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Dollartorium
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Expected 10 Feb 26Like Animal Farm, Catch- 22, and Gulliver’s Travels, Dollartorium is a deceptively simple story that belies the complicated truth of capitalism.
The rich are getting richer and the poor are getting screwed.
Ralph makes world-class corndogs in a small Kansas shop. It’s humble work, but honest. The problem? The bills pile up faster than the money rolls in, and Ralph can’t help but notice the widening gap between the haves and the have-nots.
Ralph’s wife has had enough. She’s determined to get rich, one way or another. So when an infomercial for the “Dollartorium” promises untold wealth through a few simple business courses, Ralph reluctantly agrees to give it a shot.
Soon he’s learning how to hire, fire, market, and hustle his way to success. When the entire Dollartorium empire inevitably collapses under the weight of its own greed, Ralph must find his way back to what really matters: honest work, family, and the best damn corndogs in Kansas.
The rich are getting richer and the poor are getting screwed.
Ralph makes world-class corndogs in a small Kansas shop. It’s humble work, but honest. The problem? The bills pile up faster than the money rolls in, and Ralph can’t help but notice the widening gap between the haves and the have-nots.
Ralph’s wife has had enough. She’s determined to get rich, one way or another. So when an infomercial for the “Dollartorium” promises untold wealth through a few simple business courses, Ralph reluctantly agrees to give it a shot.
Soon he’s learning how to hire, fire, market, and hustle his way to success. When the entire Dollartorium empire inevitably collapses under the weight of its own greed, Ralph must find his way back to what really matters: honest work, family, and the best damn corndogs in Kansas.
246 pages, Paperback
Expected publication February 10, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
October 23, 2025
When I first started reading Dollartorium, I kept thinking "this is something my dad would write". It's very steeped in Americana Boomer Nostalgia and Hallmark movie small-town vibes. The author envisions brick buildings on Main Street, full of quaint little shops "that make things, or repair shoes, or sell handmade ice cream, coffee, sodas, popcorn, candy, or notions stores that sell hankies, scarves, and other gifts for grandma." No mention of the Dollar General, McDonalds, and EZ Pawn that are modern-day small town staples.
Ralph (as the hero) is allowed to be layered, but the two women are:
1 the lazy-but-still-money-obsessed nagging wife
2 the angelic daughter/"loving companion" who calls Ralph "daddy" and whose "voice is like his, her thoughts are his thoughts made fresh".
But once the Money Master was introduced, I began to suspect that this was an allegory of a different variety. The Money Master is a tacky little charlatan, who literally covers himself in cash, brags about his "real gold", and monologues about the art of the deal and "how to fix it so you can’t lose, how to change the rules of whatever game you play". His expertise includes "how to threaten, sue, badger, cheat, and play golf". He "operates on how he feels and what works for him".
He very literally JUMPS OFF THE SCREEN to seduce Americans who feel like they're entitled to more. As Phyllis tells him (verbatim), "We vote Republican. We should be rich."
At 43%, when the "supplicants" all show their buttholes to the Money Master, who farts in order to create "movement in the marketplace", I started to wonder how high the author was when he wrote this book. And how high would I need to be for it to make any sense?
At 50%, I decided to take a break. A week later, I could not motivate myself to go back and finish this story. It's tedious.
Maybe the author brings it all back around and it returns to being a smart allegory, but I don't care enough to find out. The potential was there, but it got lost in a haze of farts and buttholes. Much like American politics itself, I guess.
I appreciate NetGalley and the publisher for access to a free digital ARC. My honest review is my own opinion.
Ralph (as the hero) is allowed to be layered, but the two women are:
1 the lazy-but-still-money-obsessed nagging wife
2 the angelic daughter/"loving companion" who calls Ralph "daddy" and whose "voice is like his, her thoughts are his thoughts made fresh".
But once the Money Master was introduced, I began to suspect that this was an allegory of a different variety. The Money Master is a tacky little charlatan, who literally covers himself in cash, brags about his "real gold", and monologues about the art of the deal and "how to fix it so you can’t lose, how to change the rules of whatever game you play". His expertise includes "how to threaten, sue, badger, cheat, and play golf". He "operates on how he feels and what works for him".
He very literally JUMPS OFF THE SCREEN to seduce Americans who feel like they're entitled to more. As Phyllis tells him (verbatim), "We vote Republican. We should be rich."
At 43%, when the "supplicants" all show their buttholes to the Money Master, who farts in order to create "movement in the marketplace", I started to wonder how high the author was when he wrote this book. And how high would I need to be for it to make any sense?
At 50%, I decided to take a break. A week later, I could not motivate myself to go back and finish this story. It's tedious.
Maybe the author brings it all back around and it returns to being a smart allegory, but I don't care enough to find out. The potential was there, but it got lost in a haze of farts and buttholes. Much like American politics itself, I guess.
I appreciate NetGalley and the publisher for access to a free digital ARC. My honest review is my own opinion.
Review of advance copy
Ralph earns his living in a modest Kansas shop, frying corndogs that are undeniably good and reliably popular. The work keeps him afloat for a while. It offers routine, modest comfort, and a sense of pride. Eventually, though, the numbers stop working. Sales stall. Bills pile up. Stability slips away.
At that moment of strain, Ralph’s wife introduces him to “Dollartorium,” a tantalizing promise discovered through an infomercial. The course offers bold ideas and glossy solutions. At first, it feels like salvation. New business concepts suggest a way out, maybe even a breakthrough. Then the foundation collapses. What seemed like an opportunity quickly unravels, leaving Ralph to reckon with the fallout. With the help of his daughter, Stella, he is forced to retrace his steps and search for a more realistic way forward for his family.
Dollartorium, by Ron Pullins, is a work of fiction that probes capitalism, hustle culture, and the pressures these forces place on families. Humor runs throughout the novel, but it never fully softens the sharper insights beneath the surface. The comedy entertains; the implications linger.
Pullins shows a clear awareness of how precarious financial life has become for many people. Ralph’s anxiety feels earned. His frustration resonates. The sense that the system is tilted against ordinary workers gives the story its urgency. The Dollartorium scheme itself feels uncomfortably familiar, echoing countless real-world programs marketed to those already struggling. These promises prey on desperation, and Pullins does not shy away from exposing their ethical rot.
Stella emerges as the novel’s moral and intellectual anchor. She tempers Ralph’s desperation with reason and clarity. Her perspective restores balance and nudges the story toward resolution. Yet even as the family regains its footing, the larger problem remains unresolved. The system that cornered them still stands. Pullins underscores this truth with restraint, allowing the message to land without sermonizing.
The novel closes on a note that is satisfying, though far from idyllic. That choice feels intentional. Pullins has more to say than a neat ending would allow. Through his characters, he gives voice to frustrations that have become commonplace, about inequality, exploitation, and the illusion of easy fixes. The odds remain stacked against the little guy, and the allure of grand, risky schemes proves hard to resist. Dollartorium captures that tension with clarity, humor, and an undercurrent of quiet anger that makes it linger after the final page.
At that moment of strain, Ralph’s wife introduces him to “Dollartorium,” a tantalizing promise discovered through an infomercial. The course offers bold ideas and glossy solutions. At first, it feels like salvation. New business concepts suggest a way out, maybe even a breakthrough. Then the foundation collapses. What seemed like an opportunity quickly unravels, leaving Ralph to reckon with the fallout. With the help of his daughter, Stella, he is forced to retrace his steps and search for a more realistic way forward for his family.
Dollartorium, by Ron Pullins, is a work of fiction that probes capitalism, hustle culture, and the pressures these forces place on families. Humor runs throughout the novel, but it never fully softens the sharper insights beneath the surface. The comedy entertains; the implications linger.
Pullins shows a clear awareness of how precarious financial life has become for many people. Ralph’s anxiety feels earned. His frustration resonates. The sense that the system is tilted against ordinary workers gives the story its urgency. The Dollartorium scheme itself feels uncomfortably familiar, echoing countless real-world programs marketed to those already struggling. These promises prey on desperation, and Pullins does not shy away from exposing their ethical rot.
Stella emerges as the novel’s moral and intellectual anchor. She tempers Ralph’s desperation with reason and clarity. Her perspective restores balance and nudges the story toward resolution. Yet even as the family regains its footing, the larger problem remains unresolved. The system that cornered them still stands. Pullins underscores this truth with restraint, allowing the message to land without sermonizing.
The novel closes on a note that is satisfying, though far from idyllic. That choice feels intentional. Pullins has more to say than a neat ending would allow. Through his characters, he gives voice to frustrations that have become commonplace, about inequality, exploitation, and the illusion of easy fixes. The odds remain stacked against the little guy, and the allure of grand, risky schemes proves hard to resist. Dollartorium captures that tension with clarity, humor, and an undercurrent of quiet anger that makes it linger after the final page.
January 9, 2026
A fable for the 21st century.
This tale of a working-class corn dog business-owning American family, will lead you on an adventure through Capitalism and back again. The husband, Ralph, a traditionalist, deep-thinking, Plato reading perfectionist takes pleasure in the owning and running of the manufacturing process of his business, from growing the corn, to rearing the very pigs that will be slaughtered to make his famous corn dogs; despite it's very little income or profit. Ralph enjoys the look on his customers faces, proudly announcing the freshness of his product, as they watch him dip the corn dogs in the batter. Despite, the support of his daughter, Stella, his wife, Phyllis demands more from life. She dreams of nicer cars, bigger houses, holidays and freedom having lots of money and not needing to work. She is obsessed with money, both the physical cash and the idea of what it means, and how others see them with or without it.
During a commercial break of one of her daily gameshows that she watches whilst ringing up customers, taking joy in the handling of the very thing that could change her life, she is inticed to sign her husband up by a mystery 'Money Master' for courses at the Dollartorium to change his mindset and drive to be more money-orientated.
I feel like this could be one of the most important books to come out in 2026. I highly recommend that everyone reads it, it made me question my relationship with money, finances, savings, desires and more. I even sorted out my finances mid-book. This story is so well written and although it features a few modern references to modern technologies, could really be set at any time or place in the modern world. It's also a reflection on small business, the desire to do right, despite the lack of selfish gains, and purpose - something that we can easily lack in modern times, that can have impacts on our societal outlooks, and the way we view others "success" in this modern social-media driven world.
A few callow reviews that I read pre-read thought that this book was sexist due to the nature of the difference of characters Ralph - deep, shallow, modest where as his wife Phyllis was just filled with greed and selfish intent. I would counter these claims completely, I felt that Phyllis was the more relatable character, maybe a mirror of our more grotesque inner desires, she just wanted what was best for her family, business and self-goals. Whereas I couldn't relate with Ralph at all, he seemed old-fashioned, stuck in the past, untethered, always trying to find answers to questions he didn't even know needed answering.
I HIGHLY recommend this book, and I am very pleased that I got the oppurtunity to read it, and I hope that it does open up discussion points, and counter-opinions, like many fables and classics of the past.
This tale of a working-class corn dog business-owning American family, will lead you on an adventure through Capitalism and back again. The husband, Ralph, a traditionalist, deep-thinking, Plato reading perfectionist takes pleasure in the owning and running of the manufacturing process of his business, from growing the corn, to rearing the very pigs that will be slaughtered to make his famous corn dogs; despite it's very little income or profit. Ralph enjoys the look on his customers faces, proudly announcing the freshness of his product, as they watch him dip the corn dogs in the batter. Despite, the support of his daughter, Stella, his wife, Phyllis demands more from life. She dreams of nicer cars, bigger houses, holidays and freedom having lots of money and not needing to work. She is obsessed with money, both the physical cash and the idea of what it means, and how others see them with or without it.
During a commercial break of one of her daily gameshows that she watches whilst ringing up customers, taking joy in the handling of the very thing that could change her life, she is inticed to sign her husband up by a mystery 'Money Master' for courses at the Dollartorium to change his mindset and drive to be more money-orientated.
I feel like this could be one of the most important books to come out in 2026. I highly recommend that everyone reads it, it made me question my relationship with money, finances, savings, desires and more. I even sorted out my finances mid-book. This story is so well written and although it features a few modern references to modern technologies, could really be set at any time or place in the modern world. It's also a reflection on small business, the desire to do right, despite the lack of selfish gains, and purpose - something that we can easily lack in modern times, that can have impacts on our societal outlooks, and the way we view others "success" in this modern social-media driven world.
A few callow reviews that I read pre-read thought that this book was sexist due to the nature of the difference of characters Ralph - deep, shallow, modest where as his wife Phyllis was just filled with greed and selfish intent. I would counter these claims completely, I felt that Phyllis was the more relatable character, maybe a mirror of our more grotesque inner desires, she just wanted what was best for her family, business and self-goals. Whereas I couldn't relate with Ralph at all, he seemed old-fashioned, stuck in the past, untethered, always trying to find answers to questions he didn't even know needed answering.
I HIGHLY recommend this book, and I am very pleased that I got the oppurtunity to read it, and I hope that it does open up discussion points, and counter-opinions, like many fables and classics of the past.
Read
January 6, 2026Dollartorium is a sharp, darkly comic satire that takes aim at the promises and absurdities of late stage capitalism through a deceptively simple premise. Echoing the moral clarity and allegorical bite of Animal Farm, Catch 22, and Gulliver’s Travels, Ron Pullins crafts a story that is funny on the surface and increasingly unsettling underneath.
At the center is Ralph, a skilled corndog maker in Kansas whose work is honest, modest, and insufficient in a system rigged against him. Pullins grounds the novel in recognizable economic anxiety: rising bills, stagnant wages, and the quiet humiliation of doing everything “right” and still falling behind. When Ralph is drawn into the slick, hollow promises of the Dollartorium empire an infomercial-fueled machine selling wealth through hustle and jargon the novel shifts into biting absurdism.
Pullins excels at exposing the language of exploitation. Business courses, motivational slogans, and growth at any cost rhetoric become tools not of empowerment but of erasure, stripping work of meaning while concentrating power upward. The collapse of the Dollartorium empire feels both inevitable and instructive, less a twist than a reckoning with a system built on greed and illusion.
What gives the novel weight beyond satire is its moral center. Ralph’s eventual return to family, craft, and honest labor is not framed as naïve nostalgia, but as resistance. In rejecting the false promises of endless accumulation, Dollartorium asks a pointed question: what, exactly, are we sacrificing in the pursuit of “success”?
At 246 pages, the novel is lean, propulsive, and accessible, yet thematically ambitious. Dollartorium works as social critique, cautionary tale, and dark comedy, offering readers a mirror that is both exaggerated and uncomfortably familiar. It is a timely novel for anyone grappling with the widening gap between labor and reward—and the stories we tell ourselves to survive it.
At the center is Ralph, a skilled corndog maker in Kansas whose work is honest, modest, and insufficient in a system rigged against him. Pullins grounds the novel in recognizable economic anxiety: rising bills, stagnant wages, and the quiet humiliation of doing everything “right” and still falling behind. When Ralph is drawn into the slick, hollow promises of the Dollartorium empire an infomercial-fueled machine selling wealth through hustle and jargon the novel shifts into biting absurdism.
Pullins excels at exposing the language of exploitation. Business courses, motivational slogans, and growth at any cost rhetoric become tools not of empowerment but of erasure, stripping work of meaning while concentrating power upward. The collapse of the Dollartorium empire feels both inevitable and instructive, less a twist than a reckoning with a system built on greed and illusion.
What gives the novel weight beyond satire is its moral center. Ralph’s eventual return to family, craft, and honest labor is not framed as naïve nostalgia, but as resistance. In rejecting the false promises of endless accumulation, Dollartorium asks a pointed question: what, exactly, are we sacrificing in the pursuit of “success”?
At 246 pages, the novel is lean, propulsive, and accessible, yet thematically ambitious. Dollartorium works as social critique, cautionary tale, and dark comedy, offering readers a mirror that is both exaggerated and uncomfortably familiar. It is a timely novel for anyone grappling with the widening gap between labor and reward—and the stories we tell ourselves to survive it.
December 3, 2025
This book is a satire on the "American Dream" and capitalism. The time period it is set in is unclear. It evokes a pre 90s image with the characters yearning for the suburban live and convertible coupes, but at the same time the internet and Amazon is a thing in the book. This contradiction was a bit jarring, but the plot was interesting so I kept going.
There are just four main characters. The MC, the dad, the daughter, the mom, and the Money Master. Most of the characters are a bit flat and one dimensional. The dad is shown as a plato obsessed naive hard worker who suddenly transforms into a greedy money grubber. The mom feels like a character taken straight out of a misogynistic “my wife doesn’t appreciate my work” rant. It’s almost comical how selfish she is written to be. The Money Master is an absurd character too, but I will skip any comments on them as that would be very spoilery. The author really dialed the weirdness meter of the characters up, but given it’s a satire I didn’t think too much of it at first. The daughter is the only likeable character in the book.
It starts off strong and hooks you. he setting and pacing feel a bit surreal, and then things start to get strange. I thought the sense of absurdity might get smoothed out as it went on, but that was not the case. It gets more and more bizarre, and the middle of the book is just stretched out too much. Then the last act and the resolution happen way too fast. By the end, you are just left feeling confused. The book really feels half baked. It had a lot of potential, but it was all thrown away. The author just needed to balance out the absurdity with a bit more development and proper pacing in the middle. Even with the draggy middle, it was a quick read, so that was a positive. Overall, I do not recommend this book.
Thank you NetGalley, for the advance review copy.
There are just four main characters. The MC, the dad, the daughter, the mom, and the Money Master. Most of the characters are a bit flat and one dimensional. The dad is shown as a plato obsessed naive hard worker who suddenly transforms into a greedy money grubber. The mom feels like a character taken straight out of a misogynistic “my wife doesn’t appreciate my work” rant. It’s almost comical how selfish she is written to be. The Money Master is an absurd character too, but I will skip any comments on them as that would be very spoilery. The author really dialed the weirdness meter of the characters up, but given it’s a satire I didn’t think too much of it at first. The daughter is the only likeable character in the book.
It starts off strong and hooks you. he setting and pacing feel a bit surreal, and then things start to get strange. I thought the sense of absurdity might get smoothed out as it went on, but that was not the case. It gets more and more bizarre, and the middle of the book is just stretched out too much. Then the last act and the resolution happen way too fast. By the end, you are just left feeling confused. The book really feels half baked. It had a lot of potential, but it was all thrown away. The author just needed to balance out the absurdity with a bit more development and proper pacing in the middle. Even with the draggy middle, it was a quick read, so that was a positive. Overall, I do not recommend this book.
Thank you NetGalley, for the advance review copy.
November 25, 2025
Dollartorium is a poetically written satirical novel about capitalism. It is packed with imagery - some familiar, some fantastical - which I quite enjoyed. The unique writing style was a fun aspect of the story & I hadn’t seen anything like it before! I appreciated the messages presented within the book also, especially in regard to greed.
That said, there’s a few things I wish were different with the story. I wish that the route to the Dollartorium was better explained - how did Stella know how to get there? I also found it hard to get into reading as Phyllis is so unlikeable (for awhile). The set up before the Dollartorium was a bit long considering how few lessons there are at the Dollartorium & how quickly things go awry. I’d have liked to have spent more time inside, seeing how things work & learning about the Money Master & Sycophant.
Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book through NetGalley.
That said, there’s a few things I wish were different with the story. I wish that the route to the Dollartorium was better explained - how did Stella know how to get there? I also found it hard to get into reading as Phyllis is so unlikeable (for awhile). The set up before the Dollartorium was a bit long considering how few lessons there are at the Dollartorium & how quickly things go awry. I’d have liked to have spent more time inside, seeing how things work & learning about the Money Master & Sycophant.
Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book through NetGalley.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Read
December 12, 2025Dollartorium by Ron Pullins is a witty and incisive satire that blends humor, social commentary, and a heartfelt story of resilience. Ron Pullins explores the absurdities of modern capitalism through the story of Ralph, a humble Kansas corndog maker, whose life is thrown into chaos by the promise of quick wealth from the enigmatic “Dollartorium” empire.
With sharp parallels to classics like Animal Farm and Catch-22, Pullins crafts a story that is both entertaining and thought-provoking. The novel examines the widening gap between rich and poor, the allure of get-rich-quick schemes, and the importance of family, integrity, and honest work. Readers will laugh, reflect, and root for Ralph as he navigates the rise and fall of the Dollartorium empire.
A clever and memorable social satire, this book will appeal to fans of humor-driven literary fiction with a moral heart.
With sharp parallels to classics like Animal Farm and Catch-22, Pullins crafts a story that is both entertaining and thought-provoking. The novel examines the widening gap between rich and poor, the allure of get-rich-quick schemes, and the importance of family, integrity, and honest work. Readers will laugh, reflect, and root for Ralph as he navigates the rise and fall of the Dollartorium empire.
A clever and memorable social satire, this book will appeal to fans of humor-driven literary fiction with a moral heart.
October 20, 2025
This was not for me. Based on the blurb, I expected a more realistic, satirical workplace-type read, and I got something that was either too far above my head or too far below my reading level. Truly, the verdict is still out.
Another reviewer described it as "kind of Seussian" and that about sums it up. As a writer myself, I get the device of repetition, but there's a line and it was crossed way too many times. I also wasn't expecting the... magical realism? Lizard people and weird TV gnomes? I dunno, man, I'm just clearly not the target audience on many levels.
And yet, I still wish Ralph, Phyllis, and Stella well in their corndog endeavors.
(I received a free advanced copy from NetGalley - thank you to them and to Unsolicited Press!)
Another reviewer described it as "kind of Seussian" and that about sums it up. As a writer myself, I get the device of repetition, but there's a line and it was crossed way too many times. I also wasn't expecting the... magical realism? Lizard people and weird TV gnomes? I dunno, man, I'm just clearly not the target audience on many levels.
And yet, I still wish Ralph, Phyllis, and Stella well in their corndog endeavors.
(I received a free advanced copy from NetGalley - thank you to them and to Unsolicited Press!)
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Ralph runs the Corny Doo Doggery, a humble corn dog shop where they raise their own pigs, grow their own corn, and dip their dogs fresh each morning for the customers to see. But all is not well in the Doggery. Though Ralph and his daughter Stella are happy with their modest life, his wife Phyllis dreams of being rich. One day when she is watching TV gameshows at the counter, the Money Master calls to her through the screen. Hearing her hunger for more, he invites Ralph to study under him at the Dollartorium. But will Ralph get a simple business education, or will he get sucked into a rabbit hole that he may not escape from?
Stylistic choices that may or may not work for different readers: lots of references to farts, very simple characters that each represent a caricature of reality (I have seen some reviewers criticize the flat characters, but to me it just seemed like a style choice so I wasn't bothered)
What I thought could be improved in the writing itself: this was very repetitive, and I think it would have worked better as a 100 page novella if those repetitions were removed. I also thought Stella's dialogue felt too stiff and formal for a young woman talking to her parents, which took me out of the story a bit (including at the excitement of the ending). And in general, I think it would benefit from trusting readers a bit more. I like for my satire to present an absurd situation that is clearly an allegory for the messed up state of the world, but then trust its readers to make that connection for themselves. This spoon feeds everything to you when you read it, instead of pulling back a little and letting you ask questions and ponder the true meaning behind the text.
2.75 stars, rounded up to 3.
Thank you to NetGalley and Unsolicited Press for this ARC to read and review.
Stylistic choices that may or may not work for different readers: lots of references to farts, very simple characters that each represent a caricature of reality (I have seen some reviewers criticize the flat characters, but to me it just seemed like a style choice so I wasn't bothered)
What I thought could be improved in the writing itself: this was very repetitive, and I think it would have worked better as a 100 page novella if those repetitions were removed. I also thought Stella's dialogue felt too stiff and formal for a young woman talking to her parents, which took me out of the story a bit (including at the excitement of the ending). And in general, I think it would benefit from trusting readers a bit more. I like for my satire to present an absurd situation that is clearly an allegory for the messed up state of the world, but then trust its readers to make that connection for themselves. This spoon feeds everything to you when you read it, instead of pulling back a little and letting you ask questions and ponder the true meaning behind the text.
2.75 stars, rounded up to 3.
Thank you to NetGalley and Unsolicited Press for this ARC to read and review.
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