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Notes
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The stories in this collection were first published in The Fat Man in History (UQP 1974) and War Crimes (UQP 1979).
Contents
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The Fat Man in History,
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.
- Peeling, single work short story
- Do You Love Me?, single work short story
- The Chance, single work short story science fiction
- The Puzzling Nature of Blue, single work short story
- Exotic Pleasures, single work short story
- The Last Days of a Famous Mime, single work short story
- A Windmill in the West, single work short story
- American Dreams, single work short story
- War Crimes, single work short story
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The Fat Man in History,
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.
- Peeling, single work short story (p. 33-43)
- Do You Love Me?, single work short story (p. 44-54)
- The Chance, single work short story science fiction (p. 55-90)
- The Puzzling Nature of Blue, single work short story (p. 91-112)
- Exotic Pleasures, single work short story (p. 113-134)
- The Last Days of a Famous Mime, single work short story (p. 135-139)
- A Windmill in the West, single work short story (p. 140-150)
- American Dreams, single work short story (p. 151-162)
- War Crimes, single work short story (p. 163-192)
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
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Into the Marketplace
2023
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Peter Carey : The Making of a Global Novelist 2023; (p. 31-53)'This chapter aims to reconstruct the various economic and symbolic rewards of publishing Carey’s first collection of short stories, The Fat Man in History (1974). It offers a lateral examination of two interrelated aspects of Carey’s early fiction. It captures a continuum of Australian and transnational practices of literary distinction and advancement governing the success of the University of Queensland Press (UQP) and The Fat Man. These phenomena include the dominance of postmodern critique, governmental patronage of the Australian short story, and the termination of the Traditional Market Agreement. I explore the structural homologies between Carey’s position-takings in the literary field and the ways in which his characters engage with systems of cultural production and consumption. I then examine the evolution of Carey’s literary capital as his medium of publication shifts from literary magazines to UQP books and then onto prestigious international publishers such as Faber and Faber.' (Publication abstract)
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What I’m Reading
2017
single work
column
— Appears in: Meanjin Online 2017; -
On Stealing Books : A Guilty Memoir
2014
single work
prose
— Appears in: One Page : Brisbane , February/March vol. 1 no. 2/3 2014; (p. 5-6) -
Peter Carey's Short Stories : Trapped in a Narrative Labyrinth
2005
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Fabulating Beauty : Perspectives on the Fiction of Peter Carey 2005; (p. 117-136) Schulze considers situations of confinement in some of Carey's short stories, 'laying special emphasis on Carey's strategy of entrapping his readers in narrative labyrinths, a manoeuvre [seen as] having a didactic purpose: that of increasing one's awareness of linguistic manipulation' (Introduction to Fabulating Beauty xxx). -
Finding Affection and Attachment When Orthodox Love is Withheld
1999
single work
review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times Sunday Times , 11 April 1999; (p. 18)
— Review of The Fat Man in History 1980 selected work short story
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A Whole In One, by Jeeves!
1990
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 22 September 1990; (p. 76)
— Review of A Body of Water : A Year's Notebook 1990 selected work autobiography short story poetry diary ; The Fat Man in History 1980 selected work short story -
Celebrate UQP Revisionism
1999
single work
review
— Appears in: Social Alternatives , January vol. 18 no. 1 1999; (p. 84-85)
— Review of Johnno : A Novel 1975 single work novel ; The Moment Made Marvellous : A Celebration of UQP Poetry 1998 anthology poetry ; Celebration of the Senses 1984 selected work autobiography essay ; The Fat Man in History 1980 selected work short story -
Paperbacks
1999
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 27 February 1999; (p. 8)
— Review of The Fat Man in History 1980 selected work short story -
Finding Affection and Attachment When Orthodox Love is Withheld
1999
single work
review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times Sunday Times , 11 April 1999; (p. 18)
— Review of The Fat Man in History 1980 selected work short story -
Galactic Races
1980
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sunday Times (London) , 19 October 1980;
— Review of The Fat Man in History 1980 selected work short story -
Peter Carey's Short Stories : Trapped in a Narrative Labyrinth
2005
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Fabulating Beauty : Perspectives on the Fiction of Peter Carey 2005; (p. 117-136) Schulze considers situations of confinement in some of Carey's short stories, 'laying special emphasis on Carey's strategy of entrapping his readers in narrative labyrinths, a manoeuvre [seen as] having a didactic purpose: that of increasing one's awareness of linguistic manipulation' (Introduction to Fabulating Beauty xxx). -
Reading Lesson: "The Fat Man in History," Teaching and Deconstructive Theory
1985
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Span , October no. 21 1985; (p. 38-55) -
Peter Carey's Latest Gamble
Greg Manning
(interviewer),
1988
single work
biography
interview
criticism
— Appears in: The Book Magazine , Winter vol. 2 no. 1 1988; (p. 3-6) -
Peter Carey : A Portrait of Electricity
1991
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , August no. 133 1991; (p. 18-19) -
The Commonwealth Comeback
1982
single work
criticism
— Appears in: The Times (Higher Education Supplement) , 12 February 1982; (p. 11)