"More engaging than any new fiction in years." His first book, KnockemstifDonald Ray Pollock was born in 1954 and grew up in southern Ohio, in a holler named Knockemstiff. Donald Ray seems to be working on a much higher, much riskier level than any other new writer out there. Knockemstiff is a collection of 18 short stories set in Knockemstiff, Ohio. This is a book worth reading. I wanted more. Just a moment while we sign you in to your Goodreads account. Knockemstiff is a genuine entry into the literature of place. "Americans used to be titillated by tales of the Dark Continent; now they are titillated by closer-to-home tales of the Rural Wasteland. I tore at the skin with my teeth. Knockemstiff (Book) : Pollock, Donald Ray : Spanning a period from the mid-sixties to the late nineties, the stories in KNOCKEMSTIFF feature a cast of recurring characters who are woebegone, baffled, and depraved--but irresistibly, undeniably real. A google search of what I thought for a second was some under-reported bath-salts-esque "kiOne reason to wait until you're 50 to begin your career as an author is that you plan to write stuff like this. These short stories do have memorable characters with the usually Pollock melancholy, grittiness and evilness. And here, Pollock's blunt and doom-filled language gives the reader a hint of what's to come in his great follow-up novel, Dreams and fears are contained in this collection, mostly what happens to poor uneducated people when their fears and reality destroy their dreams.Dreams and fears are contained in this collection, mostly what happens to poor uneducated people when their fears and reality destroy their dreams.Stories set mostly in Knockemstiff and some centred round A Paper mill where the author used to work. Donald Ray Pollock was born in 1954 and grew up in southern Ohio, in Knockemstiff (now a ghost town close to Chillicothe). Donald Ray seems to be working on a much higher, much riskier level than any other new writer out there. Come, ye gentrified reading public, and marvel at the escapades of the proud, wayward savages of the impoverished Midwest! There's a story in this collection where a kid gets his kicks huffing Bactine. Start your 48-hour free trial to unlock this Knockemstiff study guide and get instant access to the following:. 0385523823 Set in the wildly disparate environments of low rent L.A. and the hollow of Knockemstiff, Ohio. The Mothers Some people I've talked with about this book have suggested it's too brutal for them to read in long stretches but I found that Pollack's bleak narratives were often spiced up with enough strange details aYep. 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. )If you are feeling kind of crappy, like your life sucks and it couldn't get any worse, pick up a copy of Knockemstiff and give it a read. Behold brisk tales of abusive daddies, huffers, whores, country-fried criminals and incestuous chillun. He dropped out of high school at seventeen to work in a meatpacking plant, and then spent thirty-two years employed in a paper mill in Chillicothe, Ohio. Thanks for exploring this SuperSummary Plot Summary of “Knockemstiff” by Donald Ray Pollock. He dropped out of high school at seventeen to work in a meatpacking plant, and then spent thirty-two years employed in a paper mill in Chillicothe, Ohio. 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." I have just completed recently reading his very good first novel The Devil All the Time which had some memorable characters and a brutal plot. We’d love your help. The Vanishing Half