Donald Ray Pollock – författare

Donald Ray Pollocks legendariska debut! Från en bit in på 60-talet fram till slutet av 90-talet får vi genom arton sammanlänkade berättelser följa invånarna i samhället Knockemstiff, Ohio. Mer än trettio år av våld, fördärv, lustar, galenskap, stagnation och oåterkalleliga handlingar. Persongalleriet är fyllt av förtvivlade, förvirrade, depraverade människor som tycks oförmögna att höja sig över sina levnadsvillkor. Den amerikanska drömmen har aldrig varit längre bort. Men huvudkaraktären är nog ändå själva Knockemstiff, lika dyster och hopplös som lokalbefolkningen. Donald Ray Pollocks mörka och beroendeframkallande debut Knockemstiff är berättelsen om en plats där drömmar aldrig slår in. En bit americana du aldrig glömmer. Donald Ray Pollock föddes 1954 i Knockemstiff, Ohio. Vid sjutton års ålder hoppade han av skolan för att arbeta på en köttfabrik, och tillbringade sedan 32 år som anställd på ett pappersbruk i Chillicothe, Ohio, där han fortfarande bor med sin fru Patsy. 2009 tog han sin MFA-examen vid Ohio State University. Samma år tilldelades han PEN/Robert Bingham Fellowship för debuten Knockemstiff. Tristero förlag har tidigare gett ut Djävulens hantverk (The Devil All the Time). “Mer engagerande än all ny skönlitteratur på senare år... Knockemstiff ger oss det omöjliga – snabba, egendomliga berättelser om de sorgligaste människor man någonsin kommer att stöta på inom skönlitteraturen.”  — Chuck Palahniuk, Fight Club “Pollocks röst är frisk och dånande...Hans obevekliga, sågtandade prosa för tankarna till Harry Crews.” —  The New York Times Book Review “Knockemstiff är en stark, märkvärdig, exceptionell bok.” — Los Angeles Times “Häpnadsväckande, dyster, kompromisslös och rolig...Råare än så här går det knappast att skriva inom amerikansk skönlitteratur. Det är en oförglömlig upplevelse.”  — San Francisco Chronicle “Hädiskt rolig….Pollocks berättelser är spetsade med en skrämmande panache som tveklöst förtjänar en egen genre: Southern Ohio Gothic. — Elle “Pollock flyttar inte fram gränserna utan bränner istället ner dem till grunden, och hans mäktiga narrativa gåvor (och nattsvarta humor) gör det omöjligt att vända bort blicken från lågorna.”  —  The Washington Post “Efter varje berättelse i Knockemstiff var jag tvungen att gå ut och ta en promenad för att kyla ner huvudet. Jag söker febrilt efter någon annan författare att jämföra honom med — kanske en Raymond Carver med hopp och vitalitet, eller en gudlös Flannery O´Connor — men Pollock står inte i skuggan av någon annan. Detta är en lysande talang i arbete.” — Katherine Dunn “Donald Ray Pollock kan vara nästa viktiga röst inom amerikansk skönlitteratur.” — Wall Street Journal “Pollock grabbar tag om strupen och släpper inte taget.” — Kirkus “Det mest häpnadsväckande med dessa berättelser är att det vilar en aura av sanning över dem” — Publishers Weekly “Att påstå att Donald Ray Pollocks Knockemstiff är “gritty” är som att säga att Antarktis är kyligt.” — National Public Radio

Blunt, brutal, but infused with a deep sympathy, Knockemstiff is a pitch-dark and hilarious collection of stories set in a tiny town in Southern Ohio.The youth of Knockemstiff grow up in the malignant shadow of their parents; raised on abuse, alcohol, drugs and cigarettes, they are stunted in every possible way: emotionally, mentally, sometimes physically. They talk a lot about escape but they never so much as cross the county line.

**NOW A MAJOR NETFLIX FILM STARRING TOM HOLLAND AND ROBERT PATTINSON**'Some people were born just so they could be buried'In Knockemstiff, Ohio, war veteran Willard can't save his beautiful wife, Charlotte, from a slow death by cancer no matter how much sacrificial blood he pours on his 'prayer log'. Carl and Sandy Henderson, a husband-and-wife team of serial killers, trawl America's highways searching for suitable models to photograph and exterminate. Preacher Roy and his crippled virtuoso-guitar-playing sidekick are running from the law. And caught in the middle of all this is Arvin, Willard and Charlotte's orphaned son, looking for answers....'Superb' The Times'Terrifying ... an unsettling masterwork' GQ

Blunt, brutal, but infused with a deep sympathy, Knockemstiff is a pitch-dark and hilarious collection of stories set in a tiny town in Southern Ohio.The youth of Knockemstiff grow up in the malignant shadow of their parents; raised on abuse, alcohol, drugs and cigarettes, they are stunted in every possible way: emotionally, mentally, sometimes physically. They talk a lot about escape but they never so much as cross the county line.

**NOW A MAJOR NETFLIX FILM STARRING TOM HOLLAND AND ROBERT PATTINSON**'Some people were born just so they could be buried'In Knockemstiff, Ohio, war veteran Willard can't save his beautiful wife, Charlotte, from a slow death by cancer no matter how much sacrificial blood he pours on his 'prayer log'. Carl and Sandy Henderson, a husband-and-wife team of serial killers, trawl America's highways searching for suitable models to photograph and exterminate. Preacher Roy and his crippled virtuoso-guitar-playing sidekick are running from the law. And caught in the middle of all this is Arvin, Willard and Charlotte's orphaned son, looking for answers....'Superb' The Times'Terrifying ... an unsettling masterwork' GQ

In 'Dynamite Hole', Jake has been living wild in the hills of Knockemstiff since he took exception to the drafting process in World War II. When he witnesses an act of sexual transgression by the pond, things start swirling around inside him 'like a storm cloud', and Knockemstiff is soon to have a few more empty beds.In 'Real Life', a trip to the drive-in with his parents winds up in bathroom brawl and a hasty departure for seven year-old Bobby. Looking back on his childhood, Bobby finds in that evening an isolated piece of paternal pride. Part of the Storycuts series, these two stories were previously published in the collection Knockemstiff.

In 'Hair's Fate', when Daniel's father chops off his hair with a kitchen knife for meddling with his younger sister's doll, he decides to leave home. He hitches a ride with a trucker by the name of Cowboy Roy who plies him with liquor and pills, before suggesting a disquieting solution for Daniel's hair problem.In 'Knockemstiff', Hank has been sweet on Tina Elliot for some time. When he hears that she's planning on lighting out for Texas with her boyfriend, he allows himself to get a little pensive-even if it makes a long day's work at the store feel that little bit longer.Part of the Storycuts series, these two stories were previously published in the collection Knockemstiff.

In 'Bactine', a toothless layabout takes a break from nursing his crippled uncle and spends the evening abusing solvents with an acquaintance. The fumes only serve to exacerbate his dismay, though, and a trip to an all-night coffee shop causes some unpleasant recollections to surface.In 'Giganthomachy', Teddy and William are two nine year-old boys who like to argue over whether they'll play nuclear war or Vietnam games in the yard. William's more fantastic suggestions rile Teddy, who suffers enough deranged fantasy when he retreats inside every evening.In 'Pills', Bobby and Frankie take a notion to leave Knockemstiff for California and a new life amongst the film stars. But the four stolen bottles of pharmaceutical grade speed they'd intended to fund the trip with prove mighty alluring, and the road out of the township grows ever more elusive.Part of the Storycuts series, these three short stories were previously published in the collection Knockemstiff.

In 'Lard', Duane's virginity is getting to be a problem. Not so much for Duane as it is for his friends and his father-whose workmates rib him mercilessly about his son's frigidity. Deciding that his friends' regular outlets are not to his taste, Duane sets about fabricating an encounter.In 'Schott's Bridge', Todd has 'too much sugar in him' for Knockemstiff. Even so, he ignores his grandmother's dying wish that he use the two thousand dollars she'd bequeathed him in a coffee jar to get himself out of town. Kicked out of the house by his uncle, he takes to living by the creek with Frankie Johnson and a daunting supply of hallucinogenic drugs.Part of the Storycuts series, these two short stories were previously published in the collection Knockemstiff.

In 'Fish Sticks', Del is washing his one good pair of black jeans on the eve of his cousin's funeral. He imagines he can hear the sea off the Florida coast in the rumblings of the machines, and casts his mind back to a trip the two made to Florida when they were teenagers. In 'Rainy Sunday', Sharon's husband hasn't been quite right since he crashed the car and wound up with a steel plate in his head. Wet weather tends to set him off on one of his spells. Reluctantly, Sharon leaves him alone and takes off on a late-night mission to help her aunt find some company. Part of the Storycuts series, these two short stories were previously published in the collection Knockemstiff.

In 'Assailants', Del's wife hasn't left the house in six months. He likes to escape the tedium of home life with his unhinged wife and baby daughter by courting blackouts with alcohol and drugs. However a trip to the late-night convenience store reveals a latent marital affection.In 'Discipline', Luther Colburn has twenty-one inch arms and a fifty-four inch chest. He struggles to instil the discipline that has aided this extreme hypertrophy into his son and protégé, Sammy. When Sammy's ideas run counter to his father's, Luther gets a late vision of his son's unique merit.In 'Honolulu', Howard Bowman is struggling to remember things. Every morning his wife sets him a challenge or two to try and keep his mind oiled and active. While the names of associates past and present elude him, certain isolated events come back. He gets to thinking about one evening on furlough in Honolulu. Part of the Storycuts series, these three short stories were previously published in the collection Knockemstiff.

In 'Holler', when his wife throws him out, Tom shacks up with the family of a casual girlfriend. They leave it to him to bathe, shave and keep a jug of wine within a straw's reach of their disabled patriarch.In 'I Start Over', retirement has not been living up to Big Bernie's expectations-not the expectations the television advertisements are peddling anyway. He treats himself to a souped-up 1959 Chevrolet, and this indulgence might just be what he needs to start over. Part of the Storycuts series, this short story was previously published in the collection Knockemstiff.

In 'Blessed', a thief's career is cut short when he falls from a rooftop. Since the accident he has been subsisting on a disability cheque, a potent painkiller prescription and having his wife sell her blood.In 'The Fights', Bobby has been off the sauce for five long months. On the advice of his Alcoholics Anonymous mentor, he pays his family a visit in Knockemstiff-where even the wood smoke reminds him of whiskey. While his father and brother amuse themselves by watching pre-recorded boxing and his mother mopes in the kitchen, the inertia infusing his old home threatens to take hold.Part of the Storycuts series, these two short stories were previously published in the collection Knockemstiff.

Cane, Cob and Chimney Jewett are young Georgia sharecroppers held under the thumb of their God-fearing father, Pearl. When he dies unexpectedly, they set out on horseback for Canada, robbing and looting their way to wealth and infamy.But little goes to plan and soon they’re pursued by both the authorities and the stories emanating from their trail of destruction – making the Jewett Gang out to be the most fearsome trio of murdering bank robbers in the Midwest. The truth, though, is far more complex than the legend. And the heaven they’ve imagined may in fact be worse than the hell they sought to escape.

Cane, Cob and Chimney Jewett are young Georgia sharecroppers held under the thumb of their God-fearing father, Pearl. When he dies unexpectedly, they set out on horseback for Canada, robbing and looting their way to wealth and infamy.But little goes to plan and soon they’re pursued by both the authorities and the stories emanating from their trail of destruction – making the Jewett Gang out to be the most fearsome trio of murdering bank robbers in the Midwest. The truth, though, is far more complex than the legend. And the heaven they’ve imagined may in fact be worse than the hell they sought to escape.

Zwei Lebensfluchten kollidieren, eine auf dem Weg in die Verdammnis, die andere aus ihr heraus. Der junge Arvin wächst in den fünfziger Jahren im heruntergekommenen Niemandsland des Mittleren Westens auf. Hier hat sich der amerikanische Traum in einen fiebrigen Albtraum verwandelt, der bevölkert wird von psychopathischen Verbrechern, korrupten Sheriffs und religiösen Fanatikern. Arvin ringt um einen Ausweg aus dieser Welt. Doch als seine Freundin vom Ortsprediger missbraucht wird und sich daraufhin erhängt, nimmt auch er das Gesetz in die eigene Hand. Zur gleichen Zeit, nur wenige Meilen entfernt, brechen die beiden Serienkiller Carl und Sandy zur Jagd auf. Sie locken arglose Tramper in ihren Wagen, um sie dort auf brutale Art und Weise umzubringen. Irgendwo in der Tiefe des Hinterlandes, in jenem unsichtbaren Grenzgebiet zwischen Zivilisation und archaischer Grausamkeit, kreuzen sie schließlich Arvins Weg ... Unaufhaltsam verstrickt Pollock seine Leser in ein undurchdringliches Labyrinth des Bösen. "Das Handwerk des Teufels" ist ein ebenso verstörender wie mitreißender Roman über den epischen Kampf zwischen Schicksal und Moral, Schuld und Gerechtigkeit. Die Hoffnung stirbt immer zuletzt. Aber sie stirbt.

Wenn die Hölle in dir steckt, gibt es kein Entkommen! Knockemstiff, Ohio, ist ein tristes Kaff in der weiten Leere des Mittleren Westens. Hier trifft man auf Außenseiter, die hin- und hergerissen sind zwischen Sehnsucht und verlorener Hoffnung, zwischen Aufbegehren und sinnloser Gewalt. Da gibt es den jungen Jake, der zum Militär eingezogen werden soll und in die Wälder des Hinterlandes flieht, nur mit einem Messer in der Tasche. Und doch kehren die beiden Soldaten, die ihn verfolgen, nicht lebend zurück ... Da ist Daniel, der von zu Hause abhaut und in die Fänge eines psychopathischen Truckers gerät. Oder Duane, der so lange vor seinen Freunden mit einer erfundenen Freundin prahlt, bis er selbst an sie glaubt. Wie in den großen Gesellschaftstableaus von William Faulkner und Sherwood Anderson greifen die Schicksale in Knockemstiff unheilvoll ineinander und verweben sich zu einem Netz falscher Lebenswege, in dem sich die Figuren so ausweglos verfangen, dass als letzte Wahrheit nur die eigenen Illusionen bleiben.

Georgia, 1917. Der Farmer Pearl Jewett will sich durch seine Armut auf Erden einen Platz an der himmlischen Tafel verdienen – und seine drei Söhne darben mit ihm, ob sie wollen oder nicht. Nachdem Pearl von den Entbehrungen ausgezehrt stirbt, müssen sich die jungen Männer allein durchs Leben schlagen. Auf gestohlenen Pferden und schwer bewaffnet plündern sie sich ihren Weg durchs Land. Dabei folgen sie den Spuren ihres großen Helden "Bloody Bill Bucket", einem Bankräuber aus einem Groschenroman, neben der Bibel das einzige Buch, das die Jewett-Brüder kennen …Einige Hundert Meilen entfernt, im Süden Ohios, wird Ellsworth Fiddler von einem Trickbetrüger um sein ganzes Geld gebracht. Als sein Weg den der schießwütigen Jewetts kreuzt, wendet sich sein Schicksal unerwartet zum Guten. Die Brüder hingegen müssen einsehen, dass der Himmel, den man sich gemeinhin ausmalt, oft schlimmer ist als die Hölle, der man entfliehen will.