Dollartorium - by Ron Pullins (Paperback)

About the Book

DOLLARTORIUM is a sharp, darkly funny novel about labor, dignity, and survival in late capitalism.

Book Synopsis

Called "a boisterous and thoughtful journey through the absurdities of modern capitalism" by Kirkus Reviews, DOLLARTORIUM follows Ralph, a man who makes world-class corndogs in a struggling Kansas shop. The work is honest, repetitive, and increasingly untenable as bills pile up and the economic gap widens. With wit, compassion, and razor-sharp observation, Ron Pullins explores what it means to take pride in labor that society no longer values. At once funny and devastating, DOLLARTORIUM is a novel about work, survival, and the stubborn hope of people who refuse to disappear.

Review Quotes

The Dollartorium is an allegory for our times, a surreal meditation on the illusions, and delusions, that underpin late-stage capitalism and a society in which almost every relationship is monetized. It depicts an American Dream turned nightmare, while celebrating beacons of integrity and love in turbulent times, as well as the possibility of awakening. It provides an unsparing look at rampant greed and still radiates hope in the human spirit. --Alice Hatcher, author, Dzanc Books

The novel (Dollartorium) is incredibly strong. There isn't any excess fat on it, its sentences are direct and purposeful, its thesis clear. The ingredients here are spare but don't leave the reader wanting: in a work of absurdist satire like this, it's good to keep the practical stuff simple.It's a satire of capitalism that takes Ralph, the owner of a small and honest corn dog business, and throws him into an exaggerated entrepreneurship self-help seminar called the Dollartorium.Ralph's small business is mainly aimed at making people happy, but his wife, who's convinced by those awful CNBC-style marketing shows that make you feel bad for caring about anything other than making one dollar into two, pushes him to a capitalist hellscape and we watch to see whether he holds up against that. --Ted McLoof, Teaching Professor, University of Arizona, author of Anhedonia and Empty Calories and Male Curiosity