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Knockemstiff
Knockemstiff | Donald Ray Pollock
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. 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. From the Trade Paperback edition.
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Djlaforgia
Knockemstiff | Donald Ray Pollock
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Pickpick

Led to this author/book by the recent movie Devil all the Time. Enjoyed the writing and the often uncomfortable but always interesting short stories inspired by Knockemstiff, OH.

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GuiltyFeat
Knockemstiff | Donald Ray Pollock
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Pickpick

I've read some crazy, outsider, efftup fiction before, but this was some next-level shizzle. Poverty, despair, drugs, violence, incest, bigotry, drugs again, drive-ins, infidelity, murder and a lot more drugs. And it's funny. Dark, mean, bleak and funny. These connected short stories are not for everyone, but I ate them up like diner pie with extra cream.

cobwebmoth Ha! This town isn't far from me. 😊 7y
38 likes6 stack adds1 comment
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balletbookworm
Knockemstiff | Donald Ray Pollock
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Well, today‘s #riotgrams prompt is “books in nature”, however, it‘s pissing down rain here in Iowa City so here‘s me outside Prairie Lights looking at the books inside before going inside myself to introduce Donald Ray Pollock at his reading for the #iowacitybookfestival

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Lola
Knockemstiff | Donald Ray Pollock
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I spent #readathon day traveling the city for #Independentbookstoreday.I received a carabiner (fancy name for tag holder) and my first bookstore tag. Minimum purchase $25. Let's just say I exceeded that by..a bit 😛At each later stop,you pick up another tag for your carabiner(I left mine whole cuz I think they make nice bookmarks), no purchase necessary. Maybe not necessary but..who can resist?I picked up this book at store 3, Open Books. #CHIBD17

angrylilasian I wish I had kept them whole too. I didn't think of that until bookstore #3. 8y
42 likes1 comment
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mkl_b
Knockemstiff | Donald Ray Pollock
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A collection of gritty short stories about the desperate no holds barred life of people in poverty ridden mid to late 20th century southern Ohio
#shortstories #fiction #ohio

4 likes1 stack add
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BookLoft
Knockemstiff | Donald Ray Pollock
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Collection of gritty short stories about the no holds barred life of poverty in mid to late 20th century southern Ohio

3 likes1 stack add
review
Ange44
Knockemstiff | Donald Ray Pollock
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Pickpick

Great collection of linked short stories set in a very poor town in Ohio. Very gritty, with a lot of disturbing subject matter, the stories are sometimes funny and sometimes just sad. I enjoyed this one a lot.

12 likes2 stack adds
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Ange44
Knockemstiff | Donald Ray Pollock
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I'm four days away from my annual trip down to Portland to spend a couple days at Powell's. I need my yearly fix and can't wait!
Knockemstiff is a linked short story collection I picked up at Powell's last year and just getting to now. So far I'm loving it. Very disturbing, but great.