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AbstractHistoryArchive Description
'Part fable, part love story, part comi-tragedy, Poor Man´s Wealth is narrated, somewhat unreliably, by El Gordo--the Fat One. He is the mayor of Higot, a dusty village in an unnamed Spanish-speaking country under military rule. He and the secret Marisol Committee--a group of local councillors--dream up a plan to save the village from economic death and the exodus of its young people, especially now that tobacco--their one source of income--is a suspect crop.
They start a hoax.
El Gordo, whose charming English comes via a library bequeathed to him, argues that the hoax which so changes the life of Higot is no more a deception than, say, the Loch Ness Monster, Ireland´s Blarney Stone, the Colossus of Rhodes...
Can they pull it off and attract tourists to unattractive Higot? Will the hunchback Bartolomeo, a sex scandal involving a bicycle, or the military junta blow the hoax apart, see its perpetrators ′disappeared′?
El Gordo takes the reader on a joyous, witty and wise journey through the travails of his village...and his heart.' (Publisher's blurb)
They start a hoax.
El Gordo, whose charming English comes via a library bequeathed to him, argues that the hoax which so changes the life of Higot is no more a deception than, say, the Loch Ness Monster, Ireland´s Blarney Stone, the Colossus of Rhodes...
Can they pull it off and attract tourists to unattractive Higot? Will the hunchback Bartolomeo, a sex scandal involving a bicycle, or the military junta blow the hoax apart, see its perpetrators ′disappeared′?
El Gordo takes the reader on a joyous, witty and wise journey through the travails of his village...and his heart.' (Publisher's blurb)
Notes
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Dedication: for Angela Gutiérrez de Madrid
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Epigraph:
Hoaxes are universal, without cultural or ethnic or national boundaries. Age and gender are not determining factors, nor does the reach or frequency of hoaxing have anything to do with the level of education or a person's political or religious affiliation.
Simon Caterson, 'Towards a General Theory of Hoaxes', Quadrant, Jan-Feb 2012
Come, sleep, O sleep, the certain knot of peace,
The baiting-place of wit, the balm of woe,
The poor man's wealth, the prisoner's release,
Th' indifferent judge between the high and low.
Sir Philip Sidney, 1554-86
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Other Formats
- Large print.
Works about this Work
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Progress and the Pueblo
2012
single work
review
— Appears in: Quadrant , October vol. 56 no. 10 2012; (p. 108-109)
— Review of Poor Man's Wealth 2011 single work novel -
Untitled
2012
single work
review
— Appears in: The Advertiser , 18 February 2012; (p. 29)
— Review of Poor Man's Wealth 2011 single work novel -
An Ugly, Lovely Town
2012
single work
review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , February no. 338 2012; (p. 52)
— Review of Poor Man's Wealth 2011 single work novel -
A Sleepy Hoax, or Another Fine Ness
2012
single work
review
— Appears in: The Saturday Age , 4 February 2012; (p. 23) The Sydney Morning Herald , 4-5 February 2012; (p. 34)
— Review of Poor Man's Wealth 2011 single work novel -
El Gordo, the Dreaming Schemer of Sleepy Hollow
2012
single work
review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 4-5 February 2012; (p. 24-25)
— Review of Poor Man's Wealth 2011 single work novel
-
Untitled
2006
single work
review
— Appears in: The Courier-Mail , 17-18 December 2006; (p. 22)
— Review of Poor Man's Wealth 2011 single work novel -
Untitled
2011
single work
review
— Appears in: Bookseller + Publisher Magazine , November vol. 91 no. 5 2011; (p. 29)
— Review of Poor Man's Wealth 2011 single work novel -
Sleepy Hollow
2012
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sunday Age , 1 January 2012; (p. 15)
— Review of Poor Man's Wealth 2011 single work novel -
Sleepy Village Life to Perfection
2011
single work
review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 31 December 2011; (p. 17)
— Review of Poor Man's Wealth 2011 single work novel -
El Gordo, the Dreaming Schemer of Sleepy Hollow
2012
single work
review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 4-5 February 2012; (p. 24-25)
— Review of Poor Man's Wealth 2011 single work novel
Last amended 16 Mar 2021 15:52:19
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