The Fabulist is a novel focusing on the life of Stephen Glass. The story begins during the summer of 1998, while Glass was a writer and associate editor for The New Republic. One summers day Glass is asked to speak to his boss Robert about verifying a source in one of Glass’ new articles. However, Robert’s request creates a problem for Glass since the source, a woman named Gloria, does not exist; Gloria was a figment of Glass’ imagination. In fact, Glass had been fabricating stories, as well as making up sources, since 1995. Terrified for the truth to be found out, Glass created a fantastic lie to make Robert happy while keeping Glass’ secret hidden. Unfortunately, Glass eventually confessed his sins to Robert, which resulted in Glass’ professional and personal destruction. Mortified, Glass moved away from Washington, D.C, to a quiet town where no one knew Glass’ name or story. There, Glass learned that distance could not prevent the past from catching up and that the only way to truly move on was to grow up and own up to the mistakes made.
The Fabulist beautifully illustrates that in life, sometimes it takes one being at their lowest for them to truly realize not only who they are but who they want to be. The story also highlights on the importance of finding humor in all moments in life, including some of the lowest and most traumatic ones. Glass’ choice to fabricate stories not only affected Glass, but also those who were involved in the scandal as well. Glass’ fabrication led to the demise of careers, as well as the destruction of important relationships within Glass’ life. The Fabulist is a well-written cautionary tale to all about the importance of telling the truth and how “white lies” can escalate to something more.