Blurbs

"This electrifying collection of linked stories uses the voices of the rural hamlet of Knockemstiff to create a coherent world of echoing themes and recurring characters that has the drive and impact off a fine novel. Pollock brings grace and precision to colloquial language, and the ferocious integrity of his vision is flat-out stunning. Pollock grapples with savagery and reveals primal tenderness. After every story in Knockemstiff I had to take a walk and let my head cool down. I keep reaching for some other writer to compare him with- maybe a Raymond Carver with hope and vitality, or a godless Flannery O'Conner - but Pollock is no shadow of anybody else. This is a powerful talent at work."

-Katherine Dunn, author of Geek Love

"Here is a collection of stories that are perhaps unique in our time. Donald Pollock tells a whopping good yarn, unambiguous and laced with sly irony, of the ordinary horrors of every day life. Wry and raw and poignant, these extraordinary stories are gritty with the yeast of folks caught in the act of being only too human. We all know some chucklehead from Knockemstiff, the guy who never had a chance, but keeps on plugging."

-Larry Heinemann, author of Paco's Story

"This is too easy: Knockemstiff flat-out knocked me out. Don Pollock’s done us a favor: May all that talk about southern Gothic/grotesque writers stop immediately. I want to read about these characters’ pains, mishaps, and successes, but I don’t want to live their lives. These connected stories, set in an ultra-rural Ohio, prove that great stories are all about characters seeking what might be perceived as universal truths, or fleeing from them. I can’t wait for more, more, more."

-George Singleton, author of Work Shirts for Madmen

"Knockemstiff is an astonishing debut, reminiscent of when Larry Brown burst on the scene with Facing the Music. Pollock’s refusal to sentimentalize his characters and their world gives his book a fierce integrity. He’s the real thing, a new and important voice in American fiction, and a welcome relief from the timidity and preening self-absorption of so much contemporary fiction. "

-Ron Rash, author of Chemistry and Other Stories