This collection of short stories details the lives of the residents of the southern Ohio town of Knockemstiff. A working class region of Appalachia, each story details the life of one of the residents of Knockemstiff. What these people share is few opportunities, a world full of frustrated violence, and the hope-crushing realities of poverty. There's much that's depressing about Knockemstiff, Ohio. Characters with good hearts repeatedly find themselves trampled by others' greed and violence. Knockemstiff is a tough and lonely town, and yet, this is a collection of stories well worth reading. Pollock's characterizations are deep and complex. This is a world foreign to many of us, but one effectively created by Pollock.
2 comments:
Thanks for sharing. I live in Ohio and have never heard of Knockemstiff. What a name! Just one clarification - are the short stories true stories? I assumed so based upon your review. While not my typical genre, I may have to purchase and read. Even though sad, the stories sound intriguing.
No, they're not true stories, but supposedly they are based on the author's childhood, at least loosely. I had a really hard time believing that Knockemstiff was a real place, but the author's bio says he grew up in Knockemstiff, OH!
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