Helpful Score: 4
Knockemstiff is a collection of linked short stories about the lives of Knockemstiff, Ohio's residents. Donald Ray Pollock writes in a powerful and distinctive voice. The stories explore the racism, misogeny, addictions, and sense of hopelessness that life in an impoverished town can cause. This collection is not for the faint of heart, and those who cannot stomach the opening story in which a son tries to earn his father's approval by savagely beating up a stranger should not read further. Those who make it through the rest of the book will surely appreciate Pollock's dark portrayal of small town life, and how Knockemstiff's inhabitants imprison each other in their hopeless lives.
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