Knockemstiff
Donald Ray Pollock
4.00 · 20 ratings · Published: 18 Mar 2008
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.
- gothic 3
- southern gothic 3
- contemporary 3
- mystery 3
- crime 3
- literary fiction 3
- noir 3
- horror 3
- dark 2
- drama 2
- historical fiction 2
- transgressive mc 2
- rural 2
- hardboiled detective 1
- realistic 1
- funny 1
- satire 1
- Add topics
- format - reader age
- audiobook 2
- anthology 2
- adult fiction 1
- content warnings
- mental illness 1