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 as the Nazis begin rising in power.

Kästner's books, including this one, were among the titles burned in the 1933 Nazi book burnings.
Other Editions

Multiple forewords and and statements have been included over the years. It seems that most or all have been compiled in the 2013 edition.

Editions

• Munich : Deutschen Verlags-Anstalt (1931) Expurgated. Cover by Wikipedia. Spine seen at oldthing.
• London : Jonathan Cape (1932) Expurgated in English as Fabian: The Story of a Moralist.
• Libris (1990) Unexpurgated in English as Fabian: The Story of a Moralist.
• Northwestern Uni Press (1993) Unexpurgated in English 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.

Content & Trigger Warnings

SUICIDE: a friend of the protagonist commits suicide after he is told, as a joke, that his thesis had been rejected.