Publication Date: February 10, 2026
Like Orwell’s 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.
Without an appreciation of satire, readers are likely to dismiss a story about Ralph’s Corny Doo Dogs as foolish and juvenile.
However, author Ron Pullins leverages satire to make Dollartorium a thought-provoking story while eliciting plenty of laughs.
Take a hard-working man like Ralph, who specializes in making corn dogs from scratch and enjoys reading Plato. His daughter, Stella, works happily by his side. Both characters delight in creating a quality product.
The family’s matriarch, Phyllis, wants to change things to boost profits. With change comes the potential of conflict, which sweeps into Ralph’s small-town shop in the form of the Money Master.
The decisions Ralph makes in the aftermath could alter his life forever, but it’s Phyllis who exhibits substantive change.
Dollartorium uses a simple storyline to deliver an impactful message.
RON PULLINS is a writer working in Tucson AZ. His works have been published in numerous journals including Typishly (Editor’s Choice), Southwest Review, Shenandoah, Sunspot, Irreal (Czech), etc., and been nominated for Pushcart. Pullins won the 2022 Malcolm Lowry award for Dollartorium, a satirical novel, forthcoming from Unsolicited Press, Feb 2026. His novella, Ice Dancing, 2019, has been published in Sunspot Literary Journal and Fracture will be published in February 2026.
