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y separately published work icon The Fat Man in History : Short Stories selected work   short story   science fiction   satire  
Issue Details: First known date: 1974... 1974 The Fat Man in History : Short Stories
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'A collection of surrealistic stories set in the near future centers on such bizarre events as a genetic lottery for winning new bodies and a revolution organized by a group of ostracized fat men.' (Source: TROVE)

Contents

* Contents derived from the St Lucia, Indooroopilly - St Lucia area, Brisbane - North West, Brisbane, Queensland,:University of Queensland Press , 1974 version. Please note that other versions/publications may contain different contents. See the Publication Details.
Crabs, Peter Carey , single work short story satire science fiction

'Crabs is very neat in everything he does. His movements are almost fussy, but he has so much fight in his delicate frame that they're not fussy at all. Lately he has been eating. When Frank eats one steak, Crab eats two. When Frank has a pint of mil, Crabs drinks two. He spends a lot of time lying on his bed, groaning, because of the food. But he's building up. At night he runs five miles to Clayton. He always means to run back, but he always ends up on the train, hot and sweating and sticking to the seat. His aim is to increase his weight and get a job driving for Allied Panel and Towing. Already he has his licence but he's too small, not tough enough to beat off the competition at a crash scene.' (Introduction)

(p. 7-21)
Peeling, Peter Carey , single work short story (p. 22-32)
She Wakes, Peter Carey , single work short story (p. 33-34)
Life and Death in the South Side Pavilion, Peter Carey , single work short story (p. 35-40)
Room No.5 (Escribo), Peter Carey , single work short story (p. 41-51)
Happy Story, Peter Carey , single work short story (p. 52-55)
A Windmill in the West, Peter Carey , single work short story (p. 56-67)
Withdrawal, Peter Carey , single work short story (p. 68-90)
Report on the Shadow Industry, Peter Carey , single work short story science fiction (p. 91-94)
Conversations with Unicorns, Peter Carey , single work short story science fiction (p. 95-100)
American Dreams, Peter Carey , single work short story (p. 101-113)
The Fat Man in History, Peter Carey , single work short story

A short story set in a world where to be fat is to be counter-revolutionary and seen as greedy. Six fat men, ostracised from society, live together in one house and find some semblance of harmony. Hopeless, the only option to them seems to be to conform to society, until one of them suggests striking back at authority and the regime they live under. 

(p. 114-141)

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

Language: English
    • London,
      c
      England,
      c
      c
      United Kingdom (UK),
      c
      Western Europe, Europe,
      :
      Faber ,
      1980 .
      Note/s:
      • This publication contains a selection of stories from the authors The fat man in history and War crimes published by University of Queensland Press. Later published as Exotic pleasures.
      ISBN: 0571116191

Other Formats

  • also electronic resource

Works about this Work

The Exercise of Power : Reading the Image of Panopticon in Peter Carey's The Fat Man in History Chen Lihui , 2015 single work criticism
— Appears in: Oceanic Literary Studies , no. 2 2015; (p. 75-83)
'In The Fat Man in History, the closed society represents the image of Panopticon. Deliberately chosen, the closed and separated space in the story is the place where Nancy's control over the fat men can be fulfilled. The space enables Nancy to exercise her power by disciplining the body, inspecting the fat men and preserving anonymity, which is the interpretation of Michel Foucault's Panopticon.' (75)
Excavating for the Idea : For Booker Prize-Winning Peter Carey, a New Novel Begins with a Lot of Notes and What Ifs, As Well as Reading and 'Threads of Logic' Gabriel Packard (interviewer), 2010 single work interview
— Appears in: The Writer , March vol. 123 no. 3 2010; (p. 18-20)
The Role of the Reader in Peter Carey's and Frank Moorhouse's 1970s Short Stories Valentina Adami , 2009 single work criticism
— Appears in: Anglistik , September vol. 20 no. 2 2009; (p. 177-184)
Reinventing the Future(s) : Peter Carey and the Dystopian Tradition in Australian Fiction Ralph Pordzik , 2002 single work criticism
— Appears in: Missions of Interdependence : A Literary Directory 2002; (p. 285-298)
Weird Tales : Peter Carey's Short Stories Xavier Pons , 2001 single work criticism
— Appears in: Telling Stories : Postcolonial Short Fiction in English 2001; (p. 391-407)
What the New Novels Are Really Like 1974 single work review
— Appears in: The Bulletin , 28 September vol. 96 no. 4925 1974; (p. 46-47)

— Review of Crying in the Garden Suzanne Holly Jones , 1974 single work novel ; The Beginning of Everything and the End of Everything Else Christine Townend , 1974 single work novel ; The Fat Man in History : Short Stories Peter Carey , 1974 selected work short story ; Applestealers : Is a Collection of the New Poetry in Australia, Including Notes, Statements, Histories on La Mama 1974 anthology poetry ; The Tidal Forest Geoff Wyatt , 1974 single work novel ; The Pure Land David Foster , 1974 single work novel ; Living Together Michael Wilding , 1974 single work novel
Untitled Robert Adamson , 1974 single work review
— Appears in: The Australian , 21 September 1974; (p. 43)

— Review of The Fat Man in History : Short Stories Peter Carey , 1974 selected work short story
Untitled Morris Lurie , 1974 single work review
— Appears in: Nation Review , 29 November - 5 December 1974; (p. 204)

— Review of The Fat Man in History : Short Stories Peter Carey , 1974 selected work short story ; Festival and Other Stories 1974 anthology short story
Untitled Douglas Stewart , 1974 single work review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 19 October 1974; (p. 13)

— Review of The Fat Man in History : Short Stories Peter Carey , 1974 selected work short story ; Living Together Michael Wilding , 1974 single work novel
Untitled Marilyn Wood , 1974 single work review
— Appears in: The National Times , 21-26 October 1974; (p. 25)

— Review of The Fat Man in History : Short Stories Peter Carey , 1974 selected work short story
Weird Tales : Peter Carey's Short Stories Xavier Pons , 2001 single work criticism
— Appears in: Telling Stories : Postcolonial Short Fiction in English 2001; (p. 391-407)
Inside Publishing : The Environments of the Publishing House Albert Moran , 1990 single work criticism
— Appears in: Continuum : The Australian Journal of Media & Culture , vol. 4 no. 1 1990;
'A sketch of the book industry might situate publishing as an intermediate step in the chain that carries the book from author to reader. In fact, publishers are more dynamic figures in the whole process than such a view allows. Publishers and publishing houses are the most powerful group in the industry. Some publishing houses are geared to the mass market book while others focus on books with a more limited readership market. What the author-reader view ignores is the push-pull of competition and co-operation between publishers and its effect on the book industry.' (Author's abstract)
The Role of the Reader in Peter Carey's and Frank Moorhouse's 1970s Short Stories Valentina Adami , 2009 single work criticism
— Appears in: Anglistik , September vol. 20 no. 2 2009; (p. 177-184)
Excavating for the Idea : For Booker Prize-Winning Peter Carey, a New Novel Begins with a Lot of Notes and What Ifs, As Well as Reading and 'Threads of Logic' Gabriel Packard (interviewer), 2010 single work interview
— Appears in: The Writer , March vol. 123 no. 3 2010; (p. 18-20)
Peter Carey and Short Fiction in Australia Kate Ahearne , 1980 single work criticism
— Appears in: Going Down Swinging , no. 1 1980; (p. 7-17)
Last amended 11 Jun 2020 15:29:55
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