Der Moloch

by Jakob Wassermann

"Der Moloch" by Jakob Wassermann is a novel published in 1902. Young Arnold Ansorge arrives in Vienna with considerable wealth and a rigid commitment to truth and justice. In the decadent world of Vienna's high society and stock market speculators, his uncompromising honesty becomes his undoing. As Arnold navigates love affairs, broken friendships, and financial dealings, his relentless pursuit of truth destroys those around him. This negative Bildungsroman follows a man whose moral inflexibility leads not to enlightenment but to catastrophe in a city that devours its inhabitants.