You get the idea. When they make the movie version of Knockemstiff, they won’t be casting George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon and Julia Roberts. You better stick with Ocean’s Eleven, if you need glamour and good looks in a story.

But Pollock can write. His prose is brisk and creative. His dialogue is first rate. His stories are well-paced and memorable, although often rather disturbing. My one concern is that Pollock's characters all seem cut from the same cloth. Can a whole town be populated by so many drugged up, narcissistic, scheming, vengeful, self-destructive losers?

Yes, Knockemstiff is a real city in Ohio, and the actual home town of Pollock, who became a writer only after 32 years working in a paper mill. Not many authors publish their first book at age 53. But, unlike most young writers publishing in their 20s, Pollock has a full life of experiences to draw on for his stories. Decades spent in humbling pursuits outside of college creative writing programs no doubt contribute to the grit and power of these narratives.

Ninety years ago, Sherwood Anderson created a series of stories about small town life in Ohio. He tried to show the dark underside of Winesburg, Ohio, presenting characters who were (in his famous description) like the misshapen apples that grew in the local orchards. But Anderson’s fruit, despite its twisted appearance, still had pockets of sweet flavor.  Pollock’s are so rotten, you would rather eat a lime, peel and all.

But there is one bit of good news in the book, although Pollock saves it for the acknowledgements at the very end of the book. He reassures us that his family and neighbors back in the real Knockemstiff, Ohio, were nothing like the characters in his book. Phew, what a relief!