Knockemstiff

About Knockemstiff

“More engaging than any new fiction in years.” —Chuck Palahniuk

An unforgettable work of fiction that 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.

About Knockemstiff

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