Knockemstiff

De: Donald Ray Pollock

Narrado por: Kirby Heyborne, Mark Bramhall, MacLeod Andrews, Andrew Eiden, David Garelick, Matt Godfrey, Dan Woren, Rob Shapiro, R. C. Bray, Amy Landon, Joe Ochman

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.


Audiobook Cast of Narrators:
"Real Life," read by Kirby Heyborne
"Dynamite Hole," read by Mark Bramhall
"Knockemstiff," read by Macleod Andrews
"Hair’s Fate," read by Andrew Eiden
"Pills," read by Kirby Heyborne
"Gianthomachy," read by David Garelick
"Schott’s Bridge," read by Matt Godfrey
"Lard," read by Macleod Andrews
"Fish Sticks," read by Dan Woren
"Bactine," read by Rob Shapiro
"Discipline," read by R.C. Bray
"Assailants," read by Dan Woren
"Rainy Sunday," read by Amy Landon
"Holler," read by Andrew Eiden
"I Start Over," read by Joe Ochman

Worth a listen

Saw a movie about this authors second book. Took a chance on this. Well written, vibrant characters, and story it's a variety of emotions.

multiple readers made the stories more dynamic.

Delightful Misery

A magical rainbow of tales that include every color of sorrow, sadness, and fucking bleakness that is southern Ohio. I love Pollock's books. This time around finished off the trio of sweet devastatingly awesome novels. I can't wait for the next 1.

!!!!!

Great collection of shorts! This is my first experience with this author but definitely just the start- I'm now compelled to immediately find & read everything I can find by the guy! These stories were lean & mean, & I'm totally hooked! Ranging from bone-deep apathy to almost maniacal desperation, the stories are stark, sometimes brutal, in their portrayals of the people populating them, while making matter of fact certain subjects, behaviors, & situations that most people either are completely ignorant of or else avoid altogether. Understandably, as oftentimes they are uncomfortable reminders of the baser sides of human nature & glaringly showcase our species' unfortunately casual potential for overwhelming ugliness, while most of us would rather view these things as individualistic aberrations as opposed to the almost inevitable outcome of ignorance, neglect, abuse, poverty, isolation, etc that runs rampant thruou our history.
Personally, however, I have no qualms accepting that humans, for all their enormous potential for all things good, are just as capable of wallowing in the muck of everything opposite.
So while its easy to see how unflinchingly honest portrayals of human behavior prompt uncomfortable feelings for a lot of people, I would only suggest that they try to put that aside, & continue reading with the knowledge that these things are an actual reality for somebody today, & maybe take a moment to appreciate the differences in your own life.
Regardless, I for one, am glad to have come across this writer, & look forward to reading whatever else he's written. Thank you.

Whew, that was a lot.

If there’s one place I never want to be after reading this, it’s Knockemstiff, OH

I want to start by saying that Pollock is clearly a gifted writer with poignant prose. Unfortunately, that resulted in more harrowing misery as he carries readers through the Dregs that populated these stories. It seemed that every story had grotesque references to sex; be it Sexual Assault or other form of Abuse. The characters, while well written, objectified one another like chattel. There are lessons to be learned from these stories, but not much light. Don’t choose to surround yourself and live within Hell and certainly don’t raise a family in it. I think my psyche is pretty robust and I’m not very sensitive, but it hurt to read this. I can’t see myself recommending this to anyone and I don’t see myself picking it up again.

Knockemstiff is the textbook definition of Git Lit.

Fiction?

Being from SE Ohio, this book borders on truth! This is exactly how life is here. The cold hard life of the people left behind by society in the foothills of the Appalachians.