I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. I always enjoy books as relatable as this one about Ralph from Kansas who makes an honest living with corn dogs but what happens when working this way doesn’t bring in the money yet the people at the top of the class always seem to be making out. But of course we all say we will try something else to make us wealthy but what happens when that isn’t enough? That’s what this book shows. When I say this book is relatable I truly mean it.

Review will be posted on Instagram and Amazon on pub day and links added to NetGalley.

Came for the cover (I know, but I like it ok?) stayed for the American business model humor

"Sell it quick before someone finds out you have no idea what you're doing."

I enjoyed this book - super fast read, only took me 2 days and a nice palette cleanser between books.

I loved Ralph's character - I felt like I could relate to an extent. Go to work, work, come home. Make enough money to live comfortably and move on. The discomfort he felt trying to be someone he wasn't even in a pretend scenario. I rightly hated his wife as we're supposed to, her how can she be as lazy as possible while have Ralph make money and turn his company into something he doesn't even want all in the name of money.

And the Money Master, ah the Money Master. I did enjoy the step by step how to turn life into corporate greed using these easy steps! I'm sure plenty of us have been on the cost cutting side of a business all in the name of profit and don't forget the share holders.

Unfortunately, or maybe, fortunately now I want a corn dog.

This was a fun little novella, while it is not something I would normally read I still enjoyed it. It feels like it was written for middle school aged children because the sentences were short and basic.

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.

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.

Loved it. Will recommend to others

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.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the early read. Dollartorium is not your typical fiction. It's a commentary on societial norms around money and capitalism and how we all get wrapped up in it. The main character, Ralph, owns a corn dog business in Kansas. He makes the corn dogs from end to end, including raising the pigs and farming the corn. He loves connecting with his customers and has a relatively simple but enjoyable life. He gets pressured by his wife to attend a school to learn how to make more money. The Master of the school comes out of the television to recruit them. At the school, it's a weird, fantastical experience that Ralph is subjected to and becomes almost instantly brainwashed into loving money and making money on a machine he is assigned to. I found it thought provoking but also entertaining and funny. The ridiculousness of what the characters are doing, and that they are doing it so willingly, is a strong commentary on the state of our society and what we value. I thought the points were well-articulated and emphasized through the story. There is some element of suspending reality as the reader, there are some pecularities that you have to just allow yourself to believe in. Reading this reminded me in some sense of Piranesi by Susanna Clarke. I think readers who liked that, will enjoy this book.

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.

Ralph, his wife Phyllis, and their daughter Stella run a popular corn dog shop in Kansas. They raise their own pigs, grow their own corn, and Ralph and Stella take pride in the self-sufficiency that sustains both their business and their sense of dignity. While Ralph spends his free time reading Plato and the Greek philosophers, Phyllis spends her time in the office watching the game show, “The Price is Right”, while handling the finances. She dreams of escaping from what she sees as the drudgery of the middle class, longing for wealth with little work.

One day when Phyllis is watching television, an infomercial comes on featuring “The Money Master” who promises wealth through a few simple, but expensive courses at the Dollartorium . At that point the Money Master quite literally pops out of the television to persuade Phyllis. His greed, get-rich-quick philosophy, and slick promises pull her in. What follows is not so much traditional, cautionary tale, but a darkly comic mirror of contemporary society, where wealth gurus, hustle culture, and the worship of power dominate public imagination.

Author Ron Pullins keeps the reader engaged through satire and the absurd, while exposing the seductive danger of becoming sycophants to the rich and powerful -- those who promise abundance by cheating the middle class and poor, insisting there is never enough to go around.

Dollartorium defends values often dismissed as naïve: honest work, contentment, community, and care for others. It also warns us to think and not blindly follow. Funny, unsettling, and timely, it asks readers to reconsider what success truly means.

(This review will be posted on UnderratedReads on Feb. 10, 2026)