in 1931 and portrays the moral and intellectual decay amidst challenging political conditions.

Fabian is an unemployed Germanist wandering through the bustling city of Berlin, searching for work and connections. We witness his encounters with people trying to buy him, his girlfriend prostituting herself to become an actress, and his best friend's tragic suicide over a trivial remark.

Amidst the chaos, an inventor appears, wanting to retract his job-destroying inventions, but finds it impossible. Berlin is depicted as a city unraveling, where people live in a hopeless, merciless labyrinth akin to a madhouse.

Fabian stands as an outsider, a moralist whose weapon is observation and distance, crafted through sarcastic remarks. His aim is to observe whether the world has a talent for decency.

Kästner opposes the morally upright Fabian with human corruptibility, lack of conscience, and conformity. The book features numerous well-executed satirical highlights, such as a lottery where food is raffled or public brawls as evening entertainment.

Kästner's character descriptions are biting and relentless. A key example is the editor Müntzer, who supports something he doesn't believe in, fully aware of its falseness, having "chloroformed his conscience."

Fabian is a novel filled with astute, timely observations that remain relevant today. At the heart of Kästner's social critique lies human weakness and lethargy—knowing the falsehoods of circumstances but doing nothing about them—a criticism still valid to this day.