Knockemstiff
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4.3 • 104 Ratings
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- $4.99
Publisher Description
"More engaging than any new fiction in years." —Chuck Palahniuk
An unforgettable work of fiction that peers into the soul of a tough Midwestern American town to reveal the sad, stunted but resilient lives of its residents. Knockemstiff is a genuine entry into the literature of place.
Spanning a period from the mid-sixties to the late nineties, the linked stories that comprise Knockemstiff feature a cast of recurring characters who are irresistibly, undeniably real. A father pumps his son full of steroids so he can vicariously relive his days as a perpetual runner-up body builder. A psychotic rural recluse comes upon two siblings committing incest and feels compelled to take action. Donald Ray Pollock presents his characters and the sordid goings-on with a stern intelligence, a bracing absence of value judgments, and a refreshingly dark sense of bottom-dog humor.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
A native of Knockemstiff, Ohio, Pollock delivers poignant and raunchy accounts of his hometown's sad and stagnant residents in his debut story collection that may remind readers of its thematic grand-daddy, Winesburg, Ohio. The works span 50 years of violence, failure, lust and depravity, featuring characters like Jake, an abandoned hermit who dodges the draft during WWII, lives in a bus and discovers two young siblings committing incest on the bank of a creek, and Bobby, a recovering alcoholic who must face the imminent death of his abusive father. The language and imagery of the novel are shockingly direct in detailing the pitiful lives of drug abusers, perverts and a forgotten population that just isn't "much welcome nowhere in the world." Many of the characters appear in more than one story, providing a gritty depth to the whole, but the character that stands out the most is the town, as dismal and hopeless as the locals. Pollock is intimate with the grimy aspects of a small town (especially one named after a fistfight) full of poor, uneducated people without futures or knowledge of any other way to live. The most startling thing about these stories is they have an aura of truth.
Customer Reviews
Unspoken
This is a tidy set of intermingled tales of the messy lives of a class of people whose existence represents the antithesis of the American Dreamscape. There are no alluring higher ambitions, no sense of unexplainable loss. Just the hardscrabble of getting through anther day. The story's told are refreshingly free sentiment and judgement and are to me seen as truly reflective of an underclass that has ceased to be recognised in real and literary life.
100 Words or Less
Though not quite as hard hitting as his novel “Devil All the Time”, these short stories still carry some heft to them. They’re enjoyable, and certainly well written, but near the end these characters begin to wear you down. How much brutal callousness can one small town hold? Well, according to this book, quite a lot.
Oh, I do recommend this collection. There are moments of greatness – I simply wish it didn’t have to be drowning in despair.
Rich, rewarding, and fast
This is a book worth reading. Great characters, wonderful, direct writing, and a fabulous plot. I highly recommend it!