num_pages: 206
description: In this unforgettable work of fiction Donald Ray Pollock peers into the soul of a tough Midwestern American town to reveal the sad stunted but resilient lives of its residents. 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 woebegone baffled and depraved but irresistibly undeniably real. Rendered in the American vernacular with vivid imagery and a wry dark sense of humor these thwarted and sometimes violent lives jump off the page at the reader with inexorable force. 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.With an artistic instinct honed on the works of Flannery O' Connor and Harry Crews Pollock offers a powerful work of fiction in the classic American vein. Knockemstiff is a genuine entry into the literature of place.
language: English
title: Knockemstiff
publisher: Doubleday