Knockemstiff is a linked collection of stories about the inhabitants of a small town in Ohio named Knockemstiff.  The town is grim, run-down, and the world has mostly passed it by.  The same can be said of its residents, who are, for the most part, poor and uneducated.  They include perverts, alcoholics, the mentally ill, and drug abusers.  The stories take place over a period of fifty years.

It is worth mentioning that Knockemstiff is a real town, and the author, currently an MFA student in creative writing at Ohio State, grew up there.  This provides him with a unique and sympathetic perspective towards the town and its residents.

The premise of the book sounds incredibly depressing, and it is, to an extent.  What redeems it is the author's unflinching and nonjudgemental portrayal of the characters.  Knockemstiff's residents do horrible things to each other in the course of the book, and the lives they lead are often bleak and hopeless.  By presenting the book's characters without judgement, Pollack allows us to see them more clearly.  Instead of being amoral monsters, they come across as people who are largely at the mercy of a grim, hopeless environment. 

Many of the stories are heartbreaking.  Mankind has a great capacity for cruelty, and that capacity is magnified in a place like Knockemstiff.  Mankind also has an immense capability to be noble, even in the face of adversity.  Pollock maintains a balance between these two poles throughout the book.  Sometimes, as in the story "I Start Over," he combines cruelty and nobility in a way that left tears in my eyes.

This is a fine, fine collection of stories by an author who deserves to be watched in the future.  It is all the more impressive that this is Mr. Pollock's first book.  While it is definitely not for everyone (those who are easily offended are advised to avoid it), it is a highly rewarding and life-affirming experience.